Theatres United

Hangar and Kitchen Collaborate to Ratify “Constitution”

By Barbara Adams

If “What the Constitution Means to Me” sounds like a high school debate title, well, that’s exactly what it was for Heidi Schreck. In her teens, she traveled the Midwest speaking on the topic at American Legion halls and earning enough prize money to pay for college. (At a state school, she confides.) Schreck’s personal experiences inspired her 2019 play of that name, nominated for two Tony awards, in which she originally also performed the lead role. Here it opens the summer theatre season for The Kitchen and the Hangar theatres simultaneously. For the first time ever, the two companies are collaborating on a production: the show continues this week at The Kitchen and then moves for two more weeks to the Hangar.

Under the smooth direction of Shirley Serotsky, the Hangar’s producting artistic director, Heidi’s story comes alive — in all its layers. There’s Heidi (Erica Steinhagen) telling us she’s going to revert to her 15-year-old self, which she does, then matures to her 40s, until eventually she drops that persona and becomes Erica, all the while raising questions

“What the Constitution Means to Me,”

by Heidi Schreck, directed by Shirley Serotsky. With Erica Steinhagen and Karl Gregory and rotating high school debaters.

Kitchen Theatre, 417 W. State St., Ithaca.

Evenings June 7-10, with 2 p.m. matinees June 10-11. For tickets: kitchentheatre.org/tickets or (607) 272-0570.

Hangar Theatre, June 15-18, 20-24, 7:30 p.m., with 2:30 matinees June 16, 17, 24.

Tickets: https://hangartheatre.easy-ware-ticketing.com/ events.

about the limits and relevance of the Constitution. Heidi reflects and reexamines her past beliefs; she lectures and challenges, cites historical interpretations and chilling specifics, shares her own doubts. Sometimes she even invites participation, such as asking the audience to pretend that they’re all landowning white men — as the framers of the original constitution were.

Young Heidi, eager to disprove her opponent’s notion of the Constitution as a “patchwork quilt” (and admittedly being obsessed with the Salem witch trials) enthusiastically advances her own theory of it as a “crucible” where magic happens. Middleaged Heidi looks back on this naiveté indulgently yet insists on the personal connection implied by the topic’s title. As a woman and feminist, she recognizes her exclusion from the Constitution and explores in detail the compromised and often endangered lives of her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her personal experience is inevitably political.

Heidi’s internal debate continues: this cherished document intended to guarantee freedom, democracy, and equality disregards or disadvantages not only women but people of color, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ individuals.

Steinhagen’s astonishing delivery of this extended near-monologue is persuasive and nuanced, capturing Heidi’s occasional uncertainty and reservations. Her entire exploration unrolls in a plain American Legion hall (designed by Kent Goetz and lit by Joey Moro), the rear wall of which is covered with dozens of black and white photographs of men in uniform.

At a table to the side sits the veteran chairing the competition and ostensibly timing her speech; that’s Karl Gregory in a legionnaire cap and jacket (Iris Estelle, costumes) appearing different than you’ve ever seen him. (These two actors have paired splendidly so many times before, and it’s a treat to see them carry this show.)

Gregory gets to assume another role eventually, that of Mark, a gay man who relates some of his own responses to his constitutional rights or lack thereof. The theatrical narrative morphs again when the show culminates in an actual debate: Erica and a local student

(different each performance; on opening night, a wonderful Phoebe Schlather) draw lots to see who defends the Constitution and who recommends abolishing it. Though their timed and formal debate is probably scripted, it feels fresh and spontaneous.

Along with the evening’s program, theatregoers receive a pocket-sized copy of the Constitution, and the educational intent, as with the play itself, is clear: We need to review and rethink what we believe and not fail to investigate better ways of arriving at the greater good.

When this play first emerged, the Brett Kavenaugh Supreme Court controversy was still very much on the public’s mind. Today we’re thinking about the Court’s rollback of abortion and other rights, so the questions that Heidi Schrek’s stimulating work raises are, alas, perennially relevant. Exploring them in this theatrical experience is both communal and constructive.

Two related talks are free and open to the public:

Friday, June 9, 7 p�m�, there’s a pre-show talk, “Whose Constitution is it Anyway?” with Ezra Ishmael Young, visiting professor, Cornell Law School.

Saturday, June 10, 8 p�m�, there’s a postshow discussion with Chantal Tomas, Cornell Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Radice Family Professor of Law.