Theatre News Wire

TimeLine Theatre Company announced that it is extending its 2022-2023 season with a fourth production-the first Chicago-based production of What the Constitution Means to Me by Heidi Schreck, directed by Helen Young, running May 10 - June 24, 2023.

Heidi, a fifteen-year-old, won her college tuition by debating on the Constitution across the United States. In this play that is both funny and hopeful, she brings back her teenage self in order to explore the lives of four generations of women that are affected by the founding document. Even though it has its benefits, Heidi still struggles to understand how this document shapes their lives.

"What the Constitution Means to Me" is a play that was very popular when it premiered in 2018 at New York Theatre Workshop. The play then went on to have a five-month run on Broadway with Schreck in the leading role. The play was so successful that it received Tony Award nominations for Best Play and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play. After the success of the Broadway production, a national tour was launched in 2020 but had to be paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour resumed in 2021 with Schreck still performing the leading role. The play has also been filmed and is available on Amazon Prime Video.

"TimeLine is thrilled to add Heidi Shreck's profoundly moving play to our 26th season," said Artistic Director PJ Powers. "We first encountered this script in 2018, amidst a national debate spurred by the Brett Kavanaugh hearings for the Supreme Court, and it was immediately clear that this wholly original piece of theatre was an ideal fit for TimeLine's mission. While its resonance was palpable when it first premiered, its impact has only grown since then. Delving into the past through stories that are both personal and political, Heidi examines the flaws and fragility of our country's founding document and shines a light on the ways in which the quest to form a more perfect union remains a work in progress, beset by steps forward and back."

"When I first encountered What the Constitution Means to Me, I was struck by how the play got me to realize I indeed have feelings about the Constitution (and our democratic process)!" said director Helen Young, who most recently directed the acclaimed Chicago premiere of Lloyd Suh's The Chinese Lady at TimeLine. "It energized me to want to talk to others who saw the play and debate about its topics, especially if others had differing interpretations. It reminded me that discourse, which includes listening, is an essential obligation of our democracy, and that the contents and interpretation of these living documents are woven into our everyday living, whether we realize it or not."