WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME to Open Rep's Studio Season

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis will launch the 26/27 Steve Woolf Studio Series: Adventurous Theatre for Adventurous Theatregoers with the Pulitzer Prize finalist What the Constitution Means To Me, running October 21–November 15, 2026, in the Emerson Studio of the Loretto‑Hilton Center on the campus of Webster University. Directed by Nancy Bell (Athena, The Rep) this celebrated work offers a sharp, funny, and deeply personal exploration of the U.S. Constitution and the generations it has shaped.

Since its premiere in 2019, this Pulitzer Prize finalist has taken the theatrical world by storm, breathing new life into our Constitution by imagining how it will shape the next generation of Americans. As a teenager, playwright Heidi Schreck earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the country. In this hilarious, witty and refreshingly honest new play, she revisits her fifteen-year-old self to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the lasting impact of the document that shaped their journey. Complete with a live debate featuring local St. Louis high school students, this play places hope and heart at the center of a conversation about our nation's future by examining the document at the core of its past.

The cast features Michelle Hand, a Rep favorite who wowed audiences in Pride and Prejudice and A Christmas Carol, as Heidi, and Joel Moses last seen in Murder on the Orient Express, as The Legionnaire. They are joined by two local students Riley Carter- Adams from Nerinx Hall High School and Amber Dantzler from St. Louis University, who rotates performances as the live debater.

What the Constitution Means To Me creative team is rounded out with scenic design by Seth Howard, costume design by Michele Friedman Siler, lighting design by Denisse Chavez, sound design by Mary Robinson, and is stage managed by Isabelle Scheibe.

What the Constitution Means to Me is written by Heidi Schreck, a playwright, screenwriter and performer living in Brooklyn. What the Constitution Means to Me was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play. Schreck also received two Tony Award nominations for What the Constitution Means to Me for Best Play and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play, the 2019 Smithsonian Magazine American Ingenuity Award, the Horton Foote Playwriting Award, the Hull-Warriner Award, and an OBIE. A filmed version of What the Constitution Means to Me, starring Schreck, premiered in October 2023 exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, and was nominated for a Critics Choice Award, a PGA Award, and a DGA Award. Heidi's other plays include Grand Concourse, Creature, Mr. Universe, and There Are No More Big Secrets. Her screenwriting credits include I Love Dick, Billions, and Nurse Jackie. Schreck has taught playwriting and screenwriting at NYU, Columbia, Kenyon College, and Primary Stages.

What The Constitution Means To Me is sponsored by Stellie Siteman and De Kaplan with Community Impact Sponsor Wendi Alper-Pressman and Norman Pressman. It is a part of the Steve Woolfe Studio Series which is sponsored by The Whitaker Foundation and Ann Cady Scott.