Celebrating America’s Birthday - "What the Constitution Means to Me"

We had a pleasurable 4th of July weekend with a visit from our nephew, Dan, and his family. Fireworks thundered all along the Strip and elsewhere in town; booms, snaps, crackles, and pops could be heard for hours. The night sky was alive, bursting with vibrant, dazzling colors and deafening sound. Random firecrackers shattered the usual evening quiet in our neighborhood. It was definitely an explosive evening.

Last Friday night, however, was spent celebrating in a different way. We attended a free presentation of What the Constitution Means To Me, “a semi-autobiographical play by Heidi Schreck that explores the personal and societal impact of the U.S. Constitution through the lens of four generations of women in her family.” The off-Broadway production received an Obie Award, two Tony nominations, and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama in 2019. The one-act, nearly 2-hour-long play was a production of the Las Vegas-based A Public Fit Theatre Company. A Public Fit is “recognized for its theatrical and often politically charged plays”. This play definitely fit the bill.

David’s sister, Mary, and her almost 15-year-old granddaughter (and our niece), Isabella, joined us at the Clark County Library Performing Arts Center for the thought-provoking, sometimes funny, sometimes exasperating, sometimes enraging, many times critical, sometimes hopeful presentation.

The play addresses contentious themes such as women’s rights including abortion, immigration and domestic abuse throughout US history through the eyes and voices of 40+ middle-aged woman Heidi and Heidi’s 15-year-old self, a high school Constitutional debater who earned her college tuition by winning prizes for her debate performances. Recounting content of old debate speeches, anecdotes and stories of generations of women in her family, Heidi demonstrates how the Constitution directly affected her family’s matriarchs.

The setting is an American Legion hall in Wenatchee, Washington, where Heidi is competing in a Constitutional debate. There are no scene or set changes other than what we see in the characters themselves. The transitions are all in the characters themselves.

There are only two actors. Betsy Norton, a local Las Vegas actress, plays both the 40-year-old and 15-year-old Heidi, and her transition from one to the other occurs when she dons a polyester yellow blazer for the debate and when she removes it to transition to adult Heidi. In a regional review by Talkin’ Broadway, Norton’s performance was praised as “riveting, with a natural command of the stage and engaging interaction with the audience.” David actually thought Norton actually was Heidi until she introduced herself at the end of the play.

Actor Brian David Sloan, as an aging vet, presides over the American Legion debate. Slouching and coughing, he enthusiastically supports Heidi as a contestant, but is a bit flustered when she introduces subjects with which he’s uncomfortable… like abortion, for instance.

A local 17-year-old debater, Adonia ‘Nick’ Marion-Brathwaite, participated in a mock debate with Heidi/Betsy arguing whether or not to abolish the current U.S. Constitution. This young woman exhibited amazing composure and a stage presence that was surprising. She’s not an actor; she was just her confident, composed self. At the end of the debate, one member of the audience was chosen to be the judge. Should our 250-year-old Constitution be retained or abolished? Based on the arguments presented by the debaters, the young white male judge thought it should be abolished.

We disagreed, but feel that modifications and updating are in order. We realize that modifying the Constitution is a tedious process - as it should be, but since the U.S. Constitution is considered ‘a living document’, it should reflect the changes in a dynamic, growing society. We believe it was designed by the Framers with the idea that it would adapt and evolve with changing societal values and circumstances, allowing it to remain relevant over time. We would argue that something new must be thoughtfully processed and ratified and in place before the current Constitution is abolished.

A personal revelation:

Did you realize that the word ‘woman’ is never used in the U.S. Constitution? Not even in the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The amendment states that no person shall be denied the right to vote because of sex. This point was brought out as a key point in the play and the subsequent debate. It bothered me.

So I delved into this a bit further and realized, after an AI query, that neither the word ’ man ’ nor ’ men’ was used in the original text of the Constitution, though the pronouns he/him are used. The word ‘male’ is used in the 14th Amendment Section 2. The Declaration of Independence uses ‘men’ (...all ‘men’ are created equal), but the Constitution begins ‘We, the People,’. Instead of men or man, the gender-neutral words ‘people’, ‘persons’, and ‘individuals’ are used, and I always took this to be inclusive of us all… men, women, children, black, white, native American, brown, Asian… every person. I like plays and books that make me think and consider. Do you? Just a thought to leave you with as America turns 250.