There are two very different lessons being imparted by Thurgood, the ultimately rewarding solo drama now at the Booth Theatre. The first, courtesy of George Stevens Jr.'s somewhat inelegant 90-minute script, is the overwhelming historical importance of Thurgood Marshall, the Baltimore-bred lawyer who, in 1954, argued (and won) one of the most landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases in history, "Brown v. Board of Education," which ended segregation in public schools -- and who, just 13 years later, became the first African-American appointed to the Supreme Court.

The second lesson is delivered by Laurence Fishburne, who instantly commands the stage with consummate ease, wringing enormous humor, pa[...]