James Craven is back as Thurgood Marshall at Illusion Theater

Two years ago, actor James Craven artfully distilled the wry wit and charged aura of American jurist Thurgood Marshall in this solo show by George Stevens Jr., who uses the frame of a lecture at Howard University Law School — Marshall's alma mater — to set up this somewhat confessional retrospective of a man who suffered the slings and arrows of bigotry before rising to the U.S. Supreme Court on his brilliance. Michael Robins directs this encore performance. (7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. and next Thu., 2 p.m. Sun. $10-$35. Ends March 19. Illusion Theater, Cowles Center, 528 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. 612-339-4944, illusiontheater.org.)

Rohan Preston