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A more perfect union? 'What the Constitution Means to Me' at BCT offers us some hope

Jessica Ires Morris stars in BCT's production of What the Constitution Means to Me
Jessica Ires Morris stars in BCT's production of What the Constitution Means to Me

“By starting to speak about it and then being moved emotionally, it is definitely relatable.”

Could there be a more perfect time to consider “a more perfect union?” Perhaps no. Or at least, perhaps not until the presidential election (this one will do for now).

When ‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ opened on Broadway in 2019, rave reviews called it a “brilliantly crafted show,” and an “uplifting coda,” before garnering two Tony nods, including Best Play of the Year and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Five years later, with a divided nation clinging to the Constitution, Boise Contemporary Theater has selected the comedy/drama to be its 100th production.

“We had a sense that we wanted to do it for this season,” said lead actress Jessica Ires Morris. “And our artistic director, Ben Burdick, very specifically, waited to produce it this year … right before the election.”

Morris visits with Morning Edition host George Prentice to talk about the production delivers a message of hope… and so much more.

Read the full transcript below:

GEORGE PRENTICE: It's Morning Edition. Good morning, I'm George Prentice. In 2019, a new play opened in New York: "What the Constitution Means to Me."  It was a bit of a sensation. Simply put, it was a hit, with most critics saying it was the perfect play for the perfect time. But those critics, nor did we, have any idea what 2024 would have in store for us. We may not yet be a more perfect union just yet, but this could well be a more perfect play. It may well be the best time to see this. Jessica Morris is here. Her work includes a variety of greatness at the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey. We also know her work on the series Criminal Minds and of course, in the fabulous production of Clarkston at Boise Contemporary Theater. And Jessica, how are you?

JESSICA IRES MORRIS: I'm doing well, George, I'm so happy to be here.

PRENTICE: Congratulations on this.

MORRIS: Thank you.

PRENTICE: You were telling me just before we began that BCT has been sitting on this play... kind of waiting and the timing...well, I can't imagine better timing. 

MORRIS: Yes. So we did a reading of it last season in our Five by Five series, where we just do music stands and scripts... And get to hear the play out loud, but we had a sense that we possibly wanted to do it this season. And the artistic director, Ben Burdick, very specifically, I think, waited to produce it until this slot this year right before the election.

PRENTICE: The echoes that came out of New York when it opened were significant. I was lucky enough to be in the Helen Hayes Theater, I think it was, in New York; and to see this, and it blew me away in its complexity. Quite frankly, it's so interesting. We are so anxious to wrap ourselves in the Constitution and defend the Constitution and say, "Don't touch my Constitution." And yet, I think a fair amount of Americans would be challenged to even quote some of the Constitution. So, can I ask what your relationship was with the Constitution? Does this part require some amount of a dive into the Constitution?

MORRIS: So, what's interesting in prep for this play is that three quarters of the play, as you know, are Heidi speaking. so much of the prep, quite honestly, is just line memorization and making sure you really understand what you're saying.

PRENTICE: This young this young girl, she was in her teens. and she would go to and win oratory competitions around the United States. And it helped put her through college. And it's kind of funny and interesting as she recalls those events, etc. but in the first act, as she is recounting some of these orations and some of these stories...but then there's this   deconstruction of what is the Constitution. And quite frankly, it's shackled to American history....and the subjugation of women.

MORRIS: Right. Yes. And so so you do have to do some research, mainly on the Ninth and 14th Amendments, which are kind of guideposts for the structure of the show. And I actually listened to a wonderful NPR podcast...three Seasons of More Perfect, which explores the history of the court in the United States, the Supreme Court. And the second season is completely dedicated to the amendments, which was very helpful for me because, I mean, how many of us can list even 3 or 4 of the amendments? I think even even those of us who are fairly well versed in politics... I actually spent every summer of my undergrad working in Congress in D.C. for my congresswoman, and I was on staff for a little while. So my crossover... I always loved American government. I gave speeches as part of my local Key Club. So I have a little bit of a sense of young Heidi in me as well, which is one of the reasons why I really wanted to do the show. But I am by no means a constitutional expert. I wouldn't want anybody to delve too deeply into the specifics of the concepts that she speaks to, but certainly it's a learning curve for all of us working on this show. And we've learned a ton.

PRENTICE: What do you tell a stranger on the street? What's the handle on this? What's the "elevator speech" on this play?

MORRIS: So, as you've already said, the play is about 15-year-old Heidi, who put herself through college by debating the Constitution in American Legion halls for prize money. So, you get to see a very intelligent, kind of quirky 15 year old take on what the Constitution means to her. And she describes herself in the show as being a zealot for the Constitution, which I love, because how many of us [might be like that], right? And then as she enters into her 40s, she starts to look at the history of her own family and starts to reexamine the way that she spoke about the document when she was 15, in this aspirational, all encompassing, positive way, and realizing that that's not exactly the full story of the Constitution or its interpretation throughout time. So, it's really a conversation between a 40 year old woman in the United States and her 15 year old self that I think both maintain some of the aspiration and hope that her 15 year old self had, but also tells the hard story of what has been disappointing about the way that women have been treated by their government here in the United States.

PRENTICE: And yet, I did find hope when I walked out of this play, because I was quickly reminded that, "We the people to form...to form a more perfect union..." in other words, we're not anywhere near there yet. That said, that's why we're here. Can I ask, have you had some feedback on this production?

MORRIS: We have. I mean, it's been overwhelmingly positive. It's a ride when you go in and I do think the thing that's it also as a piece of theater separate from subject matter. It plays with time and space in a way that I just think is so exciting. It puts you in the American Legion Hall, which is really fun. It allows you to see some of the debate, which is really fun. And the feedback generally has been, I think, very hopeful, overwhelmingly positive, and sometimes a little bit hard. Women especially will come up after the show and surprise themselves, I think, by starting to speak about it and then being moved emotionally. It is definitely relatable.

PRENTICE: And we are either on the edge of great change...  well, we're on the edge of something... in a matter of days, including the possibility of our first woman president, let alone the fact that reproductive rights and so much more are are right on the table.

MORRIS: And the show addresses all of that. And there's a moment in it that I love so much where she says that you have to imagine a woman running along a beach with a dog, and that if you watch the dog, it keeps going back and forth and back and forth. So, it looks like progress is constantly being undone. But if you watch the woman, she is moving forward and forward and forward. And then she says, "I hope." Which I think is kind of the stamp on the show. Generally, it's a prayer for all of our better nature to win out in the world. And for all of this aspirational belief that she had in this document from the beginning to come true, which I just love about the show so much.

PRENTICE: I'd be remiss if I did not mention that this is the 100th production of BCT, which is the premiere black box theater of our region... and you've been in a few productions at BCT. It's a pretty magical place.

MORRIS: I love it so much. I feel so lucky to be in Boise doing this kind of theater. You know, I cut my teeth on the classics, so I'm a Shakespeare nerd. I love doing all that work as well. But I'm so excited to be part of BCT right now because we're undergoing a capital campaign. So we're really hopeful that next year the theater is going to be gutted and it's going to be modular so that we can move the seats around for different kinds of plays, which would be quite fun. We're building a pub next door so that when you come to see "What the Constitution Means to Me" or something like it, and you have so many things that you want to talk about afterwards, there's a public space to go do that in post-show or pre-show. And I always say this about BCT: I want to remind people that we're so prone to fund innovation in science, in medicine, as, of course we should be. And I think people forget sometimes that the arts need those innovators as well. They need the space where the new Shakespeare shows up, where the new Tony Kushner shows up. They need that space. And BCT is one of those places where we're trying to find those new great American playwrights.

PRENTICE: Where Sam Hunter shows up.

MORRIS: Where Sam Hunter shows up later in the season. Right? Very excited about that.

PRENTICE: Great good luck with this production, which will run through the rest of this week, Wednesday through Saturday with an extra matinee on Saturday. I have to endorse this play because it is, to some degree, life changing, and it really kind of punches your ticket in this particular season. So it's a must-see. And by the way, any good scientist would be the first to tell us, "Oh my gosh, I am not the scientist I am without the arts."

MORRIS: Absolutely. Thank you for that, George. And you know, I would like to say to you, George that I've been waiting to get a part like this at BCT so that I can come in and speak to you and I can tell you in-person: thank you for all of the support that you give to the arts in Boise. I know, you know, and most of your listeners know it's been a rough couple of years post COVID. We're still ramping back up to those pre-2020 numbers. And people like you giving a voice to us out in the world to this wonderful audience that you have is so important. And I'm so grateful for you every time I hear you on the on the air. Thank you.

PRENTICE: Jessica Morris, great good luck to you for the rest of the run of this play, and we can't wait to see what's next.

MORRIS: Thank you.

Find reporter George Prentice @georgepren

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