Review: WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME at North Coast Repertory Theatre

When was the last time you thought about the Constitution?  I mean really thought about it and how it impacts your life?  Probably not that often, but that will change after seeing North Coast Rep’s stellar production of "What The Constitution Means To Me,” which is playing through March 30th.

This show is mostly a one-woman show, with Jacque Wilke playing Heidi Schreck, the playwright and original performer of the piece. Schreck wrote it based on her experience in high school when she did debates and speech competitions to help pay for college. She explains the rules of the debate format and, acting as her 15-year-old past self, delivers the speeches and debate topic responses enthusiastically and slightly tenuous descriptors that could only come from a fevered teenage mind. For example, when comparing the Constitution to magic,  “A group of magicians got together and performed a collective act of ethical visualization” about those who originally created the document.

Wilke is not alone on the stage; she is accompanied by the legionnaire (Andrew Oswald), who judges and times each contestant. As Hiedi speaks about the Constitution in response to the contest prompts and the encouragement to find a personal connection, she guides the audience through her teenage contests and many tangents, exploring many facets of the Constitution. 

Soon, though, the teenage pretense is dropped, and the legionnaire is revealed to be Mike, a kindly gay man who is there to provide positive energy as the play covers many of Shreck's experiences and how rulings based on the Constitution impacted her, those in her family, and even strangers. 

Wilke, as Heidi, is engaging, empathetic, intelligent, and fun to watch.  She has a genuine warmth and connection to the audience and a vein of silliness that keeps everything from feeling too heavy. It helps even when things delve into how this document and justices have interpreted it, leading it to be used more often for justice for some instead of all.

Directed by Shana Wride, the play has a good pace and seamlessly transitions from comedy to tragedy and back again with intelligence.  It allows this play structure to feel like a conversation between those on stage and the audience.  At the performance I attended, the women next to me leaned forward during the show, actively engaged, and stayed that way throughout. 

Who does the Constitution protect?  Well, in the beginning, it is clear that if you are a white, property-owning male, congratulations, you're covered.  Everyone else is not mentioned, and for hundreds of years, the rest of us have been fighting to change the misogynistic constitutional system.  The piece is smart and reminds us that politics is personal, so we all are vested in how it is applied.

The show does not pull any punches as it talks about the political theatre that happens when laws are debated. One example is the Supreme Court recording listening to the justices debating the word “shall”  on the case Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales is used to illustrate the Constitution's failure to protect women. It also explores the “epidemic of violence” against women, providing statics about women who are murdered by their partners, assaulted, and live in violent households. This is underscored by the personal stories about Shreck’s family members, going back four generations,  including her grandmother Betty, who was a victim of domestic violence.

Even with all of this in the show, between Wride's direction and Wilke’s charming performance, it never feels like a lecture or overly heavy. Instead, it encourages you to consider equality, equity, and justice. What is fair? How did this document, which was revolutionary at its time of creation, become oppressive?

These points are excellently debated at the end when Wilke and Oswald are joined on stage by a high school actor playing the opposite debater in this contest, and they engage in the debate.  Em Danque and Genevieve Tai play the debaters.

The set design by Marty Burnett creates a realistic feeling of an American Legion hall (as a high school debater, I saw my fair share myself), with lighting by Matthew Novotny and sound by Evan Eason, making sure the recordings come through loud and clear.  The costumes by Elisa Benzoni all make it feel true to life.

“What the Constitution Means To Me” was relevant when it debuted in 2018 and feels even more so now. It asks the audience to engage and sparks further conversation and debate while being a charming and sharp example of how art can be creatively and critically challenging about a document that impacts everyone daily.

How To Get Tickets

“What The Constitution Means To Me” plays at the North Coast Repertory Theatre through March 30th.  For ticket and showtime information, go to www.northcoastrep.org 

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