4 Responses to ““Roe” Continues This Weekend!”

1. Rev. Roger says:

   March 22, 2022 at 3:01 pm

   THIS IS MY PERSONAL REVIEW OF IT:
   “Roe” is a fascinating play. UUSS Theater One’s production of it is amazing. It lasts 2 hours 45 minutes, including an intermission (with refreshments on the covered patio.)
   With the Supreme Court case of Roe versus Wade as the center point, “Roe” is about the history of conflict over a woman’s right to an abortion in this country. Yet is also dramatizes the conflicted memories and experiences of that history.
   Norma McCorvey, the young woman named as “Jane Roe” in the lawsuit, is played by Elly Award winner Andrea Kersten, who has been in TV and film projects, as well as on stage here, in “Steel Magnolias” and “Alice in Wonderland.” Sarah Weddington, a new young attorney who argued the case first in Texas and later in Washington, D.C., is played by Rebekah Nichols, who has performed on stage in “Shrek: The Musical,” “The Velveteen Rabbit,” and (at Theater One) Stephen Sondheim’s “Company.” Both are dynamite actors who embody strong but hurting women. The rest of the large cast is very strong; each one playing more than one character.
   We see the personal sides of the court case, including the violence and poverty experienced by Norma, as well as the devotion of her female partner. After the successful court ruling, showing us the effect of the case on Norma, especially after she makes it public that she was “Jane Roe.” We see American feminist leaders of the early 1970s, celebrity journalists, evangelical Christian anti-abortion activists. I found it easy to follow, thanks in part to characters introducing themselves to the audience.
   “Roe” was commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which produced the play in Ashland in 2016. Playwright Lisa Loomer updated and revised the play during the Trump administration. With empathy, it shows Norma McCorvey’s conversion to evangelical Christianity, renouncing of her pro-choice activism and leaving her longtime partner. Yet our Theater One Director Lisa Erwin’s note in the program reveals that McCorvey reversed herself once more before her death, asserting that she had been emotionally manipulated and swayed by money to become an anti-abortion activist.
   Set in 1969-73 and in more recent years, the play was a review of history which I needed to see and which I hope many will show up to see. I learned (or re-learned) the agonizing fate of many women and girls who had to seek an illegal abortion (or attempt one on themselves) before it became safe and legal. I would recommend this play to any parent of a teenager or any younger adult. I’m so grateful to Lisa and Mike, their cast and crew, and the other volunteers for producing this play, and proud that it is showing at UUSS.
2. Mardres Story says:

   March 18, 2022 at 2:10 pm

   Is proof of a negative COVID test acceptable to attend a performance of “Roe”? I have a religious exemption from my job and have tested twice a week since July 2021. All have been consistently negative.

   Thank you.

   • Rev. Roger Jones says:

     March 22, 2022 at 3:08 pm

     Greetings and thanks for your question and your interest in this great production. Our congregational Board’s policy does not make any allowance for negative Covid testing in lieu of proof of vaccination for attendance at events, which includes theater performances as well as Sunday services.
3. Rev. Roger says:

   March 18, 2022 at 10:43 am

   I’ll be there! I heard great things about your opening weekend!

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