The Broadway Ferret

Rating: 5 masks out of 5

I’ve been to some one-man shows, and they’re pretty good in my opinion.  Thurgood is one of the best.

It stars Laurence Fishburne as Thurgood Marshall, the first black man on the Supreme Court.  Those expecting his character from The Matrix will be sorely disappointed, but should show up to see him become someone who mattered so much to American History.

He spends most of his time on the stage portraying Thurgood the narrator, which I consider the best of all his personas.  By narrating, he provides a link between all the different scenes of his life, from his youth to adult life.  It was entertaining to see him become not only himself at various ages, but other people as well, including those he wouldn’t agree or argue against.  You can never tell, because most of the characters he refers to are no longer alive, whether or not Laurence the actor is embellishing parts of Thurgood’s life.

The set is sparse, with what looks like a blank concrete wall depicting the American flag, a table that looks like it belongs in a conference room, some chairs and a few other setpieces brought onstage by Laurence Fishburne in the beginning.  To show his transformation from each age of Thurgood’s life, he uses glasses, a cane and for the Supreme Court, a long black robe.

The lighting and stage projections complete the play, whether to show whether Thurgood is at the train station, an office in New York City or his home.  I don’t want to give it away, but you should see how the Supreme Court justices are represented when he argues the case of Brown v. Board of Education.

What makes this play so entertaining, is the anecdotes Thurgood tells about his life.  You wouldn’t know it, but according to the play, Thurgood was a ladies man and an excellent storyteller.  I found myself laughing many times not sure if it was the story Thurgood was saying or the way he said it.

I highly recommend this show to everyone in high school and up.  It’s a great entertaining history lesson of a man’s life and it might be the first one-man show that you wish is longer than 90 minutes.

Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission