What the Constitution Means to Me

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Joan Marcus

Playwright Heidi Schreck (left) and Cassie Beck, who stars in the touring version of "What the Constitution Means to Me."

Playwright Heidi Schreck participated in debate competitions about the U.S. Constitution as a teenager. That deep knowledge of the document's history and tenets — and how its judicial interpretation affects the lives of Americans, past and future — informs Schreck's play What the Constitution Means to Me. The work was a Tony nominee in 2019 and also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. The current tour features Cassie Beck (recently seen in the Amazon Prime reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer) starring in the role originated by Schreck. Performances at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 22 and 3 p.m., Jan. 23.

press release: Overture Center is pleased to announce Heidi Schreck’s Tony Award nominated play and Pulitzer Prize finalist What the Constitution Means to Me will play in Capitol Theater on Saturday, Jan. 22, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 23 at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at overture.org.

Cassie Beck will star in the Madison engagement on the National Tour of What the Constitution Means to Me, directed by Oliver Butler. Beck (“I Know What You Did Last Summer,” The Humans on Broadway) will be joined for this engagement by Gabriel Marin and high school students Jocelyn Shek and Emilyn Toffler alternating in the role of the debater.

Playwright Heidi Schreck’s boundary-breaking play breathes new life into our Constitution and imagines how it will affect the next generation of Americans. Fifteen-year-old Heidi earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In this hilarious, hopeful and achingly human new play, she resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives.

Schreck’s timely and galvanizing play, directed by Oliver Butler, became a sensation on Broadway where it received two Tony Award® nominations among countless other accolades. See the play The New York Times hailed as "not just the best play on Broadway, but also the most important.”

Initially announced for a 12-week engagement on Broadway, What the Constitution Means to Me was extended twice and fully recouped in its Broadway engagement, shattering box office records at the Helen Hayes Theater in New York for a total run of 24 weeks. What the Constitution Means to Me officially opened March 31, 2019, after beginning preview performances March 14, and played its final Broadway performance on August 24, 2019.

Following Broadway, What the Constitution Means to Me played a record-breaking limited engagement run at the Eisenhower Theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., as well as two sit-down engagements in Los Angeles and Chicago before halting performances due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The success of the Broadway production also spurred a filmed capture of the show, which is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

What the Constitution Means to Me features scenic design by Rachel Hauck (Hadestown), costume design by Michael Krass (Hadestown), lighting design by Jen Schriever (Eclipsed) and sound design by Sinan Refik Zafar (Hamlet).

What the Constitution Means to Me was commissioned by True Love Productions. This production originated as part of Summerworks 2017, produced by Clubbed Thumb in partnership with True Love Productions. The national tour of What the Constitution Means to Me is produced by Diana DiMenna, Aaron Glick, Matt Ross and Level Forward & Eva Price.

For more information, please visit https://constitutionbroadway.com/

Follow @ConstitutionBWY on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Our community partner for What the Constitution Means to Me is SupraNet Communications, LLC. Overture is grateful for this community support that helps make this experience possible.

Meet the Artist: Stay after the performance on Saturday, Jan. 22 for a brief conversation with the artists.

NOTE: At this time, everyone who enters Overture Center must wear a mask and must show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 72 hours of entering along with a photo ID (children without a photo ID must be accompanied by a guardian). For more details, visit overture.org/health.