Gripping Look at Huey Newton

It was nearly 13 years ago on an Oakland street that activist Huey Newton’s turbulent life met with a violent end that shocked few, shot down by a 24-year-old drug dealer.

Newton, who in 1966 co-founded the Black Panther Party with Bobby Seale, was only 47, but in truth had been in decline for several years, beaten down by ongoing legal skirmishes and an equally daunting array of vices.

Tonight at 9 on KCET, however, the radical icon is resurrected with a vengeance in “A Huey P. Newton Story,” Spike Lee’s mesmerizing filmed adaptation of the Obie Award-winning one-man play starring Roger Guenveur Smith.

Smith’s take on Newton is a blues-riffing fever dream of a performance, jumping topics and even eras without batting an eye. “I like to fight, to bite people’s ears off,” he explains. “I like to choke my coach.” His monologue careens forward, backs up and then runs over words and phrases again and again, to riveting effect.

The anger and frustration toward racial injustice that fuels Newton’s tears and tirades are framed beautifully by director Lee. The long-running play, which made a well-reviewed stop in Los Angeles last February, fleshed out the stark staging with the use of period music and audio news clips. But Lee opens it up a bit further, adding photos, vintage TV-news footage and moody solos from musician Branford Marsalis to supplement Marc Anthony Thompson’s Obie-winning score. Lee and his top-notch production staff employ camera wizardry and lighting techniques to evocative effect, yet manage to never take away from Smith’s performance.

An odd note is the relatively lifeless audience that was on hand in New York for the taping. While Smith is pulling out all the stops onstage, burning through a pack of cigarettes in the process, the crowd response is muted at best. Evidently, not everyone was ready for Huey’s return.