71
Fashion Jobs
L'OREAL GROUP
Multi-Brand Education Manager
Permanent · JOHANNESBURG
L'OREAL GROUP
E-Commerce Manager
Permanent · JOHANNESBURG
BEIERSDORF
Brand Manager
Permanent · DURBAN
G-STAR
Key Account Manager
Permanent · CAPE TOWN
ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES
Marketing & Sales Operations Manager (Sub Saharan Africa)
Permanent · JOHANNESBURG
ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES
Marketing & Sales Operations Manager (Sub Saharan Africa)
Permanent · JOHANNESBURG
PUMA
Payroll Administrator
Permanent · CAPE TOWN
ADIDAS
Senior Manager Sales: Shoe Channel - em South
Permanent · CAPE TOWN
ADIDAS
Senior HR Business Partner (6-Months Maternity Cover)
Permanent · CAPE TOWN
L'OREAL GROUP
Product Manager
Permanent · JOHANNESBURG
TREK
Country Manager
Permanent · SANDTON
L'OREAL GROUP
E-Commerce Key Account Manager
Permanent · JOHANNESBURG
ADIDAS
ic pp Data & Analytics Specialist - em
Permanent · CAPE TOWN
BEIERSDORF
Precision Marketing & Audience Specialist
Permanent · DURBAN
CLINIQUE
Clinique - Roamer - Edgars Eastgate, Gauteng - 40 Hours - Full-Time - Permanent
Permanent · JOHANNESBURG
PANDORA
Sales Assistant Ppt 96 Hours Balito
Permanent · DURBAN
L'OREAL GROUP
Data Analyst
Permanent · JOHANNESBURG
HTNK
High-End Fashion/Denim Designer
Permanent · JOHANNESBURG
H&M
Talent Acquisition Specialist
Permanent · CAPE TOWN
ADIDAS
Specialist Franchise Excellence - Ems Africa Export
Permanent · CAPE TOWN
LOVISA
Full Time Team Member | v&a Waterfront, Cape Town
Permanent · CAPE TOWN
LOVISA
Store Manager | v&a Waterfront, Cape Town
Permanent · CAPE TOWN
By
Reuters
Published
May 3, 2008
Reading time
2 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

Fishburne wins case in rather dry "Thurgood"

By
Reuters
Published
May 3, 2008

By Frank Scheck

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - More effective as history lesson than theater, "Thurgood" is the sort of biographical one-person show that once populated Broadway stages with regularity.

Marking the playwriting debut of George Stevens Jr. -- who dealt with the subject in ABC's 1991 miniseries "Separate but Equal," starring Sidney Poitier -- the drama serves as an excellent vehicle for Laurence Fishburne, here delivering a bravura performance.

Anyone who has seen any of the innumerable predecessors in the genre knows what to expect. The star, wearing enough makeup to provide him with a reasonable physical resemblance to Thurgood Marshall, stands front and center and delivers a biographical account. In this case, it takes the form of a lecture delivered by the aging former Supreme Court justice to the students of his alma mater, Howard University.

The play deals in straightforward fashion with the major legal cases in Marshall's career, starting with his involvement in a battle resulting in the University of Maryland law school being forced to admit a black applicant. (Marshall felt a strong personal connection to the issue because the school had denied his own admission.)

The dramatic centerpiece of the evening, of course, is the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education case, which effectively struck down the prevailing doctrine of "separate but equal." Also dealt with at length is Marshall's work as legal counsel of the NAACP and his appointment by Lyndon Johnson as the first black to serve on the Supreme Court.

The play begins promisingly, with Marshall describing his early struggles in colorful and moving fashion. But the playwright subsequently concentrates on the various historical legal cases to ultimately detrimental effect, with the proceedings taking on a somewhat dry, scholarly tone.

Marshall's personal aspects are largely downplayed, other than his fleeting jocular references to his inordinate fondness for booze and women.

Despite this, the evening is mainly engrossing thanks to Fishburne's superb performance. Altering his customary deep vocal tones to a lighter, more easygoing drawl, the actor sinks deep into the role and invests the material with a degree of depth, humor and emotion that is always compelling.

Bottom line: Laurence Fishburne delivers a superb turn as the famed Supreme Court justice in this somewhat dry solo biodrama.

Venue: Playwright: George Stevens Jr. Director: Leonard Foglia; Set designer: Allen Moyer; Costume designer: Jane Greenwood; Lighting designer: Brian Nason; Projection designer: Elaine McCarthy; Sound designer: Ryan Rumery. Cast: Laurence Fishburne.

© Thomson Reuters 2024 All rights reserved.