The reviews are coming in for the filmed version of Heidi Schreck’s What the Constitution Means to Me, streaming October 16 on Amazon’s Prime Video. Marielle Heller helmed the screen capture of the Oliver Butler-directed production, filmed at the Helen Hayes Theater on Broadway in 2019.
Joining Schreck on stage are Mike Iveson and New York City high school students Rosdely Ciprian and Thursday Williams; the latter two alternated in joining Schreck for an onstage debate surrounding the future of the Constitution, with both performances featured in the film.
During its run, the play scored two Tony nominations (Best Play and Best Leading Actress in a Play for Schreck) and was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Read the reviews below.
New York Stage Review (Steven Suskin)
RogerEbert.com (Allison Shoemaker)
Playbill will continue to update this article as reviews come in.
The play, having first premiered in 2017, sheds light on topics that remain in the spotlight, including the Supreme Court's role in women's reproductive rights. In it,, Schreck resurrects her teenage self—when she put herself through college by giving speeches about the U.S. Constitution—to trace the effects of the founding document on generations of women.
Schreck and Heller (thoroughly her newly launched Defiant By Nature) executive produce, alongside Robin Schwartz, Kyle Laursen, Peter Saraf, and Marc Turtletaub. Independent production company Big Beach and producers of the Broadway production—Diana DiMenna, Aaron Glick, and Matt Ross—also join for the filmed version.
