George Street Playhouse's 'What the Constitution Means to Me' ignites conversations during Domestic Violence Awareness Month

The night before seeing "What the Constitution Means to Me" at the George Street Playhouse, I found myself sitting alongside 40 other young women, in quiet anticipation. 

We were waiting for Edward Parze from Freehold to begin his presentation about his daughter, Stephanie Nicole Parze, a vibrant, 25-year-old who was strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend, back in 2019.

The event was held in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. As Parze talked about the foundation he created in his daughter's memory, his mission became clear: to prevent others from suffering the same fate.  

According to the National Domestic Violence Awareness Hotline, 57 percent of college students who report experiencing dating violence and abuse said it occurred in college. As a female student at Rutgers, the statistic felt unnervingly close to home. What happened to his daughter happens far too often. 

As the lights of the George Street Playhouse dimmed and phones powered down, spectators were left alone with Parze's story and the sobering truth behind the numbers.

"What the Constitution Means to Me" was written by Heidi Schreck. The original production played an extended, buzzy run on Broadway in 2019, and was nominated for two Tony Awards. It had subsequent runs at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Mark Taper Forum, the Guthrie Theatre, the Seattle Rep Theatre and the McCarter Theatre Center.

The George Street Playhouse's production directed by Laiona Michelle, stars Tony-nominated actress Kate Baldwin and features Grammy-nominated Nicholas Rodriguez, Niara Beckwith and Wobirba Ekuba Sarpey. 

The play follows Schreck (Baldwin) as she recounts her experience as a teenage debater in the 80s and 90s when she traveled across the country to compete in Constitutional debate tournaments at American Legions to earn money for college. 

Schreck reconstructs these debates, moderated by a Legionnaire (Rodriguez), and brings her teenage self to life on stage, exploring how the Constitution influenced her own life and the lives of four generations of women in her family. She reflects on the document's promises of liberty and justice while grappling with its flaws and how it has failed to protect the bodily autonomy, safety and equality of women. 

The play also incorporates a real-time debate between Schreck and local high school students (Beckwith and Sarpey), where they argue whether the Constitution should be upheld as is, or whether it needs to be radically reformed to better serve all Americans. This interactive portion of the play doesn't just discuss legal principles — it asks difficult questions about what the Constitution truly means for people who are marginalized and whether it can live up to its ideals.

Baldwin's performance as Schreck was nothing short of brilliant. She captured the character's emotional depth with remarkable nuance, delivering each line with a calculated balance of vulnerability and strength. Her voice soared in the more intense moments, while in quieter scenes, she conveyed a subtle yet powerful sense of longing. Baldwin's portrayal of Schreck's emotional journey was a testament to her extraordinary talent, making Schreck a character audiences members deeply resonated with. 

After the play's exploration of justice and the rights the Constitution is meant to uphold, it's almost impossible not to think about how laws and protections often fall short for women like Parze. Then, how the same laws and protections often fall short for women at Rutgers. 

With so much at stake in this election and the ongoing fight for justice and equality, seeing a play like "What the Constitution Means to Me" reminded young viewers of the power of dialogue and the importance of critically engaging with the issues that shape our future.