BWW Interviews: Director Molly Smith Discusses World Premiere of Scalia Drama THE ORIGINALIST at Arena Stage

Some call him an American original. Others celebrate his rapier wit. But he is best known as one of the most polarizing figures in the United States.

The subject is Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Antonin Scalia, currently the longest serving member on the Court. He was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. Since that time, Scalia has taken his place as one of the country's most prominent legal minds, famous for his often scathing dissenting opinions.

Another of Scalia's hallmarks is his strict - some might say rabid - adherence to the original intent of the U.S. Constitution. The foundation of our government is not a living or changeable document by Scalia's interpretation. He is an originalist.

Washington-based playwright John Strand (LOVERS AND EXECUTIONERS) has placed Justice Scalia center stage in his new, politically charged play, THE ORIGINALIST premiering at the Arena Stage. Directed by Arena's artistic director Molly Smith and starring four-time Helen Hayes Award winner Edward Gero (RED) as Justice Scalia, THE ORIGINALIST focuses on the behind the scenes battles between Scalia and a liberal, Harvard Law School graduate who begins to clerk for the justice. Cat - played by Kerry Warren - and Scalia spar with each other just as the Supreme Court considers one of the most controversial cases of recent years, United States v. Windsor - the landmark civil rights case placing the rights of same-sex couples in the national spotlight.

Just before THE ORIGINALIST began preview performances in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle at Arena

Stage, Molly Smith spoke to Broadway World-DC about this new work, theatre and politics, and Justice Scalia. Smith is no stranger to political subject matter having directed CAMP DAVID and MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN at Arena Stage, as well as THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN at Arena and on Broadway last season.

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JEFFREY WALKER: I have to ask you right off the bat - have you invited Justice Scalia to see the play?

MOLLY SMITH: Absolutely, he has been invited. We don't know if he will come or not.

Could another title for this play be "The Dissenter" or "The Most Conservative Justice We Ever Had"?

I love the title, THE ORIGINALIST, because it immediately calls into question what an originalist is and what does that mean. And I think from what audiences hear about Justice Scalia they will have questions because many people don't know about his focus on reading the Constitution in such a direct and exact way.

That's really been the cornerstone of his time on the bench.

Yes, it has been, reading the Constitution exactly as it was written. He believes in the same way notes are the only notes of a piece of classical music, it's exactly the same way with the Constitution. He does not believe in a living, breathing, changing Constitution. Fashion changes, society changes but the Constitution is the same as a monument: it stands. So one has to understand what America was a few hundred years ago to be able to interpret it properly from his point of view.

How do we see him in the play?

The story is about the relationship between the Justice Scalia and a young woman, who is a law clerk and a liberal, who completely believes the Constitution is a living, breathing entity that needs to be interpreted for each generation.

Which sets up a classic dramatic conflict right from the beginning of the story?

Yes, exactly.

How theatrical is Justice Scalia?

He is the most polarizing member of the Supreme Court. Everybody has an opinion about him, whether they agree with his perspective or disagree with it. He is a galvanizing figure: he is on the extreme right and his focus on the Constitution is absolutely exact and, for many people, is completely misguided.

I think what's wonderful about Justice Scalia - even though he is focused in this way as a jurist - as a human being, he is gregarious, funny, absolutely charming and ebullient. You have these two sides to his personality and when you have a big personality like this, that's a wonderful character to have on stage.

What other political themes are explored through the play?

The play really talks about the need to find a middle ground. We're in a world right now in this country where it's about the extreme right and the extreme left. We have lost the ability to come into the middle to have a conversation and make change through that. John Strand, the playwright, that's what he's really interested in investigating.

How did THE ORIGINALIST come to Arena Stage?

John Strand, who is a DC writer and a resident writer in our program here at Arena, came in about a year and a half ago and began talking to me about the idea of writing a play about Justice Scalia with Ed Gero in the lead role. The hair on the back of my neck went up. When that happens , I always know it's a great idea for a play.

Aside from the idea of this play and Ed Gero starring as Scalia, Arena does not shy away from political subject matter.

I think that theatre and politics are enormously dynamic bedfellows and we are in a city that lives, eats and breathes politics. I love this city for that reason. And so for Arena Stage to be commissioning or producing new work that is about politics, that is exactly in our mission of American plays, American voices and American artists. This is a perfect city to be premiering a new play about Justice Scalia. And the level of interest in the play around the country really points to that. I think it's a play that could be done in many cities in the United States, not just Washington, DC. I think in the last ten or fifteen years the public has become more and more engaged in the political process because there is so much that is broken and stratified about the way in which laws are made and the ways in which laws are interpreted. So our audiences are really interested in the political process and trying to figure out a way to fix it.

How do you hope THE ORIGINALIST will connect audiences or has the connection already begun?

I think it is engaging audiences already. There is an enormous amount of curiosity about what John's play focuses on. I think it's rare that a play is created from a conservative point of view and I think John Strand is able to represent the conservative and the liberal point of view. I think it just makes for exciting theatre.

You mentioned how Mr. Strand thought of Ed Gero from the beginning playing the leading role. Aside from being an acting teacher and one of our most esteemed actors, Ed also bears a resemblance to Scalia. Was that a happy coincidence?

It's unbelievable. As a matter of fact, Justice Scalia and Ed Gero discovered that sides of their families lived within a 30 mile radius of each other back in Italy. Both of them are Italian-American; both are great storytellers; both, very steeped in family; and both are Roman Catholic. Clearly, there are a number of similarities. Ed is a great actor and he comes to this material steeped in his own family's culture and history.

As a director, what was your vision for bringing this production to the stage?

I am a dramaturgical director, so I've been working with John from the beginning on his play, asking questions, talking about potential changes to the play. Of course John is a superb dramatist and it's always important in working with new plays to have that other eye and that other perspective. We had a great collaboration.

What do you think may surprise audiences when they see this new play?

Artists clarify moments and clarify situations. And I think John's play is very much about this moment in time. It was actually written more from the perspective of two years ago. But because it is about the Windsor case and same-sex marriage - about a third of the play is about that - I think that audiences will feel themselves shifting back and forth in terms of their thinking.

Which is part of the power of good theatre.

That's exactly right, that's what happens when we get in the same room together.

What can audiences expect when they see the performance?

One of the important things to me was this play being done in the Kogod Cradle and I wanted it to be in a three-quarter thrust. The audiences are on three sides of the play like a boxing match. So we are always able to see audience. They are right there with the actors and are able to respond to the actors in terms of the fight that is going on between the two of them, the understanding that comes, the energy that happens between them - and the audience gets to be a part of that.

No one has ever seen the Kogod Cradle in this three-quarter configuration, in the thrust, and it works beautifully on a big raised platform that juts out into the audience. They are right there in the palm of your hand.

Anything else about THE ORIGINALIST you would like to share?

I think the biggest thing is to come with an open mind and prepare to be surprised.

~ Previews for THE ORIGINALIST began March 6. Performances continue through April 26 and some performances are sold out. For more in depth information about Associate Justice Scalia, click HERE

Follow Jeffrey Walker on Twitter at @jeffwalker66

THE ORIGINALIST by John Strand

Directed by Molly Smith

With Ed Gero, Kerry Warren, and Harlan Work

Presented in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle

March 6 - April 26, 2015

For tickets, click HERE or contact the Arena Stage box office 202-488-3300

Photo Credits: Production and Molly Smith: Tony Powell/Arena Stage

Justice Scalia: The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law

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