Theater review: ‘Roe’ pulls back the curtain behind historic Supreme Court decision at UConn’s CT Repertory Theatre

Whatever opinions you might have about the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision, Lisa Loomer’s play about the “Roe” side of the equation will give you insight into the real people who represented that landmark case.

“Roe,” being given a full-blooded student production at UConn’s Connecticut Repertory Theatre through Saturday, humanizes history, finds plenty of humor in heavy topics and tells a warts-and-all, emotionally resonant story that mostly happens outside the Supreme Court courtroom.

Loomer wrote the play in 2016. It was commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the same company which was also premiered the astounding Native American history mix “Between Two Knees” which was seen as Yale Rep last year.

“Roe” has become a rallying point for those opposed to the 2022 Dobbs vs. Jackson decision that overturned the historic case. American Theatre magazine recently wrote about two professional productions of the play happening this year in Texas, the state that instituted some of the most stringent state laws against abortion shortly after Dobbs was decided.

Loomer has subtly updated her script a few times, first to acknowledge that there was an active move, via Presidential appointments to the Supreme Court, to overturn the decision, and more recently when the decision was overturned last year.

The playwright has enhanced a passionate speech at the end but hasn’t added any big new scenes or epilogues. The play’s lively, often comical, approach to its subject matter demonstrates that history and law can be fragile, tenuous and sensitive to cultural changes and perceptions.

“Roe” is largely about how many elements have to fall in place to make something momentous happen. Young lawyer Sarah Weddington is selected to craft an argument for women’s health decisions as a constitutional right. She enlists Norma McCorvey, a woman seeking an abortion, as the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case. We hear from Justice Harry Blackmun (who wrote the majority opinion in the case), lawyer Gloria Allred, actress Holly Hunter, various TV producers and filmmakers and dozens of nameless or little-known people whose lives were touched by Jane Roe. A dozen-strong ensemble enlivens scenes set in bars, living rooms, courtrooms, TV studios, a baptismal pool, rallies and elsewhere.

Nearly all the people whose voices carry “Roe” are now gone. Some have died since the play was first staged, including McCorvey in 2017 and Weddington in 2021. Loomer cleverly lets you know this by having the play’s characters quote from their own obituaries. She makes clear not just how important they were to this historic decision, but also that it is the most prominent event in most of their entire professional lives.

The actual court case isn’t given a lot of time in the play. It doesn’t happen until 45 minutes in and takes up just a couple of brief scenes using actual recordings of the justice’s questions. The second act is about McCorvey’s life choices after becoming a celebrated figure in legal and social history. She joins an anti-abortion group, becomes born again and struggles with aligning her decades-long lesbian relationship with her newfound Christian beliefs.

Loomer doesn’t shy away from or try to explain away the characters’ contradictions and alleged deceits. She points out major disparities in how McCorvey and Weddington (who acts as the play’s bright and amusing yet no-nonsense narrator) described certain incidents very differently in their respective autobiographies. Instead of getting messy, it seems real. There are situations left unresolved, debates with no clear winner, and abrupt, almost inexplicable changes in how Norma reacts to the people around her.

There is comedy in the play, but not at the expense of the characters’ deeply held beliefs, which are delivered with respect and sincerity. Some of the comedy comes from McCorvey’s buoyant spirit and from the differences between her and her uptight lawyer. UConn graduate acting students Audrey Latino (as Norma) and Annie Tolis (as Sarah) make sure sparks fly in all their moments together.

This Connecticut Repertory Theatre production is more notable for its acting than its direction and design. The director is Taneisha Duggan, who was the producing associate at TheaterWorks Hartford from 2015-21. She takes a leisurely approach that allows for pensive pauses and long onstage costume changes in dark light. These moody interludes can be more boring than meditative and make the whole show unnecessarily long at two-and-a-quarter hours with intermission. The tone also kills some of the lightness that Loomer has worked so hard to infuse into this often depressing tale of uphill battles, prejudice and frustrations with the legal system.

There’s also an unevenness to some of the full-cast scenes, with some performers working in styles and volumes at odds with the others. Standout student actors include Andre Chan Chi Lun as an assortment of reporters and lawyers, Ali Liew as both an Operation Rescue staffer and Allred, and Casey Wortham as a character named Roxy, who represents everyday people outside the worldviews of McCorvey (who’s depicted as rather self-involved) and Sarah (who’s making a statement for the ages).

Scenic designer Elizabeth Olson provides some visual surprises with curtains and trapdoors, though they’re not really in synch with the high points of the script and can seem gratuitous. The member of the creative team who provides the most continuity, fluidity and consistent style is costume designer Adrianne Williams, who can telegraph an entire decade with a single well-chosen outfit. “Roe” is not stuck in the 1970s, or the 2020s. It shifts culturally, socially, politically and religiously, from hippies to fundamentalists. One costume that turns up a lot on the majority of the players is judicial robes.

For its bigger productions, Connecticut Repertory Theatre brings in a couple of established professional actors to act alongside and mentor the students. Andrew Rein and Lori Vega both have lots of New York and regional credits, and while they are given the two largest single roles in the show outside of McCorvey and Weddington, they fit neatly into the large ensemble. Rein plays the evangelist Flip Benham, who brings McCorvey into his Operation Rescue anti-abortion organization years after she (under the pseudonym Jane Roe) become the figurehead of the pro-choice movement. Vega plays McCorvey’s longtime romantic partner Connie Gonzalez, a role that comes off as underwritten due in part to the scant amount that’s known about, but which Gonzalez turns into a compelling dramatic symbol of unwavering love and support.

There may be stylistic collisions from time to time, but nobody is grandstanding or upstaging here, a small miracle given the size of the cast. Loomer has written a true ensemble piece which, with 12 actors (including a young child, Lucy Ouimet, charming in two small roles) collectively juggling dozens of characters, many theaters would not have the resources to do.

“Roe” is ideal for a student production at a school with an exceptional graduate theater program. This current season, which began with Mary Zimmerman’s “Metamorphoses” in December and continues with Ariel Dorgfman’s “Death and the Maiden” in March, is the first full season to be programmed by Megan Monaghan Rivas, who became the artistic director of Connecticut Repertory Theater as well as the head of UConn’s dramatic arts program in the fall of 2021.

Given its heavy themes and current events interest, Connecticut Repertory Theatre has arranged several pre-show talkbacks during the run of “Roe.” All the talkbacks will feature cast members and a special guest. On March 7 at 7:30 p.m., it’s Kathy Fischer of the UConn Women’s Center. On March 8 at 7:30 p.m., it’s Kristina Stevens of UConn’s Mental Health Services. On March 9 at 7:30 p.m., it’s Virginia Hettinger of UConn’s Department of Political Science, Judicial Behavior and American Politics.

“Roe” runs through Saturday at the Nafe Katter Theatre. Remaining performances are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Nafe Katter Theatre, 820 Bolton Road on the University of Connecticut campus in Storrs. $10- $35. crt.uconn.edu.
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