Fishburne Channels Marshall With "Moral Urgency That Still Resonates Today"
"It’s a safe bet that “Thurgood” is the only play on Broadway at which the announcement of a famous legal verdict is greeted by a burst of heartfelt applause.
"Does that make it sound less than thrilling? Well, yes, this solo show starring Laurence Fishburne as the venerated Thurgood Marshall is a no-frills documentary in the first person, essentially an opportunity to watch a movie star deliver a history lecture. But since Mr. Fishburne is an effortlessly compelling actor, and the history in question is charged with a moral urgency that still resonates today, 'Thurgood,' which opened Wednesday night at the Booth Theater, is surprisingly absorbing, at times even stirring.
"For audiences nostalgic for the progressive era in American history in which Marshall played a crucial role, the show may actually feel like a sweet escape to happier times, every bit as cheering (and a whole lot more edifying) than the giddiest of Broadway musicals. At the end of the play Marshall recites from a Langston Hughes poem opening with the following line: 'Oh, let America be America again.' If those words elicit either a sorrowful sigh or a stirring of fierce hope in your heart, you may find this superficially dry evening of theater as restorative as a long soak in a bubble bath."
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