I found myself in a bar after seeing Zach Theatre's opening night performance of Lisa Loomer's, the 1973 landmark Supreme Court decision that guaranteed the right to an abortion. Instead, I gained perspective when the house band played a Trace Adkins song from the filmIt can happen so fast/ Or a little bit late/ Timing is everything.Roe v. Wade
– the pregnant, damaged plaintiff Norma McCorvey aka"Jane Roe" and her gutsy young attorney Sarah Weddington . It chronicles their lives leading up to their first meeting, takes us into the courtroom as the lawyer pleads her case, and charts their divergent political paths after the case has concluded.
But this is also a memory play told by both McCorvey and Weddington, who admit that their memories are unreliable, imperfect, and often contradictory. As such,is more of a creative piece of storytelling about an impactful moment in recent history than a documentary-style staging of historical facts. Characters are given the freedom to reenact their lives while offering context, commentary, and humorous asides, like what Wikipedia and their obituaries say about them in the future.
This play was originally slated for production at the Zach in 2020, but was canceled after three rehearsals due to COVID: Now it is being staged at a time when abortion is no longer readily accessible and all but illegal in Texas, where providing one can be a felony punishable by up to life in prison.is no longer the same play. Its balanced retrospection now seems naive.