What the Constitution Means to Me by Heidi Schreck Champions Truly Equal, Inclusive, and Just Governance
This article was published by Triangle Review on 24 Oct 2024.
It comes as no coincidence that PlayMakers Repertory Company scheduled their production of What the Constitution Means to Me just two weeks before the most contested presidential election of our lifetimes. The 2017 autobiographical play by Heidi Schreck, made its Broadway premiere in 2019, with Schreck herself playing the leading role. It was named Best of the Year by The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Time magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, and The New Yorker; and was nominated for Best Play in the 73rd Tony Awards® and was even a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The play addresses powerful themes, such as women's rights, immigration, domestic abuse, and United States history, alternating between Schreck's current mid-forties self and her participation as a 15-year-old in Constitutional debate contests in 1989. As she recounts the traumatic experiences of her family, herself, and other women involved in historic legal cases in America, Schreck concentrates on the Ninth Amendment -- which she calls the "penumbra" of the U.S. Constitution, quoting former U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas -- and the Fourteenth Amendment, which discusses citizenship rights and the shifting requirements for being considered a "person" in America.
Longstanding PlayMakers company member Julia Gibson is visibly emotive in her portrayal of Heidi Schreck, as she shares her persistent adolescent fear of being sexually assaulted or murdered, her experience of getting an abortion when she was in her twenties, and the abuse of the women in her family. When she recounts the legal cases of the courageous women who continue to be systematically discounted by the American legal system, Schreck's irate disillusionment becomes Gibson's own.
PlayMakers' associate artistic director Jeffrey Meanza is convincing as the WWII veteran and American Legionnairewho moderates Schreck's Constitutional debate and becomes impassioned to the point of tears when he moves out of this role to share his own experience with regard to his sexuality and the pressure to be "masculine."
At the end of the play, Gibson (now playing herself) and a local high-school debater dispute whether or not the Constitution should be abolished and replaced. Northwood High School's Amari Bullett and Hillside High School'sTaryn Melvin bring impressive knowledge and youthful optimism that contagiously leave the audience appreciating the constitutional foundation, however flawed, that has upheld American democracy for 235 years. This, along with live recordings of Supreme Court justices' often awkward and bumbling debates regarding women's rights and autonomy, are the highlights of the production.
Scenic and costume designer Derrick Ivey, lighting designer Tao Wang, sound designer Eric Alexander Collins, vocal coach Gwendolyn Schwinke, dramaturg Adam Versényi, and stage manager Sarah Smiley have done their jobs well, as there was not a glitch in the production. And director Aubrey Snowden, a PlayMakers company member in her sixth season, clearly imbued the production with her own passion for the information presented.
From the legal definition of "penumbra" to positive verses negative rights to the Town of Castle Rock versus Gonzalez and other frightening Supreme Court decisions, every American should experience the lessons contained in What the Constitution Means to Me. The ending debate between high-schoolers and actor Julia Gibson demonstrates how to disagree peacefully while genuinely considering another's opposing opinions, providing a tutorial that is desperately needed in the combatively divisive climate permeating American society today.
Once again, PlayMakers presents a production that beckons you to attend with a teenager in your life. Both of you are sure to learn something new and to come away with a new appreciation of the complex and ever-changing history of human rights in the country that you call home. Perhaps, as Amari Bullett suggests, one of you may even consider running for office to further America's progress toward truly equal, inclusive, and just governance.
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