About This Show

Meet Thurgood Marshall: Lawyer. Civil rights activist. The first African American Supreme Court Justice. In the acclaimed Broadway play Thurgood, you have a seat at a fictional lecture on his life given by Marshall at his alma mater. Experience his transformation from a young and spirited dissenter to a pensive Justice full of wisdom. From his early days as a civil rights lawyer to his appointment to the highest court in the land, Thurgood Marshall stood for justice while lifting the standing of his race, and all Americans.

Before joining the Supreme Court in 1967, Thurgood Marshall made a profound impact for African American rights in the United States — most notably during his long-fought battles against the Supreme Court’s 1896 ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson. The case gave federal sanction to “separate but equal” public facilities for black and white citizens. In a long series of legal cases, Marshall served as chief counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He successfully ended the sanctioned racism inherent in the Plessy v. Ferguson case in Marshall’s victory in the famous 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education, which significantly advanced the civil rights movement over the next decade.

African American activism is still very much alive in the United States, making the themes and questions Thurgood poses relevant in the political landscape of today. In response to injustices affecting the country’s African American communities, nation-wide social movements like Black Lives Matter have proven that the country’s conversation surrounding race equality is far from over.

Show Details

Dates: First Preview: January 7, 2020 Opening Night: January 16, 2020 Final Performance: February 9, 2020

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