The End of Justice is Near
by Celeste Barber
Before I write about this extraordinary musical, I would like to list the dates and showtimes for you to jot down – now. Today begins the final weekend to attend performances of Justice, the last of Ensemble Theatre’s 2024-25 season’s productions at the beautiful New Vic Theatre.
Thursday, June 19th at 7:30 PM
Friday, June 20th at 8:00 PM
Saturday, June 21st at 3:00 matinee and 8:00 PM
Sunday, June 22nd at 2:00 PM matinee
Tickets can be ordered online through the Ensemble Theatre’s website:
Now to the play.
In a nutshell, Justice tells the story about the first female associate justices to the United States Supreme Court. To quote from Ward LeHardy’s review: “the first woman [Sandra Day O’Connor], the first Jewish woman [Ruth Bader Ginsberg], and the first Latina [Sonia Sotomayor]” (Dramaturg).
The First, during a period when American women were to experience many firsts through civil rights legislation and through the Supreme Court’s ground-breaking decisions affecting both the public and the personal spheres of life.
Foremost, it’s a play about America. About the role the Supreme Court and our judicial system plays in this unique Constitutional Republic of ours. About our form of governance, its struggles, its glorious and not so glorious moments of righteousness, and the resilience of a great people – seen here through the ceiling-shattering experience of three exceptional women who served during a period when the Supreme Court faced unprecedented challenges and controversies, notably the dramatic shift to the politicization of the Supreme Court, beginning with Bush V. Gore (2000).
Throughout the musical, the three women’s collective – and at times, personal – stories are told through song: duet, solo, and powerfully, as a trio, with all three voices as one. Late in the play, Sonia Sotomayor’s character leads the refrain, “Dissent is Not Enough,” at a pivotal moment when the conservative majority now holds great sway following the retirement of Sandra Day O’Connor, the recognized swing vote. Time and again, the two remaining female justices stand alone in their Dissent against the Court majority.
Here, we witness a powerful civics lesson through the lyrics. The significance of the minority voice in politics is affirmed when the word “Dissent” is the refrain that is stated again and again and again. It’s not a futile cry; it’s an affirmation of the power contained in the single voice that can never be silenced.
The play presents the personal, too. When Justice O’Connor announces that her husband, John, has Alzheimer’s disease, her song, “The Mind Goes,” its words are a gentle elegy to those that endure, both patient and caregiver.
Then there’s flippancy. The RBG of later years becomes an icon, her image imprinted on T-shirts, coffee cups, posters, and coined for always, the song’s title, “Notorious.” Has there ever been a Supreme Court Justice as affectionately recognized in the familiar as Associate Justice Ginsberg? (Is there now?) As the rock star of justices, it is fitting that her character breaks the fourth wall and hops off the stage to chat a few minutes with her audience. Script-breaking: a fitting action for RBG.
When you attend the performance, you will note there is one other woman onstage, a fourth, who never speaks but is a visible presence throughout. That’s Sio (Shio) Tepper, the Music Director, who plays continuously for the full 90-minute performance. As the other three characters move about, and off, the stage, she remains, seamlessly switching from piano to guitar, a reminder of the vital role that music plays in a script.
Sio is a gifted young woman whose hometown is Santa Barbara. She is already nationally acclaimed, a talented composer, singer, playwright, lyricist, and producer.
I hope you will see the West Coast’s premiere production of Justice. I hope, too, that you will bring your daughters, sons, husbands, fathers. It’s a civics lesson that will imprint itself onto their souls.
The three performers – all Actors Equity – are: Heather Ayers (Sandra Day O’Connor); Valerie Perri (Ruth Bader Ginsburg), and Julie Garnye (Sonia Sotomayor). Playwright is the celebrated Lauren Gunderson, winner of notable awards including the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award (2 times) and the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in Theatre Award. The play is directed by Jenny Sullivan, whose distinguished list of many fine productions includes off-Broadway theatre.
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Celeste, I'm not going to this musical. I know everything I need to know from your review. From what you write, it's just going to be this predictable rah, rah, rah feminist evening I've seen enough of. Ensemble Theatre has become such a tiresome purveyor of accepted values. I read the description of one of their plays and it's like listening to NPR - I know what I'm going to be told and how I should feel about it, so why bother listening? That may be theatre with an “re” but it's not real theater.
I’m a woman and so tired of this sort of celebration.
I personally don’t agree with their decisions.
Another way to divide us.
I honor a person first for their character then their actions. I don’t care if you’re a man, woman or any other immutable trait.