A Raw Reminder of How Far We Still Have to Go
ZACH Theatre’s staging of What the Constitution Means to Me (April 16–May 11, 2025) is not simply a performance — it’s a mirror held up to America’s unfinished business. Written by Heidi Schreck and directed with emotional precision by Jenny Lavery, this Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony®-nominated play dares to tackle the contradictions, failings, and potential of the document that governs our lives — and often ignores our humanity.
At the center of this true story is Heidi, portrayed by Nisi Sturgis, who at 15 traveled the country winning debate competitions about the U.S. Constitution to earn money for college. As an adult, she revisits her teenage passion, but through a new lens — one shaped by the lived experiences of four generations of women in her family. Domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual assault, and abortion rights are not abstract issues — they are visceral, intergenerational truths, pains, and traumas that need to be healed.
What moved me most was not just the storytelling — though it’s gutting — but the structural genius of this play. It invites a live debate between Heidi and a real student debater, alternating between Samari Davis and Vanessa Hoang Hughes. The audience votes each night on whether we should abolish or preserve the U.S. Constitution.
This interactive element alone is reason to attend. It’s where the play breathes fire.
But as I sat in the audience, I found myself wanting more. More debate. More clash. More space given to the abolitionist perspective — which, in today’s America, may actually represent the path forward. The young teenager’s voice was electric — fresh, radical, and reflective of the kaleidoscopic world we now live in. It stood in stark contrast to the dominant, dated perspectives still clinging to power: CIS-gender, aging white men who legislate over bodies that aren’t theirs.
So much of the show pointed to the hard fact that women still do not have rights over their bodies. Women of color are still treated as chattel, as second-class citizens — or worse.
Handing out pocket Constitutions to the audience was a powerful touch. But as I flipped through mine, I was overwhelmed by the gaping silences in that document. It has never protected women equally. In fact, over 30 U.S. states still lack basic legal protections for victims of domestic violence. These are not historical issues — they are urgent, present, and brutal.
The play reminds us that Sandra Day O’Connor didn’t reach the Supreme Court until 1981. It reminds us of how child labor was legal just 150 years ago. It reminds us of how far behind we are when compared to European nations that have enshrined gender equality in their updated constitutional laws. America still hasn’t passed the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment).
I cried. Truly. I didn’t expect to — but I did. The show is a sad and searing reminder of how backward this country remains in terms of women’s and minority rights.
Heidi’s personal stories — of trauma, strength, survival — are what give this play its heart. But its greatest power may lie in what it inspires us to do next. To speak up. To vote. To challenge legal frameworks that no longer serve us. And to imagine, maybe for the first time, what a truly equitable Constitution could look like.
The cast included:
- Heidi – Nisi Sturgis
- Legionnaire/Jeff – Jeff Mills
- Student Debater (alternating) – Samari Davis, Vanessa Hoang Hughes
- Understudies – Liz Beckham, Daniel Winkler
The show is directed by Jenny Lavery, with scenic design by Michael Hoover, costumes by Jenny Hanna Chambers, lighting by S. Elliott, sound by Allen Robertson, props by Brady Flock and stage management by Brennah Galvin (AEA), Gloria Labutut Davies and Ella Jackson.
ZACH Theatre, The Topfer | 202 S. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX
April 16 – May 11, 2025
Tickets start at $25 — visit zachtheatre.org
Call 512-476-0541 x1