Laurence Fishburne: Back To His Roots On Broadway; As Thurgood Marshall

By Karu F. Daniels, BlackVoices.com

To take on the role of late civil rights activist Thurgood Marshall, Laurence Fishburne goes back to his roots and digs up some of America's ugliest ones.

Surprisingly enough, for his return on The Great White Way -- in the Leonard Foglia directed play, 'Thurgood,' -- the seasoned Tony Award winning thespian has received rave reviews.

'USA Today' heralded it with a three and a half star (out of four) review, calling the 90-minute bioplay "excellent." 'New York Post' gossip guru Cindy Adams showered the Academy Award nominated actor with praise, saying he was "magical." The 'Associated Press' noted that "Fishburne has the theatrical, larger-than-life demeanor of an old-fashioned preacher, including the necessary pizzazz to keep an audience's attention for an intermissionless [show]." 'New York Daily News' critic Joe Dziemianowicz said that Fishburne was "magnetic" and the show as "a worthwhile story rich in history, humanity and humor."


"Once again, he demonstrates his genius and brilliance as a masterful and skilled talent," said Gwendolyn Quinn, President of the African-American Public Relations Collective (AAPRC) and President of GQ Media & Public Relations.

The power publicist (pictured right with Fishburne) joined a host of luminaries – including Cicely Tyson, Charlie Rose, James Carville, Mary Matalin, Vernon Jordan, Rev. Al Sharpton, Henry Simmons, Leslie Uggams, LeeLee Sobieski, Kevin-Anthony and Fishburne's beautiful wife, actress Gina Torres – during the show's opening night celebration.

As can be expected, Fishburne is, indeed, magnificent in the role which involves a narrative where an elderly Marshall addresses students at Howard University 50 years after he graduated from the storied college in 1933.

The audience is taken through Marshall's thrilling walk down memory lane of life-changing and history-making events. Though mostly known to new generations as the legendary Supreme Court Justice, Marshall was also renowned as legal counsel for the NAACP; he also argued the historic Brown vs. Board of Education case before the Supreme Court in 1954.

The Baltimore native rose to prominence by fighting the good fight during one of America's most shamefully divisive eras.

The meaty role is a homecoming of sorts for Fishburne, who won a Tony Award in 1992 for his work in August Wilson's critically acclaimed play 'Two Trains Running.'

The Augusta, Georgia born actor cut his teeth on gritty material; as a child he starred in the drama 'Cornbread, Earl & Me' and was originally cast to play Michael Evans on 'Good Times.'

In 1979, he starred in Francis Ford Coppola's 'Apocalypse Now' and in the 1980s made a splash with theatrical turns in the plays 'Short Eyes' and 'Loose Ends.'

This was all before he became the box-office superstar he is now known as – with 'The Color Purple,' 'What's Love Got to Do With It?,' 'Deep Cover,' 'The Matrix' trilogy and the recently released '21' to his credit.

Though Broadway audiences haven't seen him chew on some fat since 1999's 'Lion in Winter,' he hasn't lost any of his roar with the George Stevens, Jr.-helmed play.

But nothing less should be expected from the man who called theater "church for actors."

"I want the audiences to learn the same things I'm learning – not just about a man's life but what that man's life work has done for us as a country," Fishburne said about the play – which originally starred James Earl Jones when it played in Connecticut two years prior. "He used the law as his weapon, and he really changed the way things are."

And the roles that he continues to take on, the hardworking actor seem to be doing the same.

'Thurgood' is playing at the Booth Theatre for a limited 16 week engagement.