Rashidra Scott and Anthony Cochrane – Photo by T. Charles Erickson
They were an unlikely pairing of two people to become life long friends. When they met in 1937, Albert Einstein was a world renowned physicist who made his mark in the world with his theory of relativity. Marian Anderson was regarded as one of the greatest opera voices of all time. Yet despite her talent, racism and segregation kept her from wide notoriety. What started as a simple act of hospitality was the beginning of a lifetime friendship for the two. It also set the stage for the events that led to the groundbreaking concert given by Anderson on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in April, 1939.
This is the basis of the play My Lord, What a Night currently running at George Street Playhouse through May 17, 2026. Written by Deborah Brevoort, My Lord What a Night is a beautifully crafted show that tells an amazing story resulting in excellent theater.
My Lord, What a Night is a play that deals with actual historic events and is based on a true story. It was commissioned by Premiere Stages at Kean in partnership with Kean University’s Liberty Hall Museum through the Liberty Live Program. This program has a commission directive for playwrights’ intent on telling little-known stories about New Jersey. My Lord, What a Night was developed and presented in their 2015 – 2016 Program selections. The photo below comes from that presentation.
Photo Credit to the Liberty Live Program – Premiere Stages at Kean
Sheldon Epps directs this play at George Street Playhouse that uses an interesting detailed set built to resemble Einstein’s home library in Princeton, NJ. A superb cast delivers well written dialog allowing the show to move at a comfortable pace. Staged intrusions by the press looking to cover Anderson’s visit to Einstein’s home are powerful giving rise to the discomfort Anderson feels. All of this adds up to an excellent theatrical program.
A Story of Friendship Guided by Concern and Compassion
Einstein (Anthony Cochrane) was a long time fan of Marion Anderson (Rashidra Scott). He attended her concert given at Princeton University. The year is 1937. The two meet backstage after the concert. Anderson is on her way to spend the night at the Nassau Inn where she has a reservation. She is denied accommodations because of the Inn’s stated “whites only” policy. Einstein invites her to stay at his Princeton home for the night. Once at Einstein’s home, two more people arrive. Abraham Flexner (Mitch Greenberg) and Mary Church Terrell (Gayle Samuels). Flexner comes through the back door because there is a lot of press assembled on the front lawn of Einstein’s home and he does not want to be seen.
The cast of My Lord, What a Night gathers at Einstein’s home. Photo – T. Charles Erickson
After checking in with her manager, Anderson announces that she will not be speaking with the press. There are varying degrees of acceptance of this decision because the two newcomers each have their own agenda. Their agendas directly involve Anderson.
Terrell is a well known activist who advocated for suffrage and civil rights. She is an accomplished, strong woman of the day. She comes to petition Anderson to speak to the press to publicize injustices being done to Blacks.
Flexner’s mission is to convince Einstein to allow him to take Anderson from his home and bring her to a place where a Black woman would be welcome to stay. Flexner was the founder of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton where Einstein works. His concern is that the negative publicity from this event at Einstein’s home will lead to funding being cut for the Institute.
At this point in time, Einstein is known for his activism. He is deeply concerned about the Nazi takeover in Germany where he came from. This concern deepens as the play goes on because he has learned that the atom has been split. He already realizes the ramifications of this and he wants to get to speak to the President.
Anderson has her own career aspirations in mind and does not want to do anything that will harm that. However, it is not as one sided as it might sound. She realizes the importance of music as a means of breaking the stereotyping of African American people. Music is the most important thing in her life. So she chooses not to speak with the press.
The majority of the play deals with these agendas playing out and how they are resolved. The play forwards to 2 years later in 1939 when Anderson comes back to visit Einstein.
A Stunning Ending
The play does a good job of showing what leads up to Marian Anderson’s famous concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The scene on stage now has a light background curtain which serves as a projection screen showing the Lincoln Memorial in the background. Anderson comes on stage in front of it allowing the audience to feel as if they are at the concert.
Rashidra Scott uses her lovely singing voice to portray Marian Anderson singing a part of “My Country, Tis of Thee.” We hear how she changed a few words. The line of the traditional version is “of thee I sing.” She sings “to thee we sing.” A bold move indeed for a rather quiet person who had been denied the right to sing at Washington D.C.’s Constitution Hall because of the color of her skin. Instead, she provides a declaration that all have rights in this country. It is a very poignant moment in the play.
Choose Your Price Events
Six performances of My Lord, What a Night are being offered as “Choose Your Price” events. These performances will be on Wednesday, May 6 at 1:00pm; Friday, May 8 at 7:30pm; Saturday, May 9 at 7:30pm; Sunday, May 10 at 7:00pm; Tuesday, May 12 at 7:00pm; and Wednesday, May 13 at 2:00pm.
For these performances, anyone may purchase tickets at a price of their choosing, starting at $10 (all fees included). The initiative is designed to reduce barriers to attending live theater and welcome new audiences from across the region.
“Choose Your Price” tickets begin at $10 and are available here.
About My Lord, What a Night
This is one of the best plays I have attended this year. I highly recommend it for audiences of all ages.
This play runs approximately 90 minutes with one 15 minute intermission. For tickets, visit the George Street Playhouse website devoted to tickets for this show.
