Maria Dizzia to Lead WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME in LA and Chicago

Tony Award nominee Maria Dizzia will star in the first two stops of the national tour of Heidi Schreck's Tony Award nominated play and Pulitzer Prize finalist What the Constitution Means to Me, directed by Oliver Butler. Dizzia will perform the lead role in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum (January 12 through February 16, 2020) and in Chicago at the Broadway Playhouse (March 4 through April 12, 2020). Additional cities and new casting for the remainder of the tour will be announced this winter. For a complete list of cities, visit constitutionbroadway.com.

Dizzia (In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play), "Orange is the New Black") will be joined for these engagements by original Broadway cast members Mike Iveson and Rosdely Ciprian, who will reprise their roles in both Los Angeles and Chicago.

"I have loved and admired Maria for many years and I consider it a huge gift to have an actor of her tremendous talent giving new life to this play," said Heidi Schreck. "I'm thrilled to be bringing Constitution to audiences across the country with this brilliant and generous artist at the helm."

"I learned so much as a woman and a citizen from Constitution and am so excited to be a part of it," said Maria Dizzia. "I can't wait to work with Heidi."

Playwright Heidi Schreck's boundary-breaking play breathes new life into our Constitution and imagines how it will shape the next generation of American women. 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 dictated their rights and citizenship.

Schreck's timely and galvanizing play, directed by Oliver Butler, became a sensation off-Broadway last fall before transferring to Broadway where it received two Tony Award® nominations among countless other accolades. See the play The New York Times hails 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 (240 W 44th Street, New York, NY), 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.

What the Constitution Means to Me recently concluded a record-breaking limited engagement run at the Eisenhower Theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., where it played 15 performances immediately following the conclusion of the Broadway run, from September 11 through September 22, 2019.

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.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski