by Joanne Engelhardt

A breath-taking “force of nature” named Kimberly Donovan dominated Hillbarn Theatre’s stage in the role of “Heidi” as the Foster City company opened its production of “What the Constitution Means to Me” on Friday, Jan. 23, for a three-week run.

Donovan is practically the only person who has any dialogue until the last half-hour of the play. At that time, she’s aided by a “mini” force of nature in the person of actrress Miriam Shem-Tov, playing Heidi as a 15-year-old who swoops on stage and immediately controls it as the “Debater.” It isn’t the fact that she’s a debater that makes her special. It’s the way she spits out dialogue at what feels like a rate of several hundred words per minute!

(Shem-Tov shares the role of the Debater with Avery Hartman, who performs on alternate nights.)

The only other role in “Constitution” is called “Legionnaire/Mike.” Vincent Randazzo has almost nothing to do for most of the play when he’s the Legionnaire.  He sits behind a desk, shuffles some index cards and frequently checks a stopwatch to alert Heidi how much time she has left to speak.

But like Superman, Randazzo literally transforms into another person as he takes off his jacket, rolls up his sleeves and has some juicy lines to say as Mike during the last half-hour of the play.

Yet it’s Heidi who is the heart-and-soul of “Constitution,” both as a 15-year-old Constitutional debater in 1989 (played by Shem-Tov) and her current self 25 years later (played by Donovan).

It’s interesting that no matter how long she talks, the audience is totally immersed both in her words and the physical gyrations of her face and body.  (This reviewer felt worn out just watching her!)

The setting looks just like an American Legion Hall in the town of Wenatchee, Washington would look.  The warm brown wood walls are filled with many framed photographs of Legonnaires. At center stage is a colorful rug on which sits a small table and a lectern with an American Legion Auxiliary seal.

To ensure things don’t get serious all the time, there’s a lot of humor sprinkled throughout the play.  As a young girl, Heidi admits to being in love with Patrick Swayze in “Dirty Dancing” as well as having an unnatural fixation on Salem witchcraft. She also announces proudly that Wenatchee is the “apple capital of the world!”

Heidi then spends time talking about her family and her beloved “Grandma Bea.”  The female family members  had experienced sexual abuse, beatings, mental illness and more, and she shares that at 16 she herself had an abortion.

But the heart of “Constitution” is just that: The Constitution and its amendments.  As a young debater, Heidi is given two amendments to dissect which she does masterfully, frequently condemning the fact that for many years the Supreme Court was made up of only nine white males.

Then as her 40-year-old self, Heidi points out that the high court of the U.S. is now made up of both sexes and several nationalities.  She gleefully adds: “When Ruth Bader Ginsberg was asked how many women would be enough on the Supreme Court, she replied: ‘Nine.'”

As the play ends, everyone in the audience is given a pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution. There’s also an interactive conclusion to “Constitution,” which won’t be shared here.  Suffice to say that it involves a different member of the audience at each performance.

“What the Constitution Means to Me” runs Through February 8, 2026 at Hillbarn Theatre.

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Rating: **** (For an explanation of TheatreStorm’s rating system, click here.)
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“What the Constitution Means to Me” by Heidi Schreck. Director: Susannah Martin. Scenic and Properties Design: Jenna Forder. Costume Design: Madeline Berger.Sound: Jeff Mockus. Lighting: Cameron Pence. Master Carpenter: Eric Olson. Master Electrician: Theodore Neeno. Audio Technician: Hunter Manley.

Cast

Heidi: Kimberly Donovan. Legionnaire, Mike: Vincent Randazzo. Debater: Miriam Shem-Tov. Debater: Avery Hartman.