The King and I
‘An Evening with Martin & Langston,” featuring actors Danny Glover and Felix Justice, draws audiences inside the worlds to two of the greatest orators of the 20th century, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Langston Hughes. The Thursday, February 28, performance, in honor of Black History Month, takes place at the College of New Jersey. The evening begins with Justice’s critically acclaimed portrayal of Dr. King; through the words of his most memorable speeches, Justice transforms into the legendary civil-rights leader, recreating the power of the man and his message. Justice then introduces “an old friend of mine I think you may have heard of,” and Glover enters the stage to bring to life the words and poetry of Langston Hughes. Accompanied by readings of his work, Glover portrays one of the great American writers in modern history.
Following their respective performances, Justice joins Glover on stage for a question-and-answer session.
Friends since first meeting as struggling Bay area actors years ago, Glover and Justice have honed a performance that stems from a long history of friendship and mustual respect, both on and offstage.
A native of San Francisco, Glover attended San Francisco State College and trained at the Black Actors’ Workshop of the American Conservatory Theatre. He first merited national attention in the New York production of Athol Fugard’s “Master Harold and the Boys.” He has garnered rave reviews for his roles in “The Color Purple,” “Dreamgirls,” “Grand Canyon,” “To Sleep with Anger,” and the “Lethal Weapon” series.
Justice grew up in Florence, SC, and studied theater in both San Francisco and New York. His one-man Martin Luther King, Jr. show, “Prophecy in America,” premiered in 1981 at San Francisco’s Lorraine Hansberry Theatre and subsequently toured throught the U.S.
The Los Angeles Times has written about the program, “The entire program turned out to be all about dreams.”
“An Evening with Martin and Langston,” Thursday, February 28, 8 p.m., the College of New Jersey, Kendall Performance Center. $15; $5 students. 609-771-2466.
