Two plays featuring the constitution and the Supreme Court in one week? What better time than now, when both things seem more in danger than ever. Over in Bloomington, Artistry is doing a fantastic production of the smart, funny, devastatingly relevant
What the Constitution Means to Me, about one woman's relationship with our founding document. She discusses many aspects of it, including the Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade, and the majority opinion written by
Justice Harry Blackmun. How fortuitous, then, that right now in St. Paul you can see History Theatre's remount of their 2013 play
Courting Harry, written by prolific local playwright Lee Blessing. In a funny, engaging, and inspiring 80 minutes, we get to know Harry and his lifelong friend
Chief Justice Warren Burger. But the play is also depressing, when you think about how much has changed in our country in the 13 years since this play premiered, specifically the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, something Harry spent his life defending and assures us in the play (now ironically) will never fall, and the current state of the Court, partisan and political as it was never meant to be. This is a perfect time for History Theatre to bring back
Courting Harry, which gives insight into the proceedings of the Supreme Court and the people, flawed humans like all of us, behind it (
continuing through June 7).
