The Rep’s “What the Constitution Means to Me”

Shines an Intimate Light on Humanity

     by Pat Lindsey

Don’t let the title of this play scare you away. “What the Constitution Means to Me” is filled with humor, humanity, and history told by a superior story-teller.

Playwright and career lawyer Heidi Schreck has reached back into her memory to reveal her experiences as a 15 year-old debating the U.S. Constitution for an American Legion scholarship in the small town of Wenatchee, Washington. She reveals the most intimate details about her family and herself while giving the audience a deeper understanding of the living, breathing document that steers our lives.

The set is an interior room in an American Legion hall. As the show begins, a Legionnaire (Joel Moses) walks onto the stage to prepare for the debate between two teenage girls. The first contestant then walks out and announces that she is Heidi (the playwright). She then tells everyone in the audience to pretend to be older white men, because that’s who the founding fathers were.

After that, Heidi, masterfully played by St.Louisan Michelle Hand, throws her entire self into revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the Constitution, especially as they apply to women. (Did you know the word “woman” is not mentioned in the Constitution once?) With a comical, light-hearted touch, she makes the audience laugh out loud while explaining the sad truth about some of the amendments. Without realizing it, everyone receives an excellent overview of how the Constitution has failed women, minorities, and indigenous people for decades. Actual recordings of Supreme Court hearings and discussions between lawmakers are added for authenticity.

This show, directed by Nancy Bell, has three parts to it—Heidi’s debate that paid for her college education at the University of Oregon; a story of Heidi’s young adult life and true stories about her family; and a live debate between Heidi and 16 year-old Riley Carter Adams, a student at Nerinx Hall, about whether we should keep the current Constitution or write a new one. As Michelle Hand takes us on this journey, Heidi Schreck’s experiences with teenage lust, abortion, her mother’s trauma resulting from rape and incest, and her grandmother’s ordeals with spousal abuse are revealed. What began as a civics lesson evolves into an emotional situation that invites everyone to examine how the Constitution affects them personally.

After Riley Carter Adams debates Michelle Hand, I felt a renewed hope for the future. What an accomplished teenager! Her poise, intelligence, and acting ability are incredible. And Michelle Hand mesmerized me with the amount energetic, heartfelt dialogue she had to deliver. Both actresses and Legionnaire Joel Moses made this production relevant to our lives today, especially since the midterm elections are just days away and the divisiveness of our country makes the process so unpredictable.

“What the Constitution Means to Me” earned for Heidi Schreck the title of finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It’s smart and engaging. Most of all, it encourages each of us to think about what has happened in the past 250 years and what changes are necessary to keep our democracy intact. Perhaps the future changes to the Constitution will have input from women.

“What the Constitution Means to Me” is being performed now through Nov. 15 in the intimate Emerson Studio Theatre. It is the opening show of the Steve Woolf Studio Series. Running time is approximately 100 minutes without an intermission. For tickets, call the box office at 314-968-4925 or

visit it in person Wed.-Fri. 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. (or two hours before each scheduled performance) or by going to www.repstl.org.

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