Review: WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME at Dezart Performs

What The Constitution Means To Me, now at Dezart Performs, is the journey of an adult named Heidi (Robyn Cohen) recalling her fifteen year old self debating about the Constitution for college tuition. If that sounds dry to you, I assure you it is anything but. 

We learn that at the time her passion for the Constitution was only matched by her love of the film Dirty Dancing, more specifically Patrick Swayze. And witches. Her mother, we learn, is a debate coach with her own story, which Heidi will eventually tell in full. Heidi calls the Constitution a crucible, which she describes as a cauldron (witches) but a crucible is also a situation where something is tested or a conflict occurs, which is a pretty apt description of how it should work. But it is definitely not a quilt like Becky, her fiercest competitor, says it is.

Although Heidi Schreck’s play is often described as “feminist” you don’t need to be a feminist to understand that the original framers of the Constitution provided no safeties for girls, people of color, nor for our now out and proud LGBTQ community. And while the play makes it clear that this is within a debate, Heidi is directed by the Legionnaire to "make it personal" so throughout she tells a horrific story of the extraordinary women in her family and how the lack of protection provided by the Constitution put them in mortal peril.  

Cohen is an impressive actor with a CVS-receipt length of credits in her bio. She adroitly skips from adult Heidi to 15-year-old Heidi and back again with humor, and passion, and doesn't miss a beat - her enthusiasm encouraging the audience to invest in learning about the body of law that governs these United States while weaving in life stories. She's terrific in the role.

I will tell you that amendments are discussed. Specifically the 9th and the 14th out of 27 of them. There have been over 11,000 Amendments proposed, the last to be ratified was in 1991, but it was written in 1791 (that's a wild story, look it up). We ratified eight in the 20th Century. One of them was not the Equal Rights Amendment.   

Sharing the stage with Cohen is a Legionnaire (a delightful job by Craig Wroe), the debate master, apprising us and 15-year-old Heidi of the rules, and keeping the debate within it’s time constraints. For the final portion of the play Wroe transforms into Mike, the actor. Which makes the show kind of a play within a play within a play. 

Jimmy Cuomo has once again given us an authentic-looking set, an American Legion hall from Heidi’s hometown, which is really just a memory, walls lined with photos of members in their uniforms, and center stage, a podium which, due to Heidi’s passion about the subject, is rarely used. Director Craig Wells understands that if you are truly passionate about something it is a very daunting task to stand and deliver. He also uses that energy to play up the comedy within the action.

Emma Bibo's costumes did the job, and Clark Duggar’s sound design was cheeky (listen for the closing song after curtain call). Rick Bluhm lit the stage well, however I'm gonna be a little prickly about the lights. I was aware of every lighting cue. I don’t know if it was because my seat gave me a view of the stage lights or if there was a technical issue, or even if it was by design, but I found it distracting. Luckily it was only for a split second as the actors always drew me back into the action.  

Cohen is absolutely the lead of this show, and she shines bright. But for a short period of time at the end, 19-year-old Tia Laulusa takes the stage as a debater and boy does she take the stage. Incredibly charming, self-composed and likeable, she was so real I thoroughly bought her as the debater until I heard a few lines from the 2017 production. I've added Laulusa to my "actors to watch for" list. 

Speaking of watching, it’s a terrific play, and a terrific production. I recommend this show to everyone with a heartbeat. You’ll not only get smarter, but you’ll come to understand why we are a nation in strife. It’s enlightening, funny, heartbreaking and, on further reflection, as a woman, I finally got the big picture when it came to our country's lawmaking. I found it absolutely terrifying.   

What the Constitution Means to Me runs Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30, with 2pm matinees on Saturday and Sunday until January 28th at the Palm Springs Woman’s Club. 

Dezart Performs at The Palm Springs Woman's Club

314 S Cahuilla Road
Downtown Palm Springs, CA 92262

*photography by David A. Lee

Producers: Michael Shaw, Clark Duggar

Director: Craig Shaw

Cast:

Robyn Cohen ... Heidi

Tia Laulusa ... Debater

Craig Wroe ... Legionnaire/Mike

Production Team:

Paul James Tenaglia ... Production Stage Manager

Jimmy Cuomo ... Set Design

Rick Bluhm ... Lighting Design

Emma Bibo ... Costume Design

Tom O'Brien ... Technical Director

Edward Anguiano ... Props Master

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