Roe
By Lisa Loomer
Originally produced at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR
April 20 - October 29, 2016
About the Premiere Production:
(Pictured: Sarah Jane Agnew and Sara Bruner. Photo: Jenny Graham.)
Co-produced with Arena Stage and Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Stranger than fiction . . . and all true: The lawyer: a young, brilliant, courageous woman who argued Roe v. Wade before the Supreme Court. The plaintiff: a hard-drinking, wild-tempered hippie bartender seeking to end an unwanted pregnancy. As we know, they won the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion. But what most people don’t know is how their divergent journeys after the case reflect the subsequent polarization in American culture. With shocking turns and surprising humor, Roe illuminates the difficult choices women make and the passion each side has for its cause. Bill Rauch directs this American Revolutions premiere by Lisa Loomer (Distracted).
Cast: Sarah Jane Agnew, Sara Bruner, Gina Daniels, Susan Lynskey, Amy Newman, Kate Mulligan, Catherine Castellanos, Barret O'Brien, Jeffrey King, Richard Elmore, Zoe Bishop, and Nemuna Ceesay.
Director: Bill Rauch
Scenic Design: Rachel Hauck
Costume Design: Raquel Barreto
Lighting Design: Jane Cox
Composer & Sound Design: Paul James Prendergast
Video Designer: Wendall K. Harrington
Dramaturg: Tom Bryant
Voice & Text Director: Rebecca Clark Carey
Fight Director: U. Jonathan Toppo
Associate Costume Designer: Sarah Beata DeLong
Phil Killian Directing Fellow: Lavina Jadhwani
Movement Consultant: Jaclyn Miller
Production Stage Manager: Jeremy Eisen
News:
Additional funders: Development and production of Roe was supported by grants from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust. LEAD SPONSOR: The Goatie Foundation. PRODUCTION SPONSORS: The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
Subsequent Productions:
- Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, CA March 3, 2017 - April 2, 2017 *Co-production with Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Arena Stage)
- Curious Theatre Company in Denver, CO May 7, 2020 - June 20, 2020
- Arena Stage in Washington, DC January 12, 2017 - February 19, 2017 (Co-production with Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Berkeley Repertory Theatre)
- Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida March 14, 2018 - April 15, 2018
- Goodman Theatre in Chicago, IL January 18, 2020 - February 23, 2020
- ZACH Theatre in Austin, TX April 8, 2020 - May 3, 2020
- Kennedy Center - Theater for Young Audiences in Arlington, VA September 28, 2015 - September 28, 2015
- Stages in Houston, TX January 20, 2023 - March 5, 2023
- Connecticut Repertory Theatre in Storrs, CT March 2, 2023 - March 11, 2023
- ZACH Theatre in Austin, TX April 5, 2023 - April 30, 2023