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          string(6669) "<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11071" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/hill-district-800.jpg" alt="Hill District" width="800" height="251" />Underneath August Wilson’s rhythmic prose is the pulse of his hometown of Pittsburgh. This Rust Belt city serves as more than just the setting for his plays; it’s the source of his literary imagination.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>“People think of the Hill District as a slum or a ghetto, but it wasn’t that way at all. In the three to four blocks around the Wilson home, it was a quiet, racially mixed, harmonious neighborhood where people looked out for one another. It was one that shaped August,” said Laurence Glasco, an associate professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh and co-author of </em>August Wilson: Pittsburgh Places in His Life and Plays<em>, which chronicles the history of Wilson’s Pittsburgh with a focus on the Hill District. </em></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>To learn more about Pittsburgh’s place in Wilson’s plays, we interviewed Laurence Glasco, Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Pittsburgh. He shares his thoughts on the significance of real estate, memory, and class in the Hill District, the Pittsburgh neighborhood in which </em>Radio Golf<em> unfolds.</em></p>

<h4>I’ve read that you take your University of Pittsburgh students on a walking tour of the Hill District each semester where they view landmarks and talk to residents. Do you ever make any new discoveries on these tours?</h4>
The students certainly make new discoveries. I’ve been doing these tours for over ten years now, so I have my set path. But for the students, it’s a wonderful experience. Getting your feet on the pavement makes you identify with the place in a way that reading about it and driving through it doesn’t do. The students come away with a real feeling of the Hill. It’s almost mystical, if you will.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

A number of years ago, August’s sister, Freda, was still alive and we met her one time as she was working in her yard. She told us about the Wilson home where she was born and had grown up. For instance, her mother would set out a card table in the afternoon and neighbors would come over and play pinochle. One of the neighbors was Hedley, and another one was Louise, exactly as the characters in <i>Seven Guitars</i>.
<h4>The American Century Cycle, except for<i> Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom</i> which is set in Chicago, provides audiences with a man-on-the-street view of black life in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. How does Wilson incorporate this sense of place into <i>Radio Golf</i>?</h4>
There are a lot of references that August makes to people, places, and events. Of course, the big event was urban redevelopment and the threat that it posed to the Hill. The Bedford Hills Redevelopment Company, owned by Harmond Wilks, is located, as he says, at the corner of Centre and Herron Avenue. In fact, there was the major black banker and redeveloper of the Hill, Robert Lavelle, who had his business at the corner of Centre and Herron Avenue. It’s still there; his son is now running it. Certainly for someone from Pittsburgh, they would recognize it as a specific place.

The address 1839 Wylie—the home of Aunt Esther—doesn’t exist, but one can infer where it is. People would know it’s right in front of the former Ozanam Community Center; it’s an empty lot. But it’s right there at a place on Wylie, which was the main commercial corridor. The location evokes the past, the liveliness, the businesses, the jazz, and all these other things that went on which made the Hill such an exciting and vibrant neighborhood.
<h4>1839 Wylie Avenue is an ancestral landmark of sorts that reoccurs within the American Century Cycle. In <i>Radio Golf</i>, the character Harmond Wilks provides a majestic description of a Federalist brick house with beveled glass on every floor and a staircase of Brazilian wood with a hand-carved balustrade. As you mentioned, the location is real; however, there’s no house there. What do you think this fictitious home represents for residents who are facing the forces behind urban renewal?</h4>
It relates to something of value in these homes and places. They may not be as fine as 1839 Wylie, but they are places that have significance and are worth preserving. It’s a protest against urban renewal.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

In the 1950s, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) characterized the whole area as a slum that needed to be torn down. However, recently reporters from the <i>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</i> discovered in the basement of the URA boxes of records that the Authority used, along with photographs, where they classified the homes and described them. The URA’s own notes show that a number of these houses were certainly salvageable and could’ve been rehabilitated. It took the worst examples and used them to describe the whole neighborhood. Although most of the records were lost due to flooding, there were about 200 boxes that survived and paint a very different picture of the Hill. It has become a big scandal in Pittsburgh.

I think it confirms what August was saying in <i>Radio Golf</i>—that these homes were not just derelict properties that were beyond saving. August didn’t know about these records, of course, but I think it fits and he was on to something very important.
<h4>The Hill District has undergone immense change. Part of it was demolished for the Mellon Arena. Other sections never fully recovered after the riots spurred by Dr. King’s assassination in 1968. What remains of this collection of neighborhoods? And what preservation efforts are happening to save what was once called Pittsburgh’s Harlem?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></h4>
Sadly, very little remains. In other black neighborhoods, like on the north side in Manchester, they have done a first-rate job of preserving their homes and rehabilitating them. It mainly has to do with leadership. The Hill, for whatever reason, never had that kind of leadership. It’s a spotty survival now. The Wilson home, fortunately, is being preserved. There’s a big effort to rehabilitate it, and in a year or so, it will be open to the public. ■

<hr />

<em><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2018-2019-season/radio-golf/"><strong>Radio Golf</strong></a> </em><strong>is on stage August 30-September 30, 2018.</strong>"
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          string(6070) "<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11066" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Ron-August-Wilson.jpg" alt="August Wilson with Ron OJ Parson" width="800" height="300" />Production Dramaturg Martine Kei Green-Rogers sat down with Director Ron OJ Parson to discuss his long history with August Wilson’s work and why he keeps coming back to it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em></p>

<h4>As a dramaturg, I am always interested in the question “Why this play? Why this play now?” Why did you want to direct <i>Radio Golf?</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></h4>
Because it is August Wilson. I <i>always</i> want to direct August Wilson—particularly the later ones, the ones that I have not done as much. This production of <i>Radio Golf</i> is my 25th production of Wilson’s work. I am proud of that. I learn something new every time I direct his plays. At Court, my home theatre, we did a reading of <i>Radio Golf </i>during an August Wilson reading series sponsored by Goodman Theatre. I was reintroduced to the play, and I was once again moved by these characters and the rhythm of the language—it made me want to go on that journey once again.
<h4>How do you feel the play is relevant to audiences now?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></h4>
All plays about the black experience are relevant today because we continue to battle forces that are against us. Plus, anytime you can introduce a younger generation to Wilson’s work, it’s important and relevant. Wilson is one of the most profound and prolific black writers in history. Considering the crazy politics of today, a play like <i>Radio Golf, </i>which is about the political scene, is particularly relevant. These characters feel (to the audience) like real people going through things that could be happening in today’s world.
<h4>One of the things that is interesting about <i>Radio Golf</i> is the conversation around the pros and cons of gentrification. And more specifically, 1990s gentrification. Do you have any thoughts about gentrification in Chicago now, in 2018? Does it seem the same (or different) than the way it is discussed in the play?</h4>
Wilson touches on gentrification in a lot of his plays. And, yes, it certainly relates to Chicago or any larger city. Neighborhoods are definitely being gentrified. Property is being taken and redistributed all over Chicago—South, North, and West. In my hometown of Buffalo, New York, it is happening again, too. In this political climate, I don’t want to harp on this, but there is a new <i>aggressiveness</i> to take back the country, and gentrification is a part of that—part of “Make American Great Again.” For me, it is a situation where, when you think about the play in these terms, it is hard <i>not</i> to see how this play <i>is</i><i>n</i><i>’</i><i>t</i> relevant. Wilson’s characters and the subjects they bring up always make it worthwhile to explore. It is something people need to hear and see.
<h4>Since we are conducting this interview a few weeks before the first rehearsal, what excites you about the upcoming rehearsal process?</h4>
This group of artists is new to me except for a few people. Working with new actors on the same text is always fun and unique. I learn new things about the text when new actors and designers come together to help me tell the story. I have a few actors in this cast who have not done Wilson before. It is thrilling for me to watch their excitement to perform Wilson for the first time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>
<h4>Are there any challenges specific to this particular Wilson piece?</h4>
There are always challenges when you approach a gifted playwright, like getting actors that are new to Wilson to find the rhythm of his language. Even the ones that are not new to Wilson need direction in order to get it just right. It is a new set and sound design—those come with challenges. Even when you direct multiple productions of the same play, no production is exactly the same as the previous one. The rhythms might be the same, the energy and music of the piece may be similar, yet there are artistic differences that make creating multiple productions worthwhile. The next one is usually richer and deeper.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>
<h4>What is your favorite moment in the play?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></h4>
Harmond’s monologue—when he talks about Oprah Winfrey. It is the one that begins with “No. Common sense says that ain’t right. We see it different. No matter what you always on the edge. If you go to the center you look up and find everything done shifted and the center is now the edge. The rules change every day.” This monologue makes me think about all of the things white people expect out of black people. Also, I love some of the things Old Joe says. His comments about his history and his ancestors make me think of the connections we have, or should have, to our own ancestors. This is an ongoing theme in Wilson’s plays, particularly this one. Harmond goes through a big transformation in the play as he realizes his spiritual connection to his ancestors. I wonder how much of that we believe in these days.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>
<h4>Any other fun tidbits you want to share with our audience?</h4>
It is always an honor and a pleasure to work on August Wilson at Court Theatre. We do something special in this theatre because of the intimacy of the space. People know when they come to see it at Court, even if they have seen the same play somewhere else, it will be different here. It is always thrilling to bring Wilson’s words to life in our theatre. ■

<hr />

<em><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2018-2019-season/radio-golf/"><strong>Radio Golf</strong></a> </em><strong>is on stage August 30-September 30, 2018.</strong>
<p class="caption">Photo of August Wilson with Ron OJ Parson by Ray Baker.</p>"
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We are thrilled to announce <strong>Angel Ysaguirre</strong> as Court Theatre's new Executive Director, beginning September 4th. <span lang="EN">He will join </span>Charlie Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director, as co-leader of the theatre.

For the last five years, Ysaguirre has served as executive director of Illinois Humanities, a not-for-profit organization with the mission of strengthening the social, political and economic fabric of Illinois through constructive conversation and community engagement. During his tenure, the organization established a number of new programs demonstrating the contribution that the humanities can make in addressing today’s most pressing challenges.

“Angel is an exceptional cultural leader whose passion for theater will ensure that Court Theatre, in partnership with faculty and students from across the University, continues to present impactful theatre of the highest quality,” said Provost Daniel Diermeier.
<blockquote>“I am thrilled to have this chance to serve as the executive director of the Court Theatre in partnership with Charlie Newell,” Ysaguirre said. “This opportunity to strengthen the vision for the theater with greater integration with the University of Chicago and the South Side community is an invigorating challenge.”</blockquote>
A cultural leader in Chicago for many years, Ysaguirre served as deputy commissioner of the city of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, playing a significant role in developing and implementing the city’s cultural plan. His rich philanthropic experience includes having served as program officer with the McCormick Tribune Foundation, where he managed a portfolio that covered arts and arts education; and as director of global community investing for Boeing.

“I am excited to partner with Angel. Together with our artists, Board, and the University, Court Theatre now has the opportunity to reach a whole new level,” Newell said. “Angel’s innovative approach – most recently highlighted by his work in expanding the conversations around criminal justice in Illinois – gives me such optimism for the future of our theatre.”

Ysaguirre has a long history of working with the University, leading efforts 18 years ago to develop the Odyssey Project, a partnership between Illinois Humanities and the University of Chicago. The program provides opportunities for low-income adults who were unable to attend college to take humanities courses taught by University of Chicago faculty, encouraging greater civic participation. More recently, Ysaguirre developed strong partnerships with seven communities across Chicago including Bronzeville to launch the Illinois Humanities Envisioning Justice Initiative, which invites residents to take part in a series of conversations, classes, artists commissions, and an exhibition that address the challenges of over-incarceration. Ysaguirre’s commitment to building community through the arts, humanities and theater will benefit Court Theatre’s ongoing work to create theater that has significant impact in communities.

“Given his long history as a cultural leader in Chicago, my fellow board members and I are confident that Angel and Charlie partnering with the board, University faculty and the broader community will further enhance the role of Court Theatre as a cultural leader at the University, across Chicago and beyond,” said Tim Bryant, chairman of the Court Theatre Board.

Please join us in welcoming Angel Ysaguirre to Court Theatre!"
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            string(212) "We are thrilled to announce Angel Ysaguirre as Court Theatre's new Executive Director, beginning September 4th. He will join Charlie Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director, as co-leader of the theatre."
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          string(5764) "<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-10718" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/nick-800.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="318" />

We are saddened to share the news that Nicholas Rudall, Court’s beloved Founding Artistic Director, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on June 19th. We all have been inspired and profoundly enriched by Nick's beautiful artistry for decades, and we are indebted to him for the enduring gift of this precious theatre.

<hr />

D. Nicholas Rudall, a longtime UChicago scholar and director who helped establish Court Theatre as one of the country’s premier theaters, died June 19 at age 78. He passed away peacefully surrounded by family at his daughter’s home in Tucson, Arizona after a hard-fought battle with cancer.

An award-winning translator of Greek plays and a beloved UChicago professor for 40 years, Rudall brought a love of poetry to the classroom and made ancient texts come to life for his students. He is also widely credited with the energy and artistic vision that first propelled Court Theatre onto the national scene.

In 1970, President Edward H. Levi asked Rudall to transform Court, which began as a community-based outdoor drama festival, into a professional theater. Rudall became Artistic Director of the theatre in 1972, and by the mid-1970s, the company had transitioned from working with students and community members to employing professional Equity actors.

It was under his guidance that Court and the University came together to create a permanent home for the theatrein 1981.Rudall directed dozens of plays, including <em>The Glass Menagerie, Lysistrata, Romeo and Juliet, Under Milk Wood, </em>and <em>The Mystery Cycle</em>. He also appeared often on the Court stage, playing among other parts, Macbeth, Richard III, Falstaff, and Prospero.

“For over half a century, Nick Rudall was an important voice of the arts at the University of Chicago. He will be remembered for his scholarship, dedication to theater and critical work in building the Court Theatre into a leading artistic institution in Chicago,” President Robert J. Zimmer said.

Prof. Emeritus David Bevington, one of the world’s top Shakespeare experts, witnessed Rudall’s classroom persona first-hand while teaching a UChicago class with him on the history and theory of drama.

“Nick taught me whatever I know about Western drama,” said Bevington, the Phyllis Fay Horton Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in English Language and Literature. “He encouraged the students and myself to take a much closer look at the texts until they began to live and breathe."

Born in 1940 in Llanelli, Wales, Rudall was the son of a steelworker and the grandson of a renowned Welsh poet. Rudall likely would have followed in his father’s footsteps to become a laborer had he not won a scholarship to the elite Llandovery boarding school, where he fell in love with theatre.

Rudall earned his PhD in classical languages and literature at Cornell University and in 1966 he joined UChicago’s Classics Department, teaching tragedy and ancient theater. An award-winning and internationally known translator, his writing encompassed texts by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides as well as works by Ibsen, Büchner, Schnitzler, and Feydeau. In the past year, Rudall completed a translation of Aeschylus’ <em>Prometheus Bound</em>.

Rudall retired from teaching in 2006, but he continued to translate and write plays, launching a three-play Greek Cycle at Court Theatre, while also traveling the world with his daughter, Clare Rudall Lorring, and his three grandchildren.

Charles Newell, the Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director at Court Theatre, succeeded Rudall in 1994 and worked closely with him. “By entrusting me with Court Theatre, Nick gave me the extraordinary gift of my career as an artistic leader,” Newell said. “Court will forever be Nick’s legacy. I am honored to have been mentored by this transformative artist. He was and is my artistic father.”

In 2017, Rudall accompanied Court Theatre’s traveling production of his translation of <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/special-event/iphigenia-aulis-getty-villa/"><em>Iphigenia in Aulis</em></a> to the Getty Villa in Los Angeles. The same year, Court Theatre established the <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/nicholas-rudall-endowed-fund/">Nicholas Rudall Endowed Fund</a> to support the continued production of classical texts and to ensure that Rudall’s artistic legacy would endure.

“On behalf of the entire Court Theatre Board of Trustees, I want to express my profound gratitude and admiration for the leadership of Founding Artistic Director Nicholas Rudall. He paved the way for a vital, prolific and thriving regional theatre,” said Timothy Bryant, Court Theatre board chairman.

In an astonishing burst of creativity in recent months, he wrote the play he had dreamed of writing for thirty years—<i class="">But Only Hope</i>—an existential portrait of the life of 20th Century Russian poet Osip Mandelstam. The piece was performed at Court Theatre on Friday, June 8, before a crowd of Court family and friends. Fittingly, the play explores themes of mortality, literary creation, and transcendent love.

On May 29, Rudall posted a final message to Facebook. “I have led an extraordinarily happy life doing the two professions I have loved most, teaching and translating classics and working in the professional theater. I thank you all for helping me enjoy this wonderful life. There are tears, of course, but I entered this last stage of my life at peace and with a kind of subdued joy. So thank you all.”"
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          string(3417) "<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-10705" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ed-blog-800.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="326" />The generous gifts of Court donors like you are already being put to work as Court’s new Director of Education <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/people/patrese-d-mcclain/">Patrese McClain</a> plans for the upcoming school year. And thanks to the generosity of the Betty Lou Smith Fund, all the increased, new, and additional gifts received in support of Court’s Education Initiative have been matched and doubled!

<img class="size-full wp-image-10706 aligncenter" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ed-boxes-1.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="96" />

<strong>Read on to learn about progress already being made in Court’s Education Initiative programming. This is all possible because of your support!</strong>

Court will be expanding the <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/community-engagement/education-initiative/artists-in-schools/">Artists-in-the-Schools</a> (AIS) Residencies to three additional South Side high schools this fall. Additionally, the Education team will be piloting short term AIS Residencies. While the typical residency is between twelve and fourteen sessions, these short term residencies will last between six and eight sessions. These briefer residencies will offer schools greater scheduling flexibility, while allowing Court to reach more students.

Community Solutions programming continues to develop as well. This spring Patrese conducted a pilot College Admissions workshop, offering assistance to students as they worked on auditioning and applying for college admissions and scholarships. She plans on expanding these workshops into multiple schools in the coming Season.

<strong>This Season, Court welcomed 2,193 high school students at <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/community-engagement/education-initiative/student-matinees/">Student Matinees</a> performances.</strong>

Patrese has plans to engage even more students through matinees next Season. She’s meeting with teachers and administrators to find new and engaging ways to integrate Court’s work into classrooms outside of the English and Theatre Departments. She hopes to use <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2018-2019-season/frankenstein/"><em>Frankenstein</em></a> and <em><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2018-2019-season/photograph-51/">Photograph 51</a></em> next Season as pathways into Science classes.

<strong>This is the impact of your gift: bringing theatre and arts into the lives of students across the South Side.</strong>

Your support gives Patrese the resources she needs to expand current programs and introduce new initiatives that address the needs of our students. You are impacting the lives of youth across the South Side, during the formative and critical time of self-discovery and learning that is high school.

Thank you for making this investment in Court and in our South Side students. We can’t wait to share more news with you when the school year begins, and keep you updated on all the exciting moments that your gift has made possible.

<em>To read more about Court’s Education Initiative, and to make a gift in support of these programs, <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/support/donate/">click here</a>.</em>"
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            string(352) "The generous gifts of Court donors like you are already being put to work as Court’s new Director of Education Patrese McClain plans for the upcoming school year. And thanks to the generosity of the Betty Lou Smith Fund, all the increased, new, and additional gifts received in support of Court’s Education Initiative have been matched and doubled!"
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          string(8212) "<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-10644" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/origin-blog-reviews.jpg" alt="Edward Gero as Justice Antonin Scalia" width="800" height="300" />Since opening night on May 19, critics have issued their opinions of <i>The Originalist. </i>While the majority opinion recommends the production, Chris Jones over at the <em>Chicago Tribune</em> offers a mild dissent. In the spirit of civil discourse, we present you with a variety of critic viewpoints. But don't let them decide; join us at Court Theatre and you be the judge. <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2017-2018-season/the-originalist/"><em>The Originalist</em> is on stage through June 10.</a>

<hr />

"It depicts robust, aggressive, passionate disagreement in a context of respect and developing friendship. It accepts power and winning as measures of success, but decency and kindness as even more important measures of a person. In that regard, it feels like a play we need right now."
<a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/the-originalist-depicts-antonin-scalia-as-both-mentor-and-scholar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Chicago Sun Times,</em> Steven Oxman, ★★★</a>

<hr />

“<em>The Originalist</em> triumphs by uniting a stimulating script with a fascinating central character and an exceptional lead performance. [. . . ] Love him or hate him, Antonin Scalia is wonderful company for an evening. For this boon to audiences, Edward Gero and John Strand deserve much thanks.”
<a href="https://chicagolandtheaterreviews.com/chicagoland-productions/originalist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Chicagoland Theater Reviews,</em> Dan Zeff, ★★★</a>

<hr />

“Court Theatre, under the leadership of Charles Newell, continues to bring topnotch and relevant productions to the community [. . .] The Originalist is another worthy production that will not disappoint.”
<a href="http://www.aroundthetownchicago.com/theatre-reviews/the-originalist-reviewed-by-michael-horn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Around the Town Chicago</em>, Michael Horn, ★★★</a>

<hr />

“A doppelganger for the late justice, Gero thoroughly inhabits the role of Scalia in John Strand’s 2015 play, The Originalist. Shuffling across the stage, singing an aria, debating legal points, Gero is Scalia, never out of character until after he takes a final bow and exits the stage sans shuffle.”
<a href="http://chicago.splashmags.com/index.php/2018/05/20/the-originalist-review-order-in-the-court-theatre/#gsc.tab=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Splash Magazines</em>, Leanne Star</a>

<hr />

“Court Theatre brings us a masterpiece that is interesting, thought-provoking and an exhilarating debate in <em>The Originalist</em> by John Strand.”
<a href="http://www.chicagonow.com/lets-play/2018/05/the-originalist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-ChicagoNow</em>, Rick and Brenda McCain</a>

<hr />

"Do plan to leaf through the copy of the US Constitution handed to you with your program with new eyes, renewed reverence, and passion. That you will likely do so speaks to the considerable power of this play.  Plan to be engaged anew in the visions of our founding fathers."
<a href="http://www.picturethispost.com/court-theatre-presents-the-originalist-review/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Picture This Post,</em> Amy Munice</a>

<hr />

"Scalia, one imagines, would have liked being back in Hyde Park. I just think a man of his heft would have preferred to be at the center of a more complicated play, and a more truthful production. And most liberals — who may well find the characterization here of Scalia as a lovable, kind, brilliant and principled curmudgeon infuriating — would not disagree."
<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/reviews/ct-ent-originalist-court-review-0522-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Chicago Tribune,</em> Chris Jones, 2.5 Stars</a>

<hr />

"Gero’s portrayal of Scalia is impeccable. He captures the late justice’s penchant for showmanship, his sharp sense of humor, pugilistic stubbornness, and general mannerisms... Strand’s message of open-mindedness and respectful discourse still shines through, and makes <em>The Originalist</em> a worthwhile watch for anyone willing to challenge their own, seemingly unbendable, political stance."
<a href="https://www.chicagomaroon.com/article/2018/5/22/originalist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Chicago Maroon</em>, Patrick Egon</a>

<hr />

"... <span style="font-weight: 400;">Strand delivers a think piece that pushes people to consider standing on a middle ground, where we acknowledge diverse voices and ideas, even if we do not always agree with them... </span>I believe people will find inspiring hope in<em> The Originalist</em> because it romanticizes the possibilities of what we could become if we work together to find common ground.<span style="font-weight: 400;">"
</span><a href="http://perform.ink/review-the-originalist-at-court-theatre/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Performink,</em> Naima Dawson</a>

<hr />

"There’s little Americans like more than a legal drama—the upstart v. the establishment, the idealist v. the realist, the new v. the old—may the winner expose our present moral condition through a fistfight sublimated into debate... But “The Originalist” does not deliver the customary satisfaction through exploration of the case..."
<a href="https://www.newcitystage.com/2018/05/21/unoriginal-originalist-a-review-of-the-originalist-at-court-theatre/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Newcity,</em> Irene Hsaio</a>

<hr />

"<span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Court Theatre</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> production, directed by Molly Smith, proves that although Scalia may have been a “monster,” as his opponents called him (to his delight), he was really a charming monster... </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Edward Gero, who also has played Scalia from the beginning, is masterful at recreating the justice’s style and bearing. Wheeler, who performed in two other productions of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Originalist</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, is superb as Cat."
</span><a href="https://thirdcoastreview.com/2018/05/22/court-theatres-originalist-two-legal-intellects-skirmish-political-extremes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Third Coast Review,</em> Nancy Bishop</a>

<hr />

"<span style="font-weight: 400;">The play features two fine lead performers. Edward Gero is the proudly conservative Scalia, who is a self-described “originalist” in his interpretations of the US. Constitution. An “originalist” is an individual who believes in the literal, original meaning of a text."
</span><a href="http://readbuzz.com/2018/05/22/theater-review-court-theatres-the-originalist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Buzz, </em>Syd Slobodnik</a>

<hr />

<span style="font-weight: 400;">"The play's premise could have been lifted from a 1940s screwball comedy—verbally adept conservative white male judge hires an equally verbally adept liberal, female, African-American law clerk ... their constant sparring does have a rom-com feel to it, and that adds yet another layer to this </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">rich, fascinating, exceptionally well-written and well-acted play."</span>
<a href="https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-originalist-court-theatre/Content?oid=48647721" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Chicago Reader,</em> Jack Helbig</a>

<hr />

"a fascinating, provocative evening of theatre firing on all cylinders ... John Strand’s <em>The Originalist</em> is a richly-complicated exploration of The Honorable Antonin Scalia, showcasing a superb performance by Edward Gero."
<a href="https://www.conversationswithedtracy.com/picksinsix/2017/5/23/picksinsix-review-the-originalist"><em>-Conversations with Ed Tracy</em></a>
<p class="caption">Photo of Edward Gero as Justice Antonin Scalia by Gary W. Sweetman</p>"
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            string(363) "Since opening night on May 19, critics have issued their opinions of The Originalist. While the majority opinion recommends the production, Chris Jones over at the Chicago Tribune offers a mild dissent. In the spirit of civil discourse, we present you with a variety of critic viewpoints. But don't let them decide; join us at Court Theatre and you be the judge."
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          string(5159) "<span style="font-weight: 400;"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-10625" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Supreme_Court_US_2010.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="300" />Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wasn’t shy. Known for his quick wit as much as his sharp legal mind, he was, in the words of playwright John Strand, “</span><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/playwright-john-strand-on-justice-scalia/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">a puncher</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.” Here are a few colorful quotes from his dissents.</span>

<hr />

<em><b>King v. Burwell</b></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">: </span><em>In June 2015, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to keep Obamacare intact.</em>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The Court’s next bit of </span><b>interpretive jiggery-pokery</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> involves other parts of the Act that purportedly presuppose the availability of tax credits on both federal and state Exchanges. [. . .]</span> <b>Pure applesauce</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">.”</span></p>


<hr />

<strong><em>Obergefell v. Hodges</em></strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">: </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">After the Court ruled in support of gay marriage, Scalia pointedly critiqued the opening lines of Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion.</span></em>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If, even as the price to be paid for a fifth vote, I ever joined an opinion for the Court that began: ‘The Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach, a liberty that includes certain specific rights that allow persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity,’ </span><b>I would hide my head in a bag</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story </span><b>to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">.”</span></p>


<hr />

<em><b>United States v. Virginia</b></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">: </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a 7-1 vote, the Court ruled against the Virginia Military Institute’s policy of admitting only men.</span></i>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"If it were impossible for individual human beings (or groups of human beings) to act autonomously in effective pursuit of a common goal,</span><b> the game of soccer would not exist</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">."</span></p>


<hr />

<em><b>Community Nutrition Institute v. Block</b></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">: </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 1984, Scalia waxed poetic about lawmaking and sausage.</span></i>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This case, involving legal requirements for the content and labeling of meat products such as frankfurters, affords a rare opportunity to explore simultaneously both parts of Bismarck’s aphorism that </span><b>‘No man should see how laws or sausages are made.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">’”</span></p>


<hr />

<em><b>PGA Tour Inc. v. Martin</b></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">: </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the 2001 dissent, Scalia discussed the ever-important role of golf in the law.</span></i>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"If one assumes, however, that the PGA TOUR has some legal obligation to play classic, Platonic golf—and if one assumes the correctness of all the other wrong turns the Court has made to get to this point—then we Justices must confront what is indeed an awesome responsibility. It has been rendered the solemn duty of the Supreme Court of the United States, laid upon it by Congress in pursuance of the Federal Government’s power ‘[t]o regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States,’ </span><b>to decide What Is Golf</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. I am sure that the Framers of the Constitution, aware of the 1457 edict of King James II of Scotland prohibiting golf because it interfered with the practice of archery, fully expected that sooner or later the paths of golf and government, the law and the links, would once again cross, and that the judges of this august Court would some day have to wrestle with </span><b>that age-old jurisprudential question</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, for which their years of study in the law have so well prepared them: Is someone riding around a golf course from shot to shot really a golfer? The answer, we learn, is yes. The Court ultimately concludes, and it will henceforth be the Law of the Land, that walking is not a ‘fundamental” aspect of golf.’”</span></p>
Check out <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2017-2018-season/the-originalist/"><em>The Originalist</em></a> at Court Theatre, May 10 – June 10, 2028.
<p class="caption">Photo: The Roberts Court (October 2010 – February 2016).</p>"
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<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 30px;">Is the Constitution a living document, one that should change and evolve over time, or is it a text frozen in the moment of its creation, strictly bound by the Founding Fathers’ original intentions?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 30px;">David A. Strauss, Gerald Ratner Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, wrote <i>The Living Constitution</i> (Oxford University Press, 2010) to address this question.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Strauss has served as Special Counsel to the U. S. Senate Judiciary Committee and as Assistant Solicitor General of the United States, and argued nineteen cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Court’s Resident Dramaturg about Justice Scalia and the debate over the nature of the Constitution.</p>

<h5>What is your definition of originalism?</h5>
I think originalism is the claim that we can figure out what the Constitution allows and forbids by looking at decisions made by the Founders—decisions made at the time the Constitution was written. My view is that just cannot be done. You cannot get answers to today’s issues by consulting the intentions of people who lived in an utterly different country in the late 18th century. And because originalism really doesn’t work in the way its proponents claim, the appeal to the Founders ends up being a kind of rhetorical move that people use to accomplish something else. Originalists, I think, often find principles in the text and in the decisions of the founding generation that they want to find there. They might be perfectly good principles, but they should be defended on their own merits, not by invoking the authority of the Founders or the text.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>
<h5>What kind of originalist was Antonin Scalia?</h5>
Justice Scalia was regarded as a conservative, but one thing people do not always realize is that originalism is not necessarily a conservative approach. The most influential originalist of the last 100 years was not Justice Scalia at all. It was Justice Hugo Black, an intellectual force for civil rights and free speech on the Warren Court. In most respects, Justice Black was what we would call a liberal, and he very much fancied himself an originalist.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

What that tells me is that originalism is something people use to attack the tradition they grew up in. Justice Black, who was from Alabama, grew up in a tradition of racism, in a time when there was Jim Crow segregation and repression in the South, and he hated it. So he appealed to the Founders, claiming that they believed in racial equality and civil liberties. Racial equality and civil liberties are good things, but it’s not so clear that the Founders thought so!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

Justice Scalia grew up in the Warren Court era, when the Court was aggressively protecting what the Court saw as disadvantaged groups in society, and Justice Scalia thought the Warren Court went too far. So he portrayed the Founders in a different way.
<h5>Your view of the Constitution is the opposite of originalism. Could you explain what you mean by a “living” Constitution?</h5>
One of the strengths of our Constitutional system is that it maintains certain principles as fundamental, but it shapes and adapts those principles to changing circumstances, changing times, and to particular crises that arise.<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>That’s because our system, it seems to me, is based mostly on precedent and tradition, instead of simply looking for an authoritative command from the Founders or the text of the Constitution. That’s the sense in which the Constitution is “living”: it is able to adapt without losing touch with the past, by continuing to develop principles that have been worked out over time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>
<h5>What are examples of the “living Constitution” in action?</h5>
There are a lot of them, because major events in the history of this country have changed our understanding of the Constitution in many ways. Those changes are now built into our institutions and our traditions and even our ways of thinking about each other. Take racial equality, for example. The Supreme Court’s decisions establishing principles of racial equality rely on the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, but when that Amendment was adopted, the idea that African Americans were equal to whites was a radical position. The Amendment just gave blacks certain limited rights. No one, for example, thought that the Amendment meant that there was a right to interracial marriage. But over time, we made progress. Americans came to understand that racial discrimination was intolerable in all its forms. It took a while for the country to come around to that view, but the country did come around, and it is now a point of essentially universal consensus—as much a part of the Constitution as anything you can think of, even though the text was never amended. I could give you a lot of other examples; women’s equality is in a way an even more dramatic case. ■

Check out <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2017-2018-season/the-originalist/"><em>The Originalist</em></a> at Court Theatre, May 10 - June 10, 2028."
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          string(7139) "<a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/people/john-strand/"><img class="size-full wp-image-10403 alignright" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/scalia-600.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="452" />John Strand</a> was the playwright in residence at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. when his play, <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2017-2018-season/the-originalist/"><i>The Originalist</i></a>, premiered in 2015. He is currently at work on the film version of <i>The Originalist</i>, as well as the new play, <i>River of Doubt</i>, about the life of Teddy Roosevelt. <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/people/nora-titone/">Nora Titone</a>, Court Theatre’s Resident Dramaturg,<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>spoke with Strand to discover how he created a version of Justice Scalia for the stage, and what his motivation was for exploring this complex moment in America’s highest court.

<hr />

<h5>You observed that “Nobody is neutral on the subject of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.” What is it about him that evokes such passionate responses across the political spectrum?</h5>
One primary reason is that he was a puncher. He was pugilistic in his approach to what he believed and that really antagonized people who disagreed with him and caused people who agreed with him to stand on their feet and cheer. It was his nature to be controversial in public and we see that in his words from the bench. Part of what led me to first research Scalia was how vicious and vitriolic the comments were about him, not just as a Supreme Court Justice, but as an individual. But when I began to speak with people who worked with him and knew him well, he was this wonderful, paternal, humorous, brilliant individual. I thought there must be an interesting way to reconcile those two extremes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>
<h5>By exploring Scalia’s character, did you hope there was going to be a collective lesson we could learn, or a political rift that could be healed? Or was it really just purely intellectual, to answer the question: how does he tick?</h5>
Many people join me in feeling alarm at the polarization of political discourse, if we can even dignify it with this term. I wanted to use Scalia as an example of someone who represents the extreme and see what it would be like to put him in the same ring with someone who is his polar opposite. We match him with a woman of color in her twenties, fresh out of law school, and what happens is that this pairing is not a mismatch: she learns how to punch. The historic Scalia was someone who welcomed debate from his clerks and made a point of hiring a liberal law clerk because it inspired heated debate. He loved that. But I think there’s an intellectual generosity in the idea that, ‘I don’t agree with you, but I will listen to you explain your condition respectfully and then I’ll answer you respectfully,’ and that’s how he treated the people around him. He was much tougher on his fellow justices. When they did something that he thought was wrong— that went against his own originalist interpretation of the Constitution—he could be vicious. You wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of Antonin Scalia when he was reading a dissent to the bench. He frequently excoriated the other justices when he thought that they were violating the principles of the Constitution as he saw them.
<h5>Were there particular decisions of his from the bench that you had at the forefront of your mind as you were thinking about creating his portrait?</h5>
I went back and read all of his dissents. Scalia was a brilliant thinker and he had a comic timing that was really remarkable. He was funny from the bench, often to the chagrin of the people of opposing view. I think someone did a survey of how many times each justice solicited humor from fellow justices or the Court during a hearing and Scalia did so at a rate of about ten times that of any other. He knew how to deliver a line. There was a certain performer in Scalia, which is another thing that really interested me. He loved opera and he even appeared in a few operas as an extra. Scalia was a larger than life character and I think he really enjoyed that. He used the bench with its very theatrical setting, its costumes, and its lighting to perform. He performed from the bench.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

The play was embraced in Washington by enthusiastics audiences during Scalia’s lifetime, and now is proliferating in a new way in a new political moment. What do you hope to see happen as people come to the theater now and watch this piece?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

At the heart of the play is the idea that it is possible for two people of extremely divergent viewpoints to argue their case and at the same time not lose respect for one another and even, perhaps, gain respect for one another. The alternative is for us all to retreat into a kind of childish, reactionary, hateful response to people with whom we disagree politically. But here are two people who are extreme opposites of one another but have a certain amount of hope to move towards the other’s position. If you don’t have the respect to listen, research, and learn from an opposite viewpoint,<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>you’ll never be effective in arguing against it. So that’s the hope from this, I think. In the play they come to respect one another in a way that neither one of them would have anticipated.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>
<h5>And as you say there’s a historical basis in the life of Justice Scalia for that hopefulness.</h5>
You need only look at his most famous buddy sitting next to him on the bench, Justice Ginsburg. His positions may have driven her crazy from time to time but she loved him for his qualities as a person: his humor, the way he mentored his clerks— liberal or conservative—and the way he was a natural teacher. She has said that there are many times when she would submit one of her opinions to Scalia, asking him to read and comment on it. He was tough on her but she said that he made her argument better, stronger, more accurate. In reading her opinion, he probably disagreed with every line, but he took it seriously and worked to strengthen her argument. I think he greatly admired her courage and he saw how difficult it was for a woman in those days to advance in law and then rise all the way to the Supreme Court. I think he would begin from the position of: if you’re seated next to me on the bench, you’re a remarkable person and you are very talented in matters of law or you wouldn’t be here. If past that point you also happen to have a wonderful sense of humor and you’re just a real humanist and and intellectual, as is true of Justice Ginsburg, she had his respect. ■

<i>-Edited by Ella Hester</i>

Catch <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2017-2018-season/the-originalist/"><em>The Originalist</em></a> at Court Theatre May 10 - June 10, 2018."
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<p style="padding-left: 60px;">When Washington, D.C.-based actor <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/people/4104/">Edward Gero</a> agreed to take on the role of Antonin Scalia, he had no idea of the unlikely relationship that would develop between him and the late Supreme Court justice. Prior to Scalia’s passing in 2016, Gero had visited “Nino” dozens of times, and bonded with him about their shared backgrounds, love of Shakespeare, and passion for language. Gero talked with Shelby Wenner, Court’s Associate Director of Marketing, about his process to understand this character, and his hopes in bringing <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2017-2018-season/the-originalist/"><i>The Originalist </i></a>to Chicago.</p>

<h5>Tell me a little bit about the process of getting to know Justice Scalia, from an artist’s perspective.</h5>
For me, the actual person and the character in the biographical play are deeply intertwined. I had the opportunity to meet Justice Scalia about six to seven months before starting rehearsal, but I decided that was too soon; I had to do my own research first! So I read biographies on him, I read The Federalist Papers, books on the Supreme Court, and so on.

In November of 2014, I was invited as Justice Scalia’s guest to a hearing, and lunch in his chambers afterwards. I was sitting in his guest seats, and when he came out into the Court, he looked over at me. We locked eyes and regarded each other—it was a very long stare, and I thought to myself, “As long as I don’t melt, I’ll be fine.” He finally looked away, and off he went. He was very engaged in that particular hearing, asking a lot of questions and using many behaviors that I could use as an actor.

We had lunch afterwards, and he was very charming. He said to me, “I want you to know that I won’t be seeing the play, but I’m glad they got someone good to do it.” We talked about some ideas that I had to understand his legal interpretations and theory. I used an analogy of how I approach Shakespearean work: with text analysis, syntax, and semantics, deriving meaning from the text itself. He said that this was perfectly analogous to how he approaches the United States Constitution. This really confirmed my early decisions about how I thought his mind worked. We talked about music, Italy, our New Jersey roots, our religious background. He had a command of language that I hadn’t experienced before. He said to come back anytime I liked, and I took him up on that offer.
<h5>What was it like meeting him?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></h5>
Life-altering. Inspiring to be in the presence of someone who had such commitment to democracy and the law. What surprised me about him was his humility. Like a good actor, you serve the playwright. Like a good justice, you serve the law. Being in the courtroom is like being in the theatre… words really matter.

Has acting as Justice Scalia in multiple productions of <i>The Originalist </i>as the world changes drastically affected your relationship with the play’s meaning?

I was present for the <i>Obergefell v. Hodges</i> hearing [the landmark civil rights case in which the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples are guaranteed the fundamental right to marry], I had lunch with him afterwards in his chambers, and I performed <i>The Originalist</i> that night. The audience was trying to read the tea leaves to see if there was anything there—but we didn’t talk politics. For him, it didn’t matter if you didn’t agree with him. What was important to him was what you thought, and how you arrived at it. Let’s challenge it, poke holes in it, and move on. The fact that we vilify people who disagree with us was not something he was doing. Fundamentally, it was about taking the law and democracy seriously.

What hass changed since his passing and the last election cycle are audience reactions and expectations. What started out as a lecture to the political left about being open-minded has become not only that, but also a cautionary tale to the right. A consistent and transparent conservative to whom words matter is seen as a hope, and people appreciate him more because you at least know what you’re going to get every time.
<h5>When not performing on stage, you are on faculty at George Mason University. How does working with and teaching students interact with your profession as an actor?</h5>
There is definitely influence; <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/people/jade-wheeler/">Jade</a> [Wheeler, playing Cat] is actually my former student! We come by the relationship organically and honestly, which is a great boon to the play. It’s been wonderful to work with her.

I’ve been at George Mason University for over 25 years. My students value my role as a professional actor, as a role model for students showing that having a life in both a theatre and in a community is possible. I’ve made a serious commitment to regional theatre, but I spend nine hours a day at George Mason on Mondays, the Equity day off. This schedule frees me to go to rehearsals, bring best practices back to the classroom, and my students are able to come to performances to see me hopefully walking the walk.
<h5>What are your hopes for bringing <i>The Originalist</i> to a Chicago audience? How do you hope this play lives on in the future?</h5>
I love Chicago audiences: they’re smart, hip, critical, diverse. From the vibrancy of a college town, to the working class, and all the way up the scale. They like grit, and they like new ideas. I’m excited to see how they respond.

As a Shakespearean actor, I’m used to playing a lot of characters people love to hate, but I’ve never played one that audiences hate to love. It is my hope that audiences get a sense of the human being that I got to know, and in so doing, reconsider their ideas of the man and the Justice. I hope the play engages audiences to reconsider how they conduct their civil discourse. Work at listening, especially when we disagree. Get out, get engaged, express yourself, and vote! ■

Don't miss Edward Gero as Justice Antonin Scalia in<em> <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2017-2018-season/the-originalist/">The Originalist</a></em>, May 10 - June 10, 2018.
<p class="caption">Photo by Gary W. Sweetman.</p>"
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        string(6669) "<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11071" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/hill-district-800.jpg" alt="Hill District" width="800" height="251" />Underneath August Wilson’s rhythmic prose is the pulse of his hometown of Pittsburgh. This Rust Belt city serves as more than just the setting for his plays; it’s the source of his literary imagination.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>“People think of the Hill District as a slum or a ghetto, but it wasn’t that way at all. In the three to four blocks around the Wilson home, it was a quiet, racially mixed, harmonious neighborhood where people looked out for one another. It was one that shaped August,” said Laurence Glasco, an associate professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh and co-author of </em>August Wilson: Pittsburgh Places in His Life and Plays<em>, which chronicles the history of Wilson’s Pittsburgh with a focus on the Hill District. </em></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>To learn more about Pittsburgh’s place in Wilson’s plays, we interviewed Laurence Glasco, Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Pittsburgh. He shares his thoughts on the significance of real estate, memory, and class in the Hill District, the Pittsburgh neighborhood in which </em>Radio Golf<em> unfolds.</em></p>

<h4>I’ve read that you take your University of Pittsburgh students on a walking tour of the Hill District each semester where they view landmarks and talk to residents. Do you ever make any new discoveries on these tours?</h4>
The students certainly make new discoveries. I’ve been doing these tours for over ten years now, so I have my set path. But for the students, it’s a wonderful experience. Getting your feet on the pavement makes you identify with the place in a way that reading about it and driving through it doesn’t do. The students come away with a real feeling of the Hill. It’s almost mystical, if you will.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

A number of years ago, August’s sister, Freda, was still alive and we met her one time as she was working in her yard. She told us about the Wilson home where she was born and had grown up. For instance, her mother would set out a card table in the afternoon and neighbors would come over and play pinochle. One of the neighbors was Hedley, and another one was Louise, exactly as the characters in <i>Seven Guitars</i>.
<h4>The American Century Cycle, except for<i> Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom</i> which is set in Chicago, provides audiences with a man-on-the-street view of black life in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. How does Wilson incorporate this sense of place into <i>Radio Golf</i>?</h4>
There are a lot of references that August makes to people, places, and events. Of course, the big event was urban redevelopment and the threat that it posed to the Hill. The Bedford Hills Redevelopment Company, owned by Harmond Wilks, is located, as he says, at the corner of Centre and Herron Avenue. In fact, there was the major black banker and redeveloper of the Hill, Robert Lavelle, who had his business at the corner of Centre and Herron Avenue. It’s still there; his son is now running it. Certainly for someone from Pittsburgh, they would recognize it as a specific place.

The address 1839 Wylie—the home of Aunt Esther—doesn’t exist, but one can infer where it is. People would know it’s right in front of the former Ozanam Community Center; it’s an empty lot. But it’s right there at a place on Wylie, which was the main commercial corridor. The location evokes the past, the liveliness, the businesses, the jazz, and all these other things that went on which made the Hill such an exciting and vibrant neighborhood.
<h4>1839 Wylie Avenue is an ancestral landmark of sorts that reoccurs within the American Century Cycle. In <i>Radio Golf</i>, the character Harmond Wilks provides a majestic description of a Federalist brick house with beveled glass on every floor and a staircase of Brazilian wood with a hand-carved balustrade. As you mentioned, the location is real; however, there’s no house there. What do you think this fictitious home represents for residents who are facing the forces behind urban renewal?</h4>
It relates to something of value in these homes and places. They may not be as fine as 1839 Wylie, but they are places that have significance and are worth preserving. It’s a protest against urban renewal.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

In the 1950s, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) characterized the whole area as a slum that needed to be torn down. However, recently reporters from the <i>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</i> discovered in the basement of the URA boxes of records that the Authority used, along with photographs, where they classified the homes and described them. The URA’s own notes show that a number of these houses were certainly salvageable and could’ve been rehabilitated. It took the worst examples and used them to describe the whole neighborhood. Although most of the records were lost due to flooding, there were about 200 boxes that survived and paint a very different picture of the Hill. It has become a big scandal in Pittsburgh.

I think it confirms what August was saying in <i>Radio Golf</i>—that these homes were not just derelict properties that were beyond saving. August didn’t know about these records, of course, but I think it fits and he was on to something very important.
<h4>The Hill District has undergone immense change. Part of it was demolished for the Mellon Arena. Other sections never fully recovered after the riots spurred by Dr. King’s assassination in 1968. What remains of this collection of neighborhoods? And what preservation efforts are happening to save what was once called Pittsburgh’s Harlem?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></h4>
Sadly, very little remains. In other black neighborhoods, like on the north side in Manchester, they have done a first-rate job of preserving their homes and rehabilitating them. It mainly has to do with leadership. The Hill, for whatever reason, never had that kind of leadership. It’s a spotty survival now. The Wilson home, fortunately, is being preserved. There’s a big effort to rehabilitate it, and in a year or so, it will be open to the public. ■

<hr />

<em><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2018-2019-season/radio-golf/"><strong>Radio Golf</strong></a> </em><strong>is on stage August 30-September 30, 2018.</strong>"
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<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>“People think of the Hill District as a slum or a ghetto, but it wasn’t that way at all. In the three to four blocks around the Wilson home, it was a quiet, racially mixed, harmonious neighborhood where people looked out for one another. It was one that shaped August,” said Laurence Glasco, an associate professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh and co-author of </em>August Wilson: Pittsburgh Places in His Life and Plays<em>, which chronicles the history of Wilson’s Pittsburgh with a focus on the Hill District. </em></p>
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<h4>I’ve read that you take your University of Pittsburgh students on a walking tour of the Hill District each semester where they view landmarks and talk to residents. Do you ever make any new discoveries on these tours?</h4>
The students certainly make new discoveries. I’ve been doing these tours for over ten years now, so I have my set path. But for the students, it’s a wonderful experience. Getting your feet on the pavement makes you identify with the place in a way that reading about it and driving through it doesn’t do. The students come away with a real feeling of the Hill. It’s almost mystical, if you will.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

A number of years ago, August’s sister, Freda, was still alive and we met her one time as she was working in her yard. She told us about the Wilson home where she was born and had grown up. For instance, her mother would set out a card table in the afternoon and neighbors would come over and play pinochle. One of the neighbors was Hedley, and another one was Louise, exactly as the characters in <i>Seven Guitars</i>.
<h4>The American Century Cycle, except for<i> Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom</i> which is set in Chicago, provides audiences with a man-on-the-street view of black life in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. How does Wilson incorporate this sense of place into <i>Radio Golf</i>?</h4>
There are a lot of references that August makes to people, places, and events. Of course, the big event was urban redevelopment and the threat that it posed to the Hill. The Bedford Hills Redevelopment Company, owned by Harmond Wilks, is located, as he says, at the corner of Centre and Herron Avenue. In fact, there was the major black banker and redeveloper of the Hill, Robert Lavelle, who had his business at the corner of Centre and Herron Avenue. It’s still there; his son is now running it. Certainly for someone from Pittsburgh, they would recognize it as a specific place.

The address 1839 Wylie—the home of Aunt Esther—doesn’t exist, but one can infer where it is. People would know it’s right in front of the former Ozanam Community Center; it’s an empty lot. But it’s right there at a place on Wylie, which was the main commercial corridor. The location evokes the past, the liveliness, the businesses, the jazz, and all these other things that went on which made the Hill such an exciting and vibrant neighborhood.
<h4>1839 Wylie Avenue is an ancestral landmark of sorts that reoccurs within the American Century Cycle. In <i>Radio Golf</i>, the character Harmond Wilks provides a majestic description of a Federalist brick house with beveled glass on every floor and a staircase of Brazilian wood with a hand-carved balustrade. As you mentioned, the location is real; however, there’s no house there. What do you think this fictitious home represents for residents who are facing the forces behind urban renewal?</h4>
It relates to something of value in these homes and places. They may not be as fine as 1839 Wylie, but they are places that have significance and are worth preserving. It’s a protest against urban renewal.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

In the 1950s, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) characterized the whole area as a slum that needed to be torn down. However, recently reporters from the <i>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</i> discovered in the basement of the URA boxes of records that the Authority used, along with photographs, where they classified the homes and described them. The URA’s own notes show that a number of these houses were certainly salvageable and could’ve been rehabilitated. It took the worst examples and used them to describe the whole neighborhood. Although most of the records were lost due to flooding, there were about 200 boxes that survived and paint a very different picture of the Hill. It has become a big scandal in Pittsburgh.

I think it confirms what August was saying in <i>Radio Golf</i>—that these homes were not just derelict properties that were beyond saving. August didn’t know about these records, of course, but I think it fits and he was on to something very important.
<h4>The Hill District has undergone immense change. Part of it was demolished for the Mellon Arena. Other sections never fully recovered after the riots spurred by Dr. King’s assassination in 1968. What remains of this collection of neighborhoods? And what preservation efforts are happening to save what was once called Pittsburgh’s Harlem?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></h4>
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<hr />

<em><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2018-2019-season/radio-golf/"><strong>Radio Golf</strong></a> </em><strong>is on stage August 30-September 30, 2018.</strong>"
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        string(328) "To learn more about Pittsburgh’s place in Wilson’s plays, we interviewed Laurence Glasco, Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Pittsburgh. He shares his thoughts on the significance of real estate, memory, and class in the Hill District, the Pittsburgh neighborhood in which <em>Radio Golf</em> unfolds."
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      string(6070) "<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11066" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Ron-August-Wilson.jpg" alt="August Wilson with Ron OJ Parson" width="800" height="300" />Production Dramaturg Martine Kei Green-Rogers sat down with Director Ron OJ Parson to discuss his long history with August Wilson’s work and why he keeps coming back to it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em></p>

<h4>As a dramaturg, I am always interested in the question “Why this play? Why this play now?” Why did you want to direct <i>Radio Golf?</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></h4>
Because it is August Wilson. I <i>always</i> want to direct August Wilson—particularly the later ones, the ones that I have not done as much. This production of <i>Radio Golf</i> is my 25th production of Wilson’s work. I am proud of that. I learn something new every time I direct his plays. At Court, my home theatre, we did a reading of <i>Radio Golf </i>during an August Wilson reading series sponsored by Goodman Theatre. I was reintroduced to the play, and I was once again moved by these characters and the rhythm of the language—it made me want to go on that journey once again.
<h4>How do you feel the play is relevant to audiences now?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></h4>
All plays about the black experience are relevant today because we continue to battle forces that are against us. Plus, anytime you can introduce a younger generation to Wilson’s work, it’s important and relevant. Wilson is one of the most profound and prolific black writers in history. Considering the crazy politics of today, a play like <i>Radio Golf, </i>which is about the political scene, is particularly relevant. These characters feel (to the audience) like real people going through things that could be happening in today’s world.
<h4>One of the things that is interesting about <i>Radio Golf</i> is the conversation around the pros and cons of gentrification. And more specifically, 1990s gentrification. Do you have any thoughts about gentrification in Chicago now, in 2018? Does it seem the same (or different) than the way it is discussed in the play?</h4>
Wilson touches on gentrification in a lot of his plays. And, yes, it certainly relates to Chicago or any larger city. Neighborhoods are definitely being gentrified. Property is being taken and redistributed all over Chicago—South, North, and West. In my hometown of Buffalo, New York, it is happening again, too. In this political climate, I don’t want to harp on this, but there is a new <i>aggressiveness</i> to take back the country, and gentrification is a part of that—part of “Make American Great Again.” For me, it is a situation where, when you think about the play in these terms, it is hard <i>not</i> to see how this play <i>is</i><i>n</i><i>’</i><i>t</i> relevant. Wilson’s characters and the subjects they bring up always make it worthwhile to explore. It is something people need to hear and see.
<h4>Since we are conducting this interview a few weeks before the first rehearsal, what excites you about the upcoming rehearsal process?</h4>
This group of artists is new to me except for a few people. Working with new actors on the same text is always fun and unique. I learn new things about the text when new actors and designers come together to help me tell the story. I have a few actors in this cast who have not done Wilson before. It is thrilling for me to watch their excitement to perform Wilson for the first time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>
<h4>Are there any challenges specific to this particular Wilson piece?</h4>
There are always challenges when you approach a gifted playwright, like getting actors that are new to Wilson to find the rhythm of his language. Even the ones that are not new to Wilson need direction in order to get it just right. It is a new set and sound design—those come with challenges. Even when you direct multiple productions of the same play, no production is exactly the same as the previous one. The rhythms might be the same, the energy and music of the piece may be similar, yet there are artistic differences that make creating multiple productions worthwhile. The next one is usually richer and deeper.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>
<h4>What is your favorite moment in the play?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></h4>
Harmond’s monologue—when he talks about Oprah Winfrey. It is the one that begins with “No. Common sense says that ain’t right. We see it different. No matter what you always on the edge. If you go to the center you look up and find everything done shifted and the center is now the edge. The rules change every day.” This monologue makes me think about all of the things white people expect out of black people. Also, I love some of the things Old Joe says. His comments about his history and his ancestors make me think of the connections we have, or should have, to our own ancestors. This is an ongoing theme in Wilson’s plays, particularly this one. Harmond goes through a big transformation in the play as he realizes his spiritual connection to his ancestors. I wonder how much of that we believe in these days.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>
<h4>Any other fun tidbits you want to share with our audience?</h4>
It is always an honor and a pleasure to work on August Wilson at Court Theatre. We do something special in this theatre because of the intimacy of the space. People know when they come to see it at Court, even if they have seen the same play somewhere else, it will be different here. It is always thrilling to bring Wilson’s words to life in our theatre. ■

<hr />

<em><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2018-2019-season/radio-golf/"><strong>Radio Golf</strong></a> </em><strong>is on stage August 30-September 30, 2018.</strong>
<p class="caption">Photo of August Wilson with Ron OJ Parson by Ray Baker.</p>"
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      string(3744) "<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-10777" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/angel-800x300.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="300" />

We are thrilled to announce <strong>Angel Ysaguirre</strong> as Court Theatre's new Executive Director, beginning September 4th. <span lang="EN">He will join </span>Charlie Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director, as co-leader of the theatre.

For the last five years, Ysaguirre has served as executive director of Illinois Humanities, a not-for-profit organization with the mission of strengthening the social, political and economic fabric of Illinois through constructive conversation and community engagement. During his tenure, the organization established a number of new programs demonstrating the contribution that the humanities can make in addressing today’s most pressing challenges.

“Angel is an exceptional cultural leader whose passion for theater will ensure that Court Theatre, in partnership with faculty and students from across the University, continues to present impactful theatre of the highest quality,” said Provost Daniel Diermeier.
<blockquote>“I am thrilled to have this chance to serve as the executive director of the Court Theatre in partnership with Charlie Newell,” Ysaguirre said. “This opportunity to strengthen the vision for the theater with greater integration with the University of Chicago and the South Side community is an invigorating challenge.”</blockquote>
A cultural leader in Chicago for many years, Ysaguirre served as deputy commissioner of the city of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, playing a significant role in developing and implementing the city’s cultural plan. His rich philanthropic experience includes having served as program officer with the McCormick Tribune Foundation, where he managed a portfolio that covered arts and arts education; and as director of global community investing for Boeing.

“I am excited to partner with Angel. Together with our artists, Board, and the University, Court Theatre now has the opportunity to reach a whole new level,” Newell said. “Angel’s innovative approach – most recently highlighted by his work in expanding the conversations around criminal justice in Illinois – gives me such optimism for the future of our theatre.”

Ysaguirre has a long history of working with the University, leading efforts 18 years ago to develop the Odyssey Project, a partnership between Illinois Humanities and the University of Chicago. The program provides opportunities for low-income adults who were unable to attend college to take humanities courses taught by University of Chicago faculty, encouraging greater civic participation. More recently, Ysaguirre developed strong partnerships with seven communities across Chicago including Bronzeville to launch the Illinois Humanities Envisioning Justice Initiative, which invites residents to take part in a series of conversations, classes, artists commissions, and an exhibition that address the challenges of over-incarceration. Ysaguirre’s commitment to building community through the arts, humanities and theater will benefit Court Theatre’s ongoing work to create theater that has significant impact in communities.

“Given his long history as a cultural leader in Chicago, my fellow board members and I are confident that Angel and Charlie partnering with the board, University faculty and the broader community will further enhance the role of Court Theatre as a cultural leader at the University, across Chicago and beyond,” said Tim Bryant, chairman of the Court Theatre Board.

Please join us in welcoming Angel Ysaguirre to Court Theatre!"
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We are saddened to share the news that Nicholas Rudall, Court’s beloved Founding Artistic Director, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on June 19th. We all have been inspired and profoundly enriched by Nick's beautiful artistry for decades, and we are indebted to him for the enduring gift of this precious theatre.

<hr />

D. Nicholas Rudall, a longtime UChicago scholar and director who helped establish Court Theatre as one of the country’s premier theaters, died June 19 at age 78. He passed away peacefully surrounded by family at his daughter’s home in Tucson, Arizona after a hard-fought battle with cancer.

An award-winning translator of Greek plays and a beloved UChicago professor for 40 years, Rudall brought a love of poetry to the classroom and made ancient texts come to life for his students. He is also widely credited with the energy and artistic vision that first propelled Court Theatre onto the national scene.

In 1970, President Edward H. Levi asked Rudall to transform Court, which began as a community-based outdoor drama festival, into a professional theater. Rudall became Artistic Director of the theatre in 1972, and by the mid-1970s, the company had transitioned from working with students and community members to employing professional Equity actors.

It was under his guidance that Court and the University came together to create a permanent home for the theatrein 1981.Rudall directed dozens of plays, including <em>The Glass Menagerie, Lysistrata, Romeo and Juliet, Under Milk Wood, </em>and <em>The Mystery Cycle</em>. He also appeared often on the Court stage, playing among other parts, Macbeth, Richard III, Falstaff, and Prospero.

“For over half a century, Nick Rudall was an important voice of the arts at the University of Chicago. He will be remembered for his scholarship, dedication to theater and critical work in building the Court Theatre into a leading artistic institution in Chicago,” President Robert J. Zimmer said.

Prof. Emeritus David Bevington, one of the world’s top Shakespeare experts, witnessed Rudall’s classroom persona first-hand while teaching a UChicago class with him on the history and theory of drama.

“Nick taught me whatever I know about Western drama,” said Bevington, the Phyllis Fay Horton Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in English Language and Literature. “He encouraged the students and myself to take a much closer look at the texts until they began to live and breathe."

Born in 1940 in Llanelli, Wales, Rudall was the son of a steelworker and the grandson of a renowned Welsh poet. Rudall likely would have followed in his father’s footsteps to become a laborer had he not won a scholarship to the elite Llandovery boarding school, where he fell in love with theatre.

Rudall earned his PhD in classical languages and literature at Cornell University and in 1966 he joined UChicago’s Classics Department, teaching tragedy and ancient theater. An award-winning and internationally known translator, his writing encompassed texts by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides as well as works by Ibsen, Büchner, Schnitzler, and Feydeau. In the past year, Rudall completed a translation of Aeschylus’ <em>Prometheus Bound</em>.

Rudall retired from teaching in 2006, but he continued to translate and write plays, launching a three-play Greek Cycle at Court Theatre, while also traveling the world with his daughter, Clare Rudall Lorring, and his three grandchildren.

Charles Newell, the Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director at Court Theatre, succeeded Rudall in 1994 and worked closely with him. “By entrusting me with Court Theatre, Nick gave me the extraordinary gift of my career as an artistic leader,” Newell said. “Court will forever be Nick’s legacy. I am honored to have been mentored by this transformative artist. He was and is my artistic father.”

In 2017, Rudall accompanied Court Theatre’s traveling production of his translation of <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/special-event/iphigenia-aulis-getty-villa/"><em>Iphigenia in Aulis</em></a> to the Getty Villa in Los Angeles. The same year, Court Theatre established the <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/nicholas-rudall-endowed-fund/">Nicholas Rudall Endowed Fund</a> to support the continued production of classical texts and to ensure that Rudall’s artistic legacy would endure.

“On behalf of the entire Court Theatre Board of Trustees, I want to express my profound gratitude and admiration for the leadership of Founding Artistic Director Nicholas Rudall. He paved the way for a vital, prolific and thriving regional theatre,” said Timothy Bryant, Court Theatre board chairman.

In an astonishing burst of creativity in recent months, he wrote the play he had dreamed of writing for thirty years—<i class="">But Only Hope</i>—an existential portrait of the life of 20th Century Russian poet Osip Mandelstam. The piece was performed at Court Theatre on Friday, June 8, before a crowd of Court family and friends. Fittingly, the play explores themes of mortality, literary creation, and transcendent love.

On May 29, Rudall posted a final message to Facebook. “I have led an extraordinarily happy life doing the two professions I have loved most, teaching and translating classics and working in the professional theater. I thank you all for helping me enjoy this wonderful life. There are tears, of course, but I entered this last stage of my life at peace and with a kind of subdued joy. So thank you all.”"
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        string(287) "Nicholas Rudall, Court’s beloved Founding Artistic Director, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on June 19th. We all have been inspired and profoundly enriched by Nick's beautiful artistry for decades, and we are indebted to him for the enduring gift of this precious theatre."
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      string(3417) "<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-10705" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ed-blog-800.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="326" />The generous gifts of Court donors like you are already being put to work as Court’s new Director of Education <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/people/patrese-d-mcclain/">Patrese McClain</a> plans for the upcoming school year. And thanks to the generosity of the Betty Lou Smith Fund, all the increased, new, and additional gifts received in support of Court’s Education Initiative have been matched and doubled!

<img class="size-full wp-image-10706 aligncenter" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ed-boxes-1.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="96" />

<strong>Read on to learn about progress already being made in Court’s Education Initiative programming. This is all possible because of your support!</strong>

Court will be expanding the <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/community-engagement/education-initiative/artists-in-schools/">Artists-in-the-Schools</a> (AIS) Residencies to three additional South Side high schools this fall. Additionally, the Education team will be piloting short term AIS Residencies. While the typical residency is between twelve and fourteen sessions, these short term residencies will last between six and eight sessions. These briefer residencies will offer schools greater scheduling flexibility, while allowing Court to reach more students.

Community Solutions programming continues to develop as well. This spring Patrese conducted a pilot College Admissions workshop, offering assistance to students as they worked on auditioning and applying for college admissions and scholarships. She plans on expanding these workshops into multiple schools in the coming Season.

<strong>This Season, Court welcomed 2,193 high school students at <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/community-engagement/education-initiative/student-matinees/">Student Matinees</a> performances.</strong>

Patrese has plans to engage even more students through matinees next Season. She’s meeting with teachers and administrators to find new and engaging ways to integrate Court’s work into classrooms outside of the English and Theatre Departments. She hopes to use <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2018-2019-season/frankenstein/"><em>Frankenstein</em></a> and <em><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2018-2019-season/photograph-51/">Photograph 51</a></em> next Season as pathways into Science classes.

<strong>This is the impact of your gift: bringing theatre and arts into the lives of students across the South Side.</strong>

Your support gives Patrese the resources she needs to expand current programs and introduce new initiatives that address the needs of our students. You are impacting the lives of youth across the South Side, during the formative and critical time of self-discovery and learning that is high school.

Thank you for making this investment in Court and in our South Side students. We can’t wait to share more news with you when the school year begins, and keep you updated on all the exciting moments that your gift has made possible.

<em>To read more about Court’s Education Initiative, and to make a gift in support of these programs, <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/support/donate/">click here</a>.</em>"
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      string(8212) "<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-10644" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/origin-blog-reviews.jpg" alt="Edward Gero as Justice Antonin Scalia" width="800" height="300" />Since opening night on May 19, critics have issued their opinions of <i>The Originalist. </i>While the majority opinion recommends the production, Chris Jones over at the <em>Chicago Tribune</em> offers a mild dissent. In the spirit of civil discourse, we present you with a variety of critic viewpoints. But don't let them decide; join us at Court Theatre and you be the judge. <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2017-2018-season/the-originalist/"><em>The Originalist</em> is on stage through June 10.</a>

<hr />

"It depicts robust, aggressive, passionate disagreement in a context of respect and developing friendship. It accepts power and winning as measures of success, but decency and kindness as even more important measures of a person. In that regard, it feels like a play we need right now."
<a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/the-originalist-depicts-antonin-scalia-as-both-mentor-and-scholar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Chicago Sun Times,</em> Steven Oxman, ★★★</a>

<hr />

“<em>The Originalist</em> triumphs by uniting a stimulating script with a fascinating central character and an exceptional lead performance. [. . . ] Love him or hate him, Antonin Scalia is wonderful company for an evening. For this boon to audiences, Edward Gero and John Strand deserve much thanks.”
<a href="https://chicagolandtheaterreviews.com/chicagoland-productions/originalist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Chicagoland Theater Reviews,</em> Dan Zeff, ★★★</a>

<hr />

“Court Theatre, under the leadership of Charles Newell, continues to bring topnotch and relevant productions to the community [. . .] The Originalist is another worthy production that will not disappoint.”
<a href="http://www.aroundthetownchicago.com/theatre-reviews/the-originalist-reviewed-by-michael-horn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Around the Town Chicago</em>, Michael Horn, ★★★</a>

<hr />

“A doppelganger for the late justice, Gero thoroughly inhabits the role of Scalia in John Strand’s 2015 play, The Originalist. Shuffling across the stage, singing an aria, debating legal points, Gero is Scalia, never out of character until after he takes a final bow and exits the stage sans shuffle.”
<a href="http://chicago.splashmags.com/index.php/2018/05/20/the-originalist-review-order-in-the-court-theatre/#gsc.tab=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Splash Magazines</em>, Leanne Star</a>

<hr />

“Court Theatre brings us a masterpiece that is interesting, thought-provoking and an exhilarating debate in <em>The Originalist</em> by John Strand.”
<a href="http://www.chicagonow.com/lets-play/2018/05/the-originalist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-ChicagoNow</em>, Rick and Brenda McCain</a>

<hr />

"Do plan to leaf through the copy of the US Constitution handed to you with your program with new eyes, renewed reverence, and passion. That you will likely do so speaks to the considerable power of this play.  Plan to be engaged anew in the visions of our founding fathers."
<a href="http://www.picturethispost.com/court-theatre-presents-the-originalist-review/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Picture This Post,</em> Amy Munice</a>

<hr />

"Scalia, one imagines, would have liked being back in Hyde Park. I just think a man of his heft would have preferred to be at the center of a more complicated play, and a more truthful production. And most liberals — who may well find the characterization here of Scalia as a lovable, kind, brilliant and principled curmudgeon infuriating — would not disagree."
<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/reviews/ct-ent-originalist-court-review-0522-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Chicago Tribune,</em> Chris Jones, 2.5 Stars</a>

<hr />

"Gero’s portrayal of Scalia is impeccable. He captures the late justice’s penchant for showmanship, his sharp sense of humor, pugilistic stubbornness, and general mannerisms... Strand’s message of open-mindedness and respectful discourse still shines through, and makes <em>The Originalist</em> a worthwhile watch for anyone willing to challenge their own, seemingly unbendable, political stance."
<a href="https://www.chicagomaroon.com/article/2018/5/22/originalist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Chicago Maroon</em>, Patrick Egon</a>

<hr />

"... <span style="font-weight: 400;">Strand delivers a think piece that pushes people to consider standing on a middle ground, where we acknowledge diverse voices and ideas, even if we do not always agree with them... </span>I believe people will find inspiring hope in<em> The Originalist</em> because it romanticizes the possibilities of what we could become if we work together to find common ground.<span style="font-weight: 400;">"
</span><a href="http://perform.ink/review-the-originalist-at-court-theatre/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Performink,</em> Naima Dawson</a>

<hr />

"There’s little Americans like more than a legal drama—the upstart v. the establishment, the idealist v. the realist, the new v. the old—may the winner expose our present moral condition through a fistfight sublimated into debate... But “The Originalist” does not deliver the customary satisfaction through exploration of the case..."
<a href="https://www.newcitystage.com/2018/05/21/unoriginal-originalist-a-review-of-the-originalist-at-court-theatre/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Newcity,</em> Irene Hsaio</a>

<hr />

"<span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Court Theatre</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> production, directed by Molly Smith, proves that although Scalia may have been a “monster,” as his opponents called him (to his delight), he was really a charming monster... </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Edward Gero, who also has played Scalia from the beginning, is masterful at recreating the justice’s style and bearing. Wheeler, who performed in two other productions of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Originalist</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, is superb as Cat."
</span><a href="https://thirdcoastreview.com/2018/05/22/court-theatres-originalist-two-legal-intellects-skirmish-political-extremes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Third Coast Review,</em> Nancy Bishop</a>

<hr />

"<span style="font-weight: 400;">The play features two fine lead performers. Edward Gero is the proudly conservative Scalia, who is a self-described “originalist” in his interpretations of the US. Constitution. An “originalist” is an individual who believes in the literal, original meaning of a text."
</span><a href="http://readbuzz.com/2018/05/22/theater-review-court-theatres-the-originalist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Buzz, </em>Syd Slobodnik</a>

<hr />

<span style="font-weight: 400;">"The play's premise could have been lifted from a 1940s screwball comedy—verbally adept conservative white male judge hires an equally verbally adept liberal, female, African-American law clerk ... their constant sparring does have a rom-com feel to it, and that adds yet another layer to this </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">rich, fascinating, exceptionally well-written and well-acted play."</span>
<a href="https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-originalist-court-theatre/Content?oid=48647721" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>-Chicago Reader,</em> Jack Helbig</a>

<hr />

"a fascinating, provocative evening of theatre firing on all cylinders ... John Strand’s <em>The Originalist</em> is a richly-complicated exploration of The Honorable Antonin Scalia, showcasing a superb performance by Edward Gero."
<a href="https://www.conversationswithedtracy.com/picksinsix/2017/5/23/picksinsix-review-the-originalist"><em>-Conversations with Ed Tracy</em></a>
<p class="caption">Photo of Edward Gero as Justice Antonin Scalia by Gary W. Sweetman</p>"
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        string(363) "Since opening night on May 19, critics have issued their opinions of The Originalist. While the majority opinion recommends the production, Chris Jones over at the Chicago Tribune offers a mild dissent. In the spirit of civil discourse, we present you with a variety of critic viewpoints. But don't let them decide; join us at Court Theatre and you be the judge."
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      string(5159) "<span style="font-weight: 400;"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-10625" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Supreme_Court_US_2010.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="300" />Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wasn’t shy. Known for his quick wit as much as his sharp legal mind, he was, in the words of playwright John Strand, “</span><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/playwright-john-strand-on-justice-scalia/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">a puncher</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.” Here are a few colorful quotes from his dissents.</span>

<hr />

<em><b>King v. Burwell</b></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">: </span><em>In June 2015, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to keep Obamacare intact.</em>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The Court’s next bit of </span><b>interpretive jiggery-pokery</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> involves other parts of the Act that purportedly presuppose the availability of tax credits on both federal and state Exchanges. [. . .]</span> <b>Pure applesauce</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">.”</span></p>


<hr />

<strong><em>Obergefell v. Hodges</em></strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">: </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">After the Court ruled in support of gay marriage, Scalia pointedly critiqued the opening lines of Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion.</span></em>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If, even as the price to be paid for a fifth vote, I ever joined an opinion for the Court that began: ‘The Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach, a liberty that includes certain specific rights that allow persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity,’ </span><b>I would hide my head in a bag</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story </span><b>to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">.”</span></p>


<hr />

<em><b>United States v. Virginia</b></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">: </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a 7-1 vote, the Court ruled against the Virginia Military Institute’s policy of admitting only men.</span></i>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"If it were impossible for individual human beings (or groups of human beings) to act autonomously in effective pursuit of a common goal,</span><b> the game of soccer would not exist</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">."</span></p>


<hr />

<em><b>Community Nutrition Institute v. Block</b></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">: </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 1984, Scalia waxed poetic about lawmaking and sausage.</span></i>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This case, involving legal requirements for the content and labeling of meat products such as frankfurters, affords a rare opportunity to explore simultaneously both parts of Bismarck’s aphorism that </span><b>‘No man should see how laws or sausages are made.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">’”</span></p>


<hr />

<em><b>PGA Tour Inc. v. Martin</b></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">: </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the 2001 dissent, Scalia discussed the ever-important role of golf in the law.</span></i>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"If one assumes, however, that the PGA TOUR has some legal obligation to play classic, Platonic golf—and if one assumes the correctness of all the other wrong turns the Court has made to get to this point—then we Justices must confront what is indeed an awesome responsibility. It has been rendered the solemn duty of the Supreme Court of the United States, laid upon it by Congress in pursuance of the Federal Government’s power ‘[t]o regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States,’ </span><b>to decide What Is Golf</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. I am sure that the Framers of the Constitution, aware of the 1457 edict of King James II of Scotland prohibiting golf because it interfered with the practice of archery, fully expected that sooner or later the paths of golf and government, the law and the links, would once again cross, and that the judges of this august Court would some day have to wrestle with </span><b>that age-old jurisprudential question</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, for which their years of study in the law have so well prepared them: Is someone riding around a golf course from shot to shot really a golfer? The answer, we learn, is yes. The Court ultimately concludes, and it will henceforth be the Law of the Land, that walking is not a ‘fundamental” aspect of golf.’”</span></p>
Check out <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2017-2018-season/the-originalist/"><em>The Originalist</em></a> at Court Theatre, May 10 – June 10, 2028.
<p class="caption">Photo: The Roberts Court (October 2010 – February 2016).</p>"
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<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 30px;">Is the Constitution a living document, one that should change and evolve over time, or is it a text frozen in the moment of its creation, strictly bound by the Founding Fathers’ original intentions?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 30px;">David A. Strauss, Gerald Ratner Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, wrote <i>The Living Constitution</i> (Oxford University Press, 2010) to address this question.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Strauss has served as Special Counsel to the U. S. Senate Judiciary Committee and as Assistant Solicitor General of the United States, and argued nineteen cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Court’s Resident Dramaturg about Justice Scalia and the debate over the nature of the Constitution.</p>

<h5>What is your definition of originalism?</h5>
I think originalism is the claim that we can figure out what the Constitution allows and forbids by looking at decisions made by the Founders—decisions made at the time the Constitution was written. My view is that just cannot be done. You cannot get answers to today’s issues by consulting the intentions of people who lived in an utterly different country in the late 18th century. And because originalism really doesn’t work in the way its proponents claim, the appeal to the Founders ends up being a kind of rhetorical move that people use to accomplish something else. Originalists, I think, often find principles in the text and in the decisions of the founding generation that they want to find there. They might be perfectly good principles, but they should be defended on their own merits, not by invoking the authority of the Founders or the text.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>
<h5>What kind of originalist was Antonin Scalia?</h5>
Justice Scalia was regarded as a conservative, but one thing people do not always realize is that originalism is not necessarily a conservative approach. The most influential originalist of the last 100 years was not Justice Scalia at all. It was Justice Hugo Black, an intellectual force for civil rights and free speech on the Warren Court. In most respects, Justice Black was what we would call a liberal, and he very much fancied himself an originalist.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

What that tells me is that originalism is something people use to attack the tradition they grew up in. Justice Black, who was from Alabama, grew up in a tradition of racism, in a time when there was Jim Crow segregation and repression in the South, and he hated it. So he appealed to the Founders, claiming that they believed in racial equality and civil liberties. Racial equality and civil liberties are good things, but it’s not so clear that the Founders thought so!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

Justice Scalia grew up in the Warren Court era, when the Court was aggressively protecting what the Court saw as disadvantaged groups in society, and Justice Scalia thought the Warren Court went too far. So he portrayed the Founders in a different way.
<h5>Your view of the Constitution is the opposite of originalism. Could you explain what you mean by a “living” Constitution?</h5>
One of the strengths of our Constitutional system is that it maintains certain principles as fundamental, but it shapes and adapts those principles to changing circumstances, changing times, and to particular crises that arise.<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>That’s because our system, it seems to me, is based mostly on precedent and tradition, instead of simply looking for an authoritative command from the Founders or the text of the Constitution. That’s the sense in which the Constitution is “living”: it is able to adapt without losing touch with the past, by continuing to develop principles that have been worked out over time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>
<h5>What are examples of the “living Constitution” in action?</h5>
There are a lot of them, because major events in the history of this country have changed our understanding of the Constitution in many ways. Those changes are now built into our institutions and our traditions and even our ways of thinking about each other. Take racial equality, for example. The Supreme Court’s decisions establishing principles of racial equality rely on the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, but when that Amendment was adopted, the idea that African Americans were equal to whites was a radical position. The Amendment just gave blacks certain limited rights. No one, for example, thought that the Amendment meant that there was a right to interracial marriage. But over time, we made progress. Americans came to understand that racial discrimination was intolerable in all its forms. It took a while for the country to come around to that view, but the country did come around, and it is now a point of essentially universal consensus—as much a part of the Constitution as anything you can think of, even though the text was never amended. I could give you a lot of other examples; women’s equality is in a way an even more dramatic case. ■

Check out <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2017-2018-season/the-originalist/"><em>The Originalist</em></a> at Court Theatre, May 10 - June 10, 2028."
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      string(7139) "<a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/people/john-strand/"><img class="size-full wp-image-10403 alignright" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/scalia-600.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="452" />John Strand</a> was the playwright in residence at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. when his play, <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2017-2018-season/the-originalist/"><i>The Originalist</i></a>, premiered in 2015. He is currently at work on the film version of <i>The Originalist</i>, as well as the new play, <i>River of Doubt</i>, about the life of Teddy Roosevelt. <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/people/nora-titone/">Nora Titone</a>, Court Theatre’s Resident Dramaturg,<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>spoke with Strand to discover how he created a version of Justice Scalia for the stage, and what his motivation was for exploring this complex moment in America’s highest court.

<hr />

<h5>You observed that “Nobody is neutral on the subject of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.” What is it about him that evokes such passionate responses across the political spectrum?</h5>
One primary reason is that he was a puncher. He was pugilistic in his approach to what he believed and that really antagonized people who disagreed with him and caused people who agreed with him to stand on their feet and cheer. It was his nature to be controversial in public and we see that in his words from the bench. Part of what led me to first research Scalia was how vicious and vitriolic the comments were about him, not just as a Supreme Court Justice, but as an individual. But when I began to speak with people who worked with him and knew him well, he was this wonderful, paternal, humorous, brilliant individual. I thought there must be an interesting way to reconcile those two extremes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>
<h5>By exploring Scalia’s character, did you hope there was going to be a collective lesson we could learn, or a political rift that could be healed? Or was it really just purely intellectual, to answer the question: how does he tick?</h5>
Many people join me in feeling alarm at the polarization of political discourse, if we can even dignify it with this term. I wanted to use Scalia as an example of someone who represents the extreme and see what it would be like to put him in the same ring with someone who is his polar opposite. We match him with a woman of color in her twenties, fresh out of law school, and what happens is that this pairing is not a mismatch: she learns how to punch. The historic Scalia was someone who welcomed debate from his clerks and made a point of hiring a liberal law clerk because it inspired heated debate. He loved that. But I think there’s an intellectual generosity in the idea that, ‘I don’t agree with you, but I will listen to you explain your condition respectfully and then I’ll answer you respectfully,’ and that’s how he treated the people around him. He was much tougher on his fellow justices. When they did something that he thought was wrong— that went against his own originalist interpretation of the Constitution—he could be vicious. You wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of Antonin Scalia when he was reading a dissent to the bench. He frequently excoriated the other justices when he thought that they were violating the principles of the Constitution as he saw them.
<h5>Were there particular decisions of his from the bench that you had at the forefront of your mind as you were thinking about creating his portrait?</h5>
I went back and read all of his dissents. Scalia was a brilliant thinker and he had a comic timing that was really remarkable. He was funny from the bench, often to the chagrin of the people of opposing view. I think someone did a survey of how many times each justice solicited humor from fellow justices or the Court during a hearing and Scalia did so at a rate of about ten times that of any other. He knew how to deliver a line. There was a certain performer in Scalia, which is another thing that really interested me. He loved opera and he even appeared in a few operas as an extra. Scalia was a larger than life character and I think he really enjoyed that. He used the bench with its very theatrical setting, its costumes, and its lighting to perform. He performed from the bench.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

The play was embraced in Washington by enthusiastics audiences during Scalia’s lifetime, and now is proliferating in a new way in a new political moment. What do you hope to see happen as people come to the theater now and watch this piece?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

At the heart of the play is the idea that it is possible for two people of extremely divergent viewpoints to argue their case and at the same time not lose respect for one another and even, perhaps, gain respect for one another. The alternative is for us all to retreat into a kind of childish, reactionary, hateful response to people with whom we disagree politically. But here are two people who are extreme opposites of one another but have a certain amount of hope to move towards the other’s position. If you don’t have the respect to listen, research, and learn from an opposite viewpoint,<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>you’ll never be effective in arguing against it. So that’s the hope from this, I think. In the play they come to respect one another in a way that neither one of them would have anticipated.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>
<h5>And as you say there’s a historical basis in the life of Justice Scalia for that hopefulness.</h5>
You need only look at his most famous buddy sitting next to him on the bench, Justice Ginsburg. His positions may have driven her crazy from time to time but she loved him for his qualities as a person: his humor, the way he mentored his clerks— liberal or conservative—and the way he was a natural teacher. She has said that there are many times when she would submit one of her opinions to Scalia, asking him to read and comment on it. He was tough on her but she said that he made her argument better, stronger, more accurate. In reading her opinion, he probably disagreed with every line, but he took it seriously and worked to strengthen her argument. I think he greatly admired her courage and he saw how difficult it was for a woman in those days to advance in law and then rise all the way to the Supreme Court. I think he would begin from the position of: if you’re seated next to me on the bench, you’re a remarkable person and you are very talented in matters of law or you wouldn’t be here. If past that point you also happen to have a wonderful sense of humor and you’re just a real humanist and and intellectual, as is true of Justice Ginsburg, she had his respect. ■

<i>-Edited by Ella Hester</i>

Catch <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2017-2018-season/the-originalist/"><em>The Originalist</em></a> at Court Theatre May 10 - June 10, 2018."
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      string(6546) "<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-10398" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/gero-800x300.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="300" />
<p style="padding-left: 60px;">When Washington, D.C.-based actor <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/people/4104/">Edward Gero</a> agreed to take on the role of Antonin Scalia, he had no idea of the unlikely relationship that would develop between him and the late Supreme Court justice. Prior to Scalia’s passing in 2016, Gero had visited “Nino” dozens of times, and bonded with him about their shared backgrounds, love of Shakespeare, and passion for language. Gero talked with Shelby Wenner, Court’s Associate Director of Marketing, about his process to understand this character, and his hopes in bringing <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2017-2018-season/the-originalist/"><i>The Originalist </i></a>to Chicago.</p>

<h5>Tell me a little bit about the process of getting to know Justice Scalia, from an artist’s perspective.</h5>
For me, the actual person and the character in the biographical play are deeply intertwined. I had the opportunity to meet Justice Scalia about six to seven months before starting rehearsal, but I decided that was too soon; I had to do my own research first! So I read biographies on him, I read The Federalist Papers, books on the Supreme Court, and so on.

In November of 2014, I was invited as Justice Scalia’s guest to a hearing, and lunch in his chambers afterwards. I was sitting in his guest seats, and when he came out into the Court, he looked over at me. We locked eyes and regarded each other—it was a very long stare, and I thought to myself, “As long as I don’t melt, I’ll be fine.” He finally looked away, and off he went. He was very engaged in that particular hearing, asking a lot of questions and using many behaviors that I could use as an actor.

We had lunch afterwards, and he was very charming. He said to me, “I want you to know that I won’t be seeing the play, but I’m glad they got someone good to do it.” We talked about some ideas that I had to understand his legal interpretations and theory. I used an analogy of how I approach Shakespearean work: with text analysis, syntax, and semantics, deriving meaning from the text itself. He said that this was perfectly analogous to how he approaches the United States Constitution. This really confirmed my early decisions about how I thought his mind worked. We talked about music, Italy, our New Jersey roots, our religious background. He had a command of language that I hadn’t experienced before. He said to come back anytime I liked, and I took him up on that offer.
<h5>What was it like meeting him?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></h5>
Life-altering. Inspiring to be in the presence of someone who had such commitment to democracy and the law. What surprised me about him was his humility. Like a good actor, you serve the playwright. Like a good justice, you serve the law. Being in the courtroom is like being in the theatre… words really matter.

Has acting as Justice Scalia in multiple productions of <i>The Originalist </i>as the world changes drastically affected your relationship with the play’s meaning?

I was present for the <i>Obergefell v. Hodges</i> hearing [the landmark civil rights case in which the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples are guaranteed the fundamental right to marry], I had lunch with him afterwards in his chambers, and I performed <i>The Originalist</i> that night. The audience was trying to read the tea leaves to see if there was anything there—but we didn’t talk politics. For him, it didn’t matter if you didn’t agree with him. What was important to him was what you thought, and how you arrived at it. Let’s challenge it, poke holes in it, and move on. The fact that we vilify people who disagree with us was not something he was doing. Fundamentally, it was about taking the law and democracy seriously.

What hass changed since his passing and the last election cycle are audience reactions and expectations. What started out as a lecture to the political left about being open-minded has become not only that, but also a cautionary tale to the right. A consistent and transparent conservative to whom words matter is seen as a hope, and people appreciate him more because you at least know what you’re going to get every time.
<h5>When not performing on stage, you are on faculty at George Mason University. How does working with and teaching students interact with your profession as an actor?</h5>
There is definitely influence; <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/people/jade-wheeler/">Jade</a> [Wheeler, playing Cat] is actually my former student! We come by the relationship organically and honestly, which is a great boon to the play. It’s been wonderful to work with her.

I’ve been at George Mason University for over 25 years. My students value my role as a professional actor, as a role model for students showing that having a life in both a theatre and in a community is possible. I’ve made a serious commitment to regional theatre, but I spend nine hours a day at George Mason on Mondays, the Equity day off. This schedule frees me to go to rehearsals, bring best practices back to the classroom, and my students are able to come to performances to see me hopefully walking the walk.
<h5>What are your hopes for bringing <i>The Originalist</i> to a Chicago audience? How do you hope this play lives on in the future?</h5>
I love Chicago audiences: they’re smart, hip, critical, diverse. From the vibrancy of a college town, to the working class, and all the way up the scale. They like grit, and they like new ideas. I’m excited to see how they respond.

As a Shakespearean actor, I’m used to playing a lot of characters people love to hate, but I’ve never played one that audiences hate to love. It is my hope that audiences get a sense of the human being that I got to know, and in so doing, reconsider their ideas of the man and the Justice. I hope the play engages audiences to reconsider how they conduct their civil discourse. Work at listening, especially when we disagree. Get out, get engaged, express yourself, and vote! ■

Don't miss Edward Gero as Justice Antonin Scalia in<em> <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2017-2018-season/the-originalist/">The Originalist</a></em>, May 10 - June 10, 2018.
<p class="caption">Photo by Gary W. Sweetman.</p>"
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  <h1>Blog</h1>
  
      <article class="blog-teaser">
      <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/pittsburghs-place-within-august-wilsons-world/"><img class="blog-teaser__img" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/hill-district-200.jpg" alt="" /></a>
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        <h3 class="title"><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/pittsburghs-place-within-august-wilsons-world/">Pittsburgh’s Place within August Wilson’s World</a></h3>
        <p>To learn more about Pittsburgh’s place in Wilson’s plays, we interviewed Laurence Glasco, Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Pittsburgh. He shares his thoughts on the significance of real estate, memory, and class in the Hill District, the Pittsburgh neighborhood in which <em>Radio Golf</em> unfolds.</p>
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      <article class="blog-teaser">
      <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/qa-ronojparson/"><img class="blog-teaser__img" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Ron-August-Wilson-200sq.jpg" alt="" /></a>
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        <h3 class="title"><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/qa-ronojparson/">Q&#038;A: Director Ron OJ Parson</a></h3>
        <p>Production Dramaturg Martine Kei Green-Rogers sat down with Director Ron OJ Parson to discuss his long history with August Wilson’s work and why he keeps coming back to it. </p>
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    </article>
      <article class="blog-teaser">
      <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/angel-ysaguirre-appointed-executive-director/"><img class="blog-teaser__img" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/AngelHeadshot300sq.jpg" alt="" /></a>
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        <h3 class="title"><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/angel-ysaguirre-appointed-executive-director/">Angel Ysaguirre Appointed Executive Director</a></h3>
        <p>We are thrilled to announce Angel Ysaguirre as Court Theatre's new Executive Director, beginning September 4th. He will join Charlie Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director, as co-leader of the theatre.</p>
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      <article class="blog-teaser">
      <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/celebrating-founding-artistic-director-nicholas-rudall-1940-2018/"><img class="blog-teaser__img" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/rudall_nick_200sq_facefront.jpg" alt="" /></a>
      <div class="blog-teaser__body">
        <h3 class="title"><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/celebrating-founding-artistic-director-nicholas-rudall-1940-2018/">Celebrating Founding Artistic Director Nicholas Rudall</a></h3>
        <p>Nicholas Rudall, Court’s beloved Founding Artistic Director, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on June 19th. We all have been inspired and profoundly enriched by Nick's beautiful artistry for decades, and we are indebted to him for the enduring gift of this precious theatre.</p>
      </div>
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      <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/you-are-opening-courts-doors-to-students-across-the-south-side/"><img class="blog-teaser__img" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ed-blog-200.jpg" alt="" /></a>
      <div class="blog-teaser__body">
        <h3 class="title"><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/you-are-opening-courts-doors-to-students-across-the-south-side/">You are opening Court’s doors to students across the South Side!</a></h3>
        <p>The generous gifts of Court donors like you are already being put to work as Court’s new Director of Education Patrese McClain plans for the upcoming school year. And thanks to the generosity of the Betty Lou Smith Fund, all the increased, new, and additional gifts received in support of Court’s Education Initiative have been matched and doubled!</p>
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      <article class="blog-teaser">
      <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/critics-issue-opinions-on-the-originalist/"><img class="blog-teaser__img" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/origin-blog-reviews-200sq.jpg" alt="" /></a>
      <div class="blog-teaser__body">
        <h3 class="title"><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/critics-issue-opinions-on-the-originalist/">Critics Issue Opinions on &#8216;The Originalist&#8217;</a></h3>
        <p>Since opening night on May 19, critics have issued their opinions of The Originalist. While the majority opinion recommends the production, Chris Jones over at the Chicago Tribune offers a mild dissent. In the spirit of civil discourse, we present you with a variety of critic viewpoints. But don't let them decide; join us at Court Theatre and you be the judge.</p>
      </div>
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      <article class="blog-teaser">
      <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/scalias-scathing-dissents/"><img class="blog-teaser__img" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/RTXP2UY-e1524583082559.jpg" alt="" /></a>
      <div class="blog-teaser__body">
        <h3 class="title"><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/scalias-scathing-dissents/">Scalia&#8217;s Scathing Dissents</a></h3>
        <p>Known for his quick wit as much as his sharp legal mind, Scalia was, in the words of playwright John Strand, “a puncher.”</p>
      </div>
    </article>
      <article class="blog-teaser">
      <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/what-is-originalism/"><img class="blog-teaser__img" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/wethepeople-200sq.jpg" alt="" /></a>
      <div class="blog-teaser__body">
        <h3 class="title"><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/what-is-originalism/">What is Originalism?</a></h3>
        <p>Is the Constitution a living document, one that should change and evolve over time, or is it a text frozen in the moment of its creation, strictly bound by the Founding Fathers’ original intentions?   David A. Strauss, Gerald Ratner Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, addresses this question. </p>
      </div>
    </article>
      <article class="blog-teaser">
      <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/playwright-john-strand-on-justice-scalia/"><img class="blog-teaser__img" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/scalia-200sq.jpg" alt="" /></a>
      <div class="blog-teaser__body">
        <h3 class="title"><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/playwright-john-strand-on-justice-scalia/">Playwright John Strand on Justice Scalia</a></h3>
        <p>John Strand was the playwright in residence at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. when his play, <i>The Originalist</i>, premiered in 2015. We spoke with Strand to discover how he created a version of Justice Scalia for the stage, and what his motivation was for exploring this complex moment in America’s highest court.</p>
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    </article>
      <article class="blog-teaser">
      <a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/qa-actor-edward-gero/"><img class="blog-teaser__img" src="https://www.courttheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/gero-blog-200sq.jpg" alt="" /></a>
      <div class="blog-teaser__body">
        <h3 class="title"><a href="https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/qa-actor-edward-gero/">Q&#038;A: Actor Edward Gero</a></h3>
        <p>When Washington, D.C.-based actor Edward Gero agreed to take on the role of Antonin Scalia, he had no idea of the unlikely relationship that would develop between him and the late Supreme Court justice. Gero talks with Court about his process to understand this character, and his hopes in bringing The Originalist to Chicago.</p>
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    var about = new RegExp(/^\/about\/?$/);
    
    var seasonsTickets_sub = new RegExp(/^\/season-tickets\/.+\/?/);
    var planVisit_sub = new RegExp(/^\/plan-your-visit\/.+\/?/);
    var support_sub = new RegExp(/^\/support\/.+\/?/);
    var commEngagement_sub = new RegExp(/^\/community-engagement\/.+\/?/);
    var about_sub = new RegExp(/^\/about\/.+\/?/);

    var blog_sub = new RegExp(/^\/about\/blog\/.+\/?$/);
    var gallery_sub = new RegExp(/^season-tickets\/.+\/.+\/gallery\/.+\/?/);
    var purchase_sub = new RegExp(/^season-tickets\/purchase\/.+\/?/);


    // Arrays of regexps
    var sections = [ seasonsTickets, planVisit, support, commEngagement, about ];
    var subsections = [ seasonsTickets_sub, planVisit_sub, support_sub, commEngagement_sub, about_sub ];
    var specialsections = [ blog_sub, gallery_sub, purchase_sub ];
    var element = null;
    
    for (var i = 0; i < specialsections.length; i++) {
      element = specialsections[i];
      
      var result = element.test(testString);
      
      if(result) {
        if (i==0) {
          console.log('fired blog');
          jQuery('.main-nav > ul.nav > li.menu-item-73 > .nav-drop').css('display', 'block');
        } else if (i == 1) {
          console.log('fired gallery');
          jQuery('.main-nav > ul.nav > li.menu-item-2932 > .nav-drop').css('display', 'block');
        } else if (i == 2) {
          console.log('fired purchase');
          jQuery('.main-nav > ul.nav > li.menu-item-2932 > .nav-drop').css('display', 'block');
        }
       return; 
      }
    }  

      for (var i = 0; i < subsections.length; i++) {

      element = subsections[i];

      // The test. compare the url string to the array of regexps
      var result = element.test(testString);

      // for each true test (result) do another test (i == x) to check which and what classes we are setting.
      if(result) {
        var j = i+1;
        jQuery('.main-nav > ul.nav > li:nth-child(' + j + ') > .nav-drop').css('display', 'block');
        jQuery('li.current').parent('.nav-drop').css('display', 'block');
        jQuery('li.current > .nav-drop').css('display','block');
        return;
      }  
      

    };

    for (var i = 0; i < sections.length; i++) {

       element = sections[i];

       // The test. compare the url string to the array of regexps
        var result = element.test(testString);
        
       // for each true test (result) do another test (i == x) to check which and what classes we are setting.
        if(result) {
          jQuery('li.current > .nav-drop').css('display', 'block');
        }
       
    };
    
 }

  </script>
  
  </body>
</html>