What the Constitution Means to Me (TCG Edition) - by Heidi Schreck (Paperback)

About the Book

A finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. With passion and wit, this galvanizing new play acknowledges the ways in which the Constitution has failed us while simultaneously offering hope for a better future.

Book Synopsis

"BEST PLAY OF THE YEAR" -- New York Times, New Yorker, TIME, Hollywood Reporter, Newsweek, BuzzFeed, Forbes, New York Magazine, NPR, Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune

Finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

When she was fifteen years old, Heidi Schreck started traveling the country, taking part in constitutional debates to earn money for her college tuition.

Decades later, in What the Constitution Means to Me, she traces the effect that the Constitution has had on four generations of women in her family, deftly examining how the United States' founding principles are inextricably linked with our personal lives.

Review Quotes

"What the Constitution Means to Me is redefining what political theater can be: Something that is not polemic or didactic, but personal and urgent."―Diep Tran, American Theatre

"A deeply personal tour de force."―Ashley Lee, Los Angeles Times

"A masterful act of storytelling, blending unflinching vulnerability, nimble humor, and acute analysis to inspire revelation. It's a play that expands beyond itself, offering an immensely powerful model for modern civic theater." ―Sara Holdren, New York Magazine

"A wildfire! Something every citizen must see. Heidi Schreck's play has tears on its cheeks and the torch of liberty in its fist." ―Helen Shaw, Time Out New York

"Brilliantly digressive, insistently personal. What the Constitution Means to Me is both winsome love letter to and worried critique of one of the nation's founding documents."―Laura Collin, New York Times

"Funny, beguiling, and emotionally vivid... Part of Constitution's genius is that it provokes even as it heartens: By inviting a live audience to confront, together, the limitations of the liberties the Constitution protects, it asks us to participate in a democratic act of historical self-reckoning." ―Alisa Solomon, Nation

"In this dire moment of cultural fragmentation, Schreck is offering an oasis of connection, a place where humanity and learning are being celebrated and protected." ―Howard Fishman, New Yorker

"Moving, angry, heartbreaking, and strangely inspiring." ―Alissa Wilkinson, Vox

About the Author

Heidi Schreck is a writer and performer. Her other plays include Grand Concourse and Creature. Heidi's television writing credits include Billions, Nurse Jackie, and I Love Dick. What the Constitution Means to Me was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play.