**** Recommended Is What the Constitution Means to Me a civics lesson disguised as a play? Could be! Playwright Heidi Schreck might be one of the few people who’ve actually read the Constitution. In fact, she not only read it, she memorized parts of it, and now she’s written a charming play more or less about the Constitution. Audiences at the Copley Theater are now enjoying that play. Cory Goodrich, who plays Schreck, brings her own warmth and charm to the part. 4 Spotlights
As a 15-year-old, Heidi Schreck entered a Constitutional debate/scholarship contest at the American Legion Hall in her home town, Wenatchee, Washington, Apple Capital of the World. After she won that contest, she and her parents traveled to other Legion Halls to compete in more scholarship contests, actually winning enough scholarship money to pay her way through college. Truth be told, I’m kind of jealous of Schreck – when I won my school’s Legion award, I got a medal, not a scholarship!
As an adult, Schreck decided to take a look at that speech and maybe retool it, but her mother had thrown it out. So, she decided to see if she could recreate it. That effort became What the Constitution Means to Me.
The set is an approximation of the Wenatchee Legion Hall. A Legionnaire (Kevin McKillip) greets the members, warns them not to applaud after each contestant speaks and then explains the rules. As she becomes her 15-year-old self, Schreck explains that her main competitor calls the Constitution a ‘patchwork quilt’. She prefers to call it a crucible as she gives her short speech using personal familial examples.
After completing her speech, she must draw a piece of paper from an old coffee can and then recite and explain the Amendment written there. She stayed on point until she got on the subject of domestic violence, explaining that her great-grandmother, who was purchased from a catalog of ‘brides’, died in a mental hospital of ‘melancholia’.
This led to a tangent explaining how a dearth of women in Washington state led a wealthy businessman to import ‘brides’. Apparently her great-grandmother was one of those brides. Of course, women had no rights and wives were possession, so husbands could beat them without repercussions – or put them in mental hospitals. Her grandmother too was a victim of domestic violence.
Citing case after case of the courts failing victims, Schreck became her adult self, taking the speech in a new, personal and very feminist direction. Eventually even playing recordings of the all-male Supreme Court debating the merits of birth control.
Finally, Goodrich shook off her Schreck persona, and became herself while McKillip took off the Legionnaire hat and became himself. At this point, I think the story line went completely off the rails.
The play ends with a debate between Goodrich and an 18-year-old high school student on whether we should keep or throw out the Constitution. The Debater is played by Lilly Fujioka and Vivian Webb.
By the way, in another life, I think I knew that Legionnaire. In fact, I might have poked fun at him for taking himself so seriously. He was abrupt, condescending, a little bored at times, rigid in his interpretation of the rules and totally shocked when Schreck’s speech went in that feminist direction.
What the Constitution Means to Me was nominated for Tony® Awards for Best Play and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play. It was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist. The Paramount/Copley production is directed by Lauren Berman.
By the way, everyone leaves the theater with a copy of the Constitution!
What the Constitution Means to Me runs through November 12th in the Copley Theatre, North Island Center, 8 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. Plenty of street parking is available. Running time is approximately 90 minutes, no intermission. Performances are Wednesdays at 1:30 & 7:00 pm, Thursdays at 7:00 pm; Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 and 8:00 pm, Sundays at 1:00 and 5:30 pm. Tickets range from $40-$55. FYI (630) 896-6666 or www.paramountaurora.com.