Roe
The iconic court case that rocked America, comes to the stage.
Roe
Cleverly illuminating
The Washington Post
Roe
The iconic court case that rocked America, comes to the stage.
Why see Roe?
An Iconic Court Case
Roe v. Wade, the iconic court case that rocked America in 1973. The debate that still divides American citizens today. Roe, a tantalizing new drama comes to the Goodman Theatre this season as playwright Lisa Loomer dives behind two of the women behind the landmark lawsuit, changing America forever.
Told from the perspective of plaintiff Norma McCorvey ("Jane Roe") and attorney Sarah Weddington, Roe peels back the shrouds of history to explore the extraordinary journeys that drove these two women together. From a pizza parlor to the Supreme Court, Roe is a humorous, shocking and illuminating tale that courses the change of history.
Creative
Written by Lisa Loomer
Directed by Vanessa Stalling
Reviews
Customer reviews
1 reviews, average rating: (4.0 Stars)
Larry Lurio
Roe vs. Wade from Jane Roe's perspective
The play tells the remarkable history of the characters behind the Roe vs. Wade decision and how it affected their lives. It focusses chiefly on Jane Roe (Norma McCorvy) and the defense lawyer (Sarah Weddington) who tell two conflicting versions of the events surrounding the Roe vs. Wade decision and who experience two very different aftermaths in the wake of the decision. While cast as a dialog evaluating the two perspectives, the playwright is clearly most sympathetic with Weddington. In the end it comes off much more as a story about class conflict and privilege than a story about abortion rights. Indeed, the play ends up being more sympathetic to the abortion protesters from operation rescue, who are shown as members of the working class, than the pro-abortion lawyers who are portrayed as the privileged elite.
The play is carried off with tremendous enthusiasm by the cast with many desperate, and sometimes successful, attempts to break down the fourth wall. Overall, it succeeds and leaves the audience seeing this struggle from a very new perspective. However, the play does tend to sag a bit in the (too long) second act.
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