"Schreck’s extraordinary show...Funny and infuriated, analytical and confessional, erudite and heartbreaking...Though the show often feels informal and spontaneous, it is actually all scripted...The remarkable mix of civic lesson and storytelling finds its fullest expression when Schreck takes us through the 14th amendment...It’s hard to imagine a more timely show...It is really about what the Constitution means to all of us."
Read more

"The production feels less like a finished play than an endlessly open-ended conversation, being invented on the spot...Personally, I could have done with a bit more theatrical manipulation throughout, with more varied heightening of tone and pace. At times, listening to Ms. Schreck can feel like reading page after page of unpunctuated, unparagraphed prose. But if the show still has the shapelessness of a work-in-progress, that’s appropriate to the subject, isn’t it?"
Read more

"The show offers a compelling mix of earnest sweetness and thundering mountaintop fury. As the show began on the 27th, though, the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings were still ringing in the audience’s ears, and Schreck—a fizzy presence—cried through nearly the entire performance. So did I. Yet there is more in Schreck’s piece than a pure appeal to emotion; there’s a deep and rational argument about the purpose of rhetoric, the value of giving a girl a podium."
Read more

"By telling us about herself, Schreck shows us ourselves, our country, our own shared history. 'What the Constitution Means to Me' isn’t political commentary, which moves one way and often tells us what we already know. Rather, it’s a masterful act of storytelling, blending unflinching vulnerability, nimble humor, and acute analysis to inspire revelation. It’s a play that expands beyond itself, offering an immensely powerful model for modern civic theater."
Read more

"The scattershot, seemingly improvised style of the piece is both its major strength and weakness. Schreck’s unpredictability and hyperactivity can be enlivening...That being said, many sections are repetitive, rambling and hard to follow. It is a show that manages to feel thin and overwhelming at the same time. Premiering in the midst of the Senate vote on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Schreck probably could not have picked a better time to do her show."
Read more

“I left the theater with an electric current running through my body the likes of which I haven't felt since 'Hamilton'...An X-ray examination of our republic's founding document that brilliantly straddles the border between ode and indictment...Schreck approaches her subject with such implacable enthusiasm...Her supernova energy is as infectious as it is disarming...'What the Constitution Means to Me' ought to run at least as long as our country does."
Read more

“Shreck’s inescapably truthful, yet eventually hopeful autobiographical performance piece...An extraordinary balance of historical fact, legal analysis, and personal experience presented with a warm, conversational tone. Though the piece is directed by Oliver Butler, you could find yourself wondering if Schreck's occasional moments where she needs to stop and compose herself are staged or natural occurrences. They are that realistic.”
Read more

“Schreck's fearless, funny examination of the American legal system...Schreck is a charmer, an innately witty performer whose passion for the subject shines through...For three quarters of its running time, 'What the Constitution Means to Me' creates drama as Schreck pursues her argument, weaving together legal history with her personal story and elegantly posing some very troubling questions....Oliver Butler's direction keeps the enterprise engaging even when it veers off."
Read more