With Elena Kagan, a former law clerk to the late Justice Thurgood Marshall, nominated to a seat on the Supreme Court, the timing could not be better: the play Thurgood is coming to town, and it's a must-see for lawyers in D.C. The performances will be at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, from June 1 to 20.
Starring Laurence Fishburne as Marshall, the play is the story of Marshall's life, told in funny and poignant reminiscenses. His youth in Baltimore, finding his calling at Howard University Law School, arguing Brown v. Board of Education, and his life as a Supreme Court justice are all part of the evening. He ages before the audience's eyes.
We know all this about the play because we happened to catch it on Broadway while playing hooky at an American Bar Association meeting in New York in 2008. We ran into Marshall's son John who was also taking in the performance that day, and he said his mother Cissy had seen it three times and enjoyed it. "He captures him very well," the younger Marshall said of Fishburne's portrayal of his father. The New York run of the play earned Fishburne a Drama Desk Award and a Tony nomination.
Thurgood is written and produced by George Stevens Jr., directed by Leonard Foglia, and will play in Los Angeles after leaving D.C.
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