Musical theater star Kelley Dorney captivates without singing a note in What The Constitution Means To Me, Heidi Schreck’s initially entertaining but ultimately long-winded lecture on the U.S. Constitution’s failure to protect the rights of women, people of color, immigrants, Native Americans, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Taking over for Schreck (who received a Tony nomination for playing herself on Broadway), Dorney’s Heidi first escorts us on a journey down memory lane, to a time when her fifteen-year-old self competed in a series of debate competitions on the topic of What The Constitution Means To Me.

Dorney is an absolute delight as young Heidi defends her thesis that the Constitution is a crucible (i.e., “a boiling pot in which we are thrown together in sizzling and steamy conflict to find out what we truly believe.”)

And things get even more delightful when Heidi enters the extemporaneous part of the contest, one requiring her to speak off the top of her head about one of six constitutional amendments picked out of a hat, and when her choice turns out to be the Fourteenth, Heidi provides a fascinating look at just whose rights aren’t protected by it, to wit, anyone not a property-owning cisgender white male.

 I remained on board with Heidi, now returned to her 40something self, when she recounted her experiences as a pregnant 21-year-old in need of a legal abortion, though my interest was about to wane.

Horrendous as was the abuse suffered by both Schreck’s mother and her grandmother at the hands of her brutal, misogynist grandfather, the legacy of Shreck’s great-great-grandmother, a German mail-order bride committed to a mental institution for “melancholia” while still in her 30s, made even that suffering pale by comparison.

And it’s about at this point that What The Constitution Means To Me lost me with its continuing litany of injustices, despite caryn desai’s impeccable direction, Dorney’s confident, commanding performance in a role unlike any other she has played, and the charming featured turns delivered by Tom Trudgeon as the debate moderator (and a middle-aged gay man who expounds at length on his own travails) and Sheila Correa as the high school student who joins Dorney (now playing herself) in an eleventh-hour debate over whether or not the Constitution should be replaced by a brand new one written to reflect “positive rights.”

Production design elements—Tim Mueller’s set, Donny Jackson’s lighting, Kimberly DeShazo’s lighting, David Mickey’s sound, Patty and Gordon Briles’ properties, and Anthony Gagliardi’s hair—are all topnotch.

What The Constitution Means To Me is produced by desai. John H. Freeland, Jr. is production stage manager and Miranda Vazquez is assistant stage manager. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA, and Richie Ferris, CSA. Lucy Pollak is publicist.

I realize in writing this review that mine is a minority opinion. (Indeed, I can’t find a single negative published critique of any of the multiple productions What The Constitution Means To Me has received since its off-Broadway debut.) And a part of me feels as if I should add my voice to theirs simply because it’s what one is expected to do where a play about women’s and minority rights is concerned, particularly in an election year.

Unfortunately though, despite its engaging start and terrific performances, What The Constitution Means To Me felt to this reviewer like a lot of well-intentioned preaching to the choir.

International City Theatre, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach.
www.InternationalCityTheatre.org

–Steven Stanley
May 12, 2024
Photos: Kayte Deioma

Tags: Heidi Schreck, International City Theatre, Los Angeles Theater Review