James Earl Jones to Return to the Stage in Thurgood

James Earl Jones, who appeared on the Great White Way last season in On Golden Pond, will return to the stage in May. He is to star as Thurgood Marshall in George Stevens Jr.'s Thurgood at the Westport Playhouse, according to Variety's Army Archerd.

Jones recently starred in On Golden Pond on Broadway. He received mostly rave reviews and a Tony nomination for his work in the show. He is probably best known as the voices of Darth Vader in the Star Wars films and Mufasa in Disney's The Lion King. His many theatrical credits include Tony Award-winning performances in The Great White Hope and Fences, as well as performances in "MASTER HAROLD"…and the boys, The Iceman Cometh and Othello. Jones appeared in the film version of The Great White Hope, for which he received an Academy Award nomination, as well as the acclaimed films Dr. Strangelove and Field of Dreams. He has also earned two Emmy Awards and eight Emmy Award nominations for his guest appearance on the series Everwood.

Marshall broke barriers in the judicial world--he was the first black to win a case before the Supreme Court and in 1967 became the first black appointed to the Supreme Court. He retired from the High Court in 1991 and passed away on January 24, 1993.

No dates have been announced for Thurgood.