Joshua Wolf Coleman and the touring company from Watertown’s NewREP Theatre will bring Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall to life in the sanctuary of the historic meeting house on Bedford Common at 10 am on Sunday, February 9.
Thurgood traces Justice Thurgood Marshall’s career, highlighting his landmark decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education. This biographical work is a remarkable tribute to Marshall’s enduring legacy as the first African-American to sit on the Supreme Court.
First produced in 2006 at the Westport Country Playhouse, Thurgood starred James Earl Jones; it opened on Broadway in 2008, starring Lawrence Fishburne III. Filmed during its run at the Kennedy Center, the production was shown on HBO in 2011 and described by the Baltimore Sun as “one of the most frank, informed, and searing discussions of race you will ever see on TV.”
Sunday morning’s service is First Parish Unitarian Universalist’s annual Spirit of Democracy program honoring the congregation’s late minister emeritus, Jack Mendelsohn. Generous donors make it possible for First Parish to bring top-notch presentations to Bedford in Rev. Mendelsohn’s memory.
Immediately following the service, there will be a 20-minute discussion with Joshua Wolf Coleman. This service will NOT be videotaped, and photography is prohibited. Being ‘in the room where it happens’ will be Bedford’s sole opportunity to experience Thurgood.
