WE, THE THEATRE, IN ORDER
TO FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION
Heidi Schreck wrote this mostly-autobiographical play and starred in it when it played on Broadway, where it was Tony-nominated for Best Play in 2017. So when Heidi broke the fourth wall at the beginning by saying, “Hi everyone! I’m Heidi!” she meant it. So when the star of this mostly one-woman show, Jacque Wilke, says the same line at North Coast Rep with her big, broad smile, we know it’s not the case. But it does set us up for understanding what we’re seeing: Ms. Wilke sharing Ms. Schreck’s perspective. The vivacious enthusiasm we receive may be Jacque’s style (under Shana Wride’s direction) or an impression of Heidi’s style or perhaps both. Whichever the case, her bubbliness quickly makes it clear that this is not going to be a dreary, lecture-hall-style take on constitutional law.
Jacque Wilke
Almost the entire show is her monologue directly to us, occasionally even interacting with people near the front. Heidi explains that she was not only obsessed with the constitution as a teenager, but that she competed in contests speaking on the topic, primarily American Legion halls. Her stated goal was to put away prize money for college, but we quickly get that Heidi loved the limelight, the topic, and the competition as much as the rewards.
Jacque Wilke
She steps in and out of 15-year-old Heidi and modern Heidi as we see her in debate mode and commenting on both the experience and her 30-year-later take of some of what she said. Heidi isn’t just passingly and generically being a “Rah-Rah-America!” She has dissected, researched, and interpreted this document like a scholar. There are parts that thrill her, especially in the context of how and why they were created. There are parts that hurt her, knowing that amendments were sometimes added for unsavory reasons or with opportunity to do better, but falling short. She has strong feelings about the fact that the word “men” is used repeatedly, but “women” never once. Through young Heidi’s debate and older Heidi’s asides, we gain tremendous insight into the Constitution’s creation, modifications, and even the failed attempts to be updated.
Andrew Oswald
Schreck loves the fact that the constitution isn’t locked into the writings of 1787 but rather lives and breathes as every generation has taken their perspectives to it with the twenty-seven amendments. When the debates were tough for the teen, it was due to the Legion Hall pushing her to personalize the material because her painful family history ties in closely to the limitations of the document. We continually get peeks into how patriarchal law led to unstoppable physical abuse of her mother and her grandmother. We also get pulled into the story of her great-great-grandmother who was eventually confined to a mental hospital where she died at age 36 of “melancholia.” Heidi’s fascinating look at American law and culture help us to see how it’s no coincidence that this came to pass.
Andrew Oswald
The play takes a sudden turn about two-thirds of the way in when Ms. Wilke breaks character for the rest of the play, introducing herself as an actress and talking a bit about her perspective on the material. Then the ride really shifts gear as she introduces a teenager (alternately Genevieve Tai or Em Danque) who currently debates about the Constitution (they’re actresses, but the ruse is fun). The two then proceed to do a full competition style debate. The topic is whether or not the US Constitution, for all its flaws, should be overhauled and rewritten. Think the answer is obvious? Watch yourself get swayed back and forth by these two.
Genevieve Tai
Em Danque
A coin toss determines which perspective each will be arguing. I assumed the unseen coin was another stunt to make the lines look real, but an insider at NCR tells me that the random flip is real and the actresses are each prepared to argue either side. Having enjoyed the debate in each voice, I could sit through it all a second time just to hear Genevieve and Jacque each take the opposing point. The highly-scripted debate is “moderated” by Andrew Oswald who, delightfully, also plays a humorless veteran calling out debate commands to Heidi in the show’s first half.
Genevieve Tai & Jacque Wilke
The very ending of the play left me scratching my head a bit. There’s no plot to spoil here, so I can say that in the final moments, Jacque and Genevieve answer a few random questions from a jar so that we get to know them each a bit better. Perhaps the intention is to show the humanity behind the two whom we’ve seen be so singularly focused on the Constitutional topic; perhaps it was something from the original play where getting to know Heidi better made a difference – either way, it didn’t add a lot to something that was already quite powerful and introspective.
Genevieve Tai, Jacque Wilke, Andrew Oswald & Em Danque
Don’t expect to see this show at the Kennedy Center any time this year; both Heidi and Jacque have strong feelings about what’s happening in the world and the nature of Jacque’s permission to self-express in the latter third allows this program to grow with the times and talk about 2025 politics. She may not actually be Heidi, but if the two aren’t kindred spirits, then Ms. Wilke is even a better actress than I already know her to be.
Edu-tainment is a tricky business, but the pairing of Schreck’s writing and Wilke’s delivery still has me contemplating this show days later, which is a good sign that they’ve got something good on their hands – as does North Coast Rep.
photos by Aaron Rumley
What the Constitution Means to Me
North Coast Repertory Theatre
987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive in Solana Beach
Wed at 2 and 7; Thurs at 7; Fri & Sat at 8; Sun at 2 & 7:30
ends on March 23, 2025
for tickets, call 858.481-1055 or visit North Coast Rep
