Though Thurgood Marshall had a history-making life, I doubt he’d ever have talked about it as author George Stevens, Jr. has an actor so doing. That’s not to take away from the confident impersonation that engaging Montae Russell accomplishes, with Kate Alexander’s directorial guidance. And of course, this being the 50th anniversary of the Modern Civil Rights Movement, a recollection of it by its foremost legal leader supplies a way of honoring both and teaching youth about them. Still, for a savvy theatergoer, it takes a major suspension of disbelief to accept Stevens’ conceit that Marshall would act out his life, with changes from props to hair color, in an address to Howard University Law School graduates.
Not that the real Marshall lacked dramatic flair. Surely he might have recounted the injustices he suffered -- from being denied a prestigious education to not being able to use a washroom -- to describe the injustices and indignities Negroes suffered. But would he have used projections of historical events to highlight the intertwining of his life with use of “law as a weapon” against racial injustice? Would he have started by throwing away his cane, stopped to smoke mid-lecture, or brought up either of his wives and his eye for women? Would he leave his podium and run up a center aisle to make a point directly to his student audience? Why doesn’t he elaborate on his differences with Martin Luther King despite their agreements on Civil Rights and how Marshall thinks Reagan carried on Nixon’s dislike of him?
Though his major accomplishments highlighted and nicely acted out here were, rightly, his win over John W. Davis (called the “lawyers’ lawyer”) negating “separate but equal” racist policy and his breakthrough election to the Supreme Court, it takes relatively long to get them over and done. By contrast, Marshall’s stands against capital punishment and “censorship in the home” as well as for gun control and rights to privacy suffer a rushed treatment.
Numerous community leaders and organizations are working together to deal with racism, using Thurgood to prompt discussions, lessons, and action. In this role, rather than as a play, it promises to be successful.
Opened:
December 13, 2013
Ended:
February 22, 2014
Country:
USA
State:
Florida
City:
Sarasota
Company/Producers:
Florida Studio Theater
Theater Type:
Regional
Theater:
Florida Studio Theater - Keating Theater
Theater Address:
1241 North Palm Avenue
Phone:
941-366-9000
Website:
floridastudiotheatre.org
Running Time:
90 min
Genre:
Solo
Director:
Kate Alexander
Review:
Cast:
Montae Russell; voiceover: Bob Mowry
Technical:
Set: Bruce Price; Costumes: Susan Angermann; Lighting: Dave Upton; Stage Mgr: Garry Allan Breul.
Critic:
Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
December 2013
