LAFPI

International City Theatre revives Heidi Schreck’s
hilarious, hopeful ‘What the Constitution Means to Me’

LONG BEACH, Calif. (March 19, 2024) — What if we were in charge of creating America today? What kind of future do we want for ourselves? International City Theatre artistic director caryn desai [sic] directs a new production of What the Constitution Means to Me, the hilarious, witty and refreshingly honest play by Heidi Schreck that garnered Obie and New York Drama Critics’ Circle awards for best new American play and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. The limited, three-week engagement takes place May 3 through May 19 at ICT’s home in the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, with two low-priced previews on May 1 and May 2.

Inspired by her experiences at age 15 when she traveled the country entering Constitutional debate competitions to earn scholarship money for college, Schreck’s funny, hopeful and achingly human play digs deep into the document’s beauty and contradictions. Actor Kelley Dorney (last seen at ICT in The Andrews Brothers) resurrects Schreck’s teenage and present self to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women in her family and the founding document that shaped their lives. Joining Dorney onstage are Tom Trudgeon (ICT’s The Legend of Georgia McBride) and Sheila Correa (Long Beach Shakespeare Company’s Love’s Labor’s Lost).

“Though the show is designed to feel spontaneous, it’s very carefully constructed and hasn’t really changed much, because everything that’s happening right now is a result of decisions that were made 400 years ago,” Schreck said in an interview with TIME magazine. “The big reckonings we’re having in terms of race and the original crimes of slavery; of women’s bodies and the law; of the co-equal branches of government and whether those are functioning well right now—these are all current, topical issues, but they were all set into motion so long ago.”

“This wonderfully entertaining play offers a fresh perspective and challenges us to reexamine our core values, which is more important than ever in this election year,” says desai.

The creative team for What the Constitution Means to Me includes set designer Tim Mueller, lighting designer Donny Jackson, costume designer Kim DeShazo, sound designer Dave Mickey and prop designer Patty Briles. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA and Richie Ferris, CSA.

What the Constitution Means to Me runs May 3 through May 19 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Two preview performances take place on Wednesday, May 1 and Thursday, May 2 both at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $49 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (except May 3, opening night, for which tickets are $55 and include a post show reception), and $52 at Sunday matinees. Low-priced tickets to previews are $37.

International City Theatre is located in Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center’s Beverly O’Neill Theater at 330 East Seaside Way, Long Beach, CA 90802.For more information and to purchase tickets, call (562) 436-4610 or go to InternationalCityTheatre.org.