What the Constitution Means to Me to Launch National Tour

Heidi Schreck's Tony-nominated play What the Constitution Means to Me has announced that it will embark on a national tour in January 2020, beginning at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and playing 40 weeks in 22 cities including Charlotte, North Carolina; Hartford, Connecticut; Philadelphia; and Pittsburgh, with more to be announced. All venues, dates, and casting for the national tour will be announced at a later date.

The national tour will mark the first time the play will be presented with a new performer in the leading role. With casting already underway, Schreck and director Oliver Butler will work closely to interpolate new cast members in a way that matches the play's blend of the personal and the universal.

"When I set out to adapt my personal history with the Constitution into a play, I could never have anticipated how widely it would resonate with audiences," Schreck said in a statement. "I've been deeply moved by the stories audience members have shared with me in reaction to the play, so it's an honor to have the opportunity to share the piece with audiences nationwide. I'm especially excited to work with Oliver to invite a new performer into the leading role, which open up its perspective further and allow it to remain a vital, living piece of theater."

What the Constitution Means to Me is described as follows: "Fifteen-year-old Heidi Schreck earned her college tuition money by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In her boundary-breaking new play, the Obie Award winner resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women in her own family and the founding document that dictated their rights and citizenship."

The cast of What the Constitution Means to Me includes Schreck, Mike Iveson (Gatz), and New York City high school students Rosdely Ciprian and Thursday Williams, all in their Broadway debuts. Ben Beckley understudies Iveson.

What the Constitution Means to Me was commissioned by True Love Productions and had its off-Broadway premiere in New York City at New York Theatre Workshop last fall. The production extended twice before NYTW transferred the production to the Greenwich House Theater. Now playing through August 24 at the Helen Hayes Theater on Broadway, it recently received two Tony Award nominations, for Best Play and Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Play.