“Get ready for a big bruising play of the conflicting ideas and emotions roiling at the center of this debate.” -Mercury News
In turns shocking, humorous and poignant, Roe reflects the fierce debate over Roe vs. Wade through the personal journeys of Norma McCorvey (“Jane Roe”) and Sarah Weddington, the lawyer who argued the landmark case at the Supreme Court. This historically sweeping play cuts through the headlines to reveal the twists and turns in the amazing stories of Norma and Sarah in the years leading up to and following the fateful decision.
SHOW SPONSORS: Nancy & Bill Yang
Performance Dates
MAY 19-JUNE 19, 2022
Show Times
MAY 19-JUNE 12
Wednesday – Friday at 8PM
Saturday at 3PM and 8PM
Sunday at 5PM
JUNE 17-19
Friday & Saturday at 8PM
Sunday at 5PM
When Horizon’s play Roe closed on Sunday June 19, the last line hung in the air: “And as of this moment – Roe still stands.”
On Friday, June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, holding that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion.
The court’s conservative majority overturned the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade by a vote of 5-4 through its ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson, a Mississippi case. Roe had stood as one of the most debated rulings in the court’s history: revered by many women’s rights advocates and reviled by conservatives who believe abortion kills a human life.
Going forward, abortion rights will be determined by states, unless Congress acts. Already, nearly half of the states have or will pass laws that ban abortion while others have enacted strict measures regulating the procedure.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in his majority opinion. “Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.” Read full opinion here.
More information is available on the Supreme Courts’ decision at CNN.com, New York Times and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
ACTION STEPS & WHERE TO LEARN MORE
During our production of Roe, we hosted Community Conversations with experts in reproductive and maternal health about how the overturning of Roe would affect us in Georgia and the US. You can view these Community Conversations by scrolling below. We also shared much of our research on the history of Roe and its impact, which you can read, watch and listen to in our Roe Deep Dive website.
Action Steps You Can Take
- Donate/Volunteer with ARC-SE (volunteers needed immediately for June 30 deadline for July training or for future), reproductive health providers like Feminist Women’s Health Center, Reproductive Justice organizations like SisterSong and advocacy organizations like ACLU of Georgia.
- The Governor, Attorney General and State Legislators will decide on whether Georgia is a state that protects reproductive freedom or prosecutes physicians who provide abortion care,
- Write your state representatives and senators NOW and tell them to support and advocate for Reproductive Access and Maternal Health in Georgia. If they receive even 6-8 emails or calls on an issue – that is a BIG DEAL. YOUR VOICE MATTERS! Click here to find your representatives.
- Vote for Pro-Choice candidates in the November election on the state and national levels.
- Urge your friends, family and network to prioritize Reproductive Access and Maternal Health when they vote for candidates for elective office.
- Share the ACLU of Georgia Voter Resource Page for up to date information on your right to vote.
WHAT DOES ROE OVERTURNED MEAN TO YOU AND GEORGIANS?
Here is a written summary of the issues facing Georgia by the ACLU of Georgia:
While abortion is still legal today in Georgia up to 20 week, anti-abortion politicians passed a law banning abortion at 6 weeks in 2019. That law is currently blocked by an injunction issued as a result of litigation led by the ACLU. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is currently waiting for the Supreme Court decision in Dobb v. Jackson (Mississippi case) before holding any further hearings on Georga’s 6-week abortion ban law. Now that Roe is overturned, the current Governor and Attorney General are expected to ask the court to let the law go into effect and allow them to start enforcing this abortion ban. They are also up for re-election on November 8, 2022.
Women should be able to make these personal and private decisions for themselves consulting their own partner, family, faith, physician– not politicians. In addition, the abortion ban compromises healthcare for women who are intending to have a healthy pregnancy. The following is a link to the ACLU of Georgia website on Reproductive Freedom included testimony from physicians on the importance of abortion access for women’s health. :https://acluga.org/reproductive-freedom.
Why it Matters
Forcing someone to carry a pregnancy against their will has life-altering consequences, including forcing them to endure serious health risks from continued pregnancy and childbirth, making it harder to escape poverty, derailing their education and career plans, and making it more difficult to leave an abusive partner.
We don’t have to imagine what a world without Roe will look like. Texas has shown us the devastation that is caused when people are denied the ability to control their bodies and futures.
Many people will consider self-managing their abortion, which can be safe and effective with the proper medication and information but could subject them to increased investigation and harassment by law enforcement.
The impacts of pushing abortion out of reach fall disproportionately on the same people who have always faced systemic barriers to care — communities of color, the LGBTQ+ community, undocumented immigrants, young people, those living in rural communities, people with disabilities, and people with low incomes.
The imminent ruling may also have deadly consequences, with the harm falling hardest on Black women and other people of color who already face a severe maternal mortality crisis that is the worst in the same states that are determined to ban abortion.
In fact, Black women in Georgia are six times more likely than white women nationally to die during childbirth, or shortly after. White women in Georgia are twice as likely to die from childbirth than white women, nationally. If abortion is banned nationwide, pregnancy-related deaths could increase by 21 percent nationwide, and 33 percent among Black women.
Our access to abortion shouldn’t depend on where we live, how much money we make, or who we are. We should be able to make the best medical decisions for ourselves and our families.
Deep Dive
Learn more about the real people, events, and legal and human contexts of the play, as well as getting resources for further exploration on your own. Includes news and magazine articles, journals, and video and audio resources spanning nearly 50 years of ROE-v-WADE-related history!
HOW WILL THE OVERTURNING OF ROE V. WADE AFFECT US IN GEORGIA?
Prior to the Supreme Court decision, Horizon’s Artistic Director Lisa Adler interviewed Andrea Young, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia. Watch and find out how the overturning of Roe will impact Georgians, why we should care and what can we do. |
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MAY 21, 2022: Eric Segall, GSU Constitutional Law Professor and author of SUPREME MYTHS ABORTION & THE LAW: NOW AND WHAT’S NEXT
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MAY 23, 2022 / ZOOM: Kwajelyn Jackson (Feminist Women’s Health Center), Jamie Manson (President, Catholics for Choice), Roger Rochat MD/MPH (CDC, Emory)
CHOICE: AN EXAMINATION OF REAL OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE FACING UNINTENDED PREGNANCY
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JUNE 5, 2022: Megan Gordon-Kane (Feminist Women’s Health Center)
A Community Conversation
Interested in how the issues of Roe play out here in Atlanta if the Supreme Court overturns Roe and what you can do about it? Listen to this fantastic interview from after a performance last week. What is Atlanta’s independent provider of abortion and reproductive health since 1976 doing? What will happen in Georgia in the next months? Go to 26:58 to hear the section about what you can do. Volunteer to drive women to care with Access Reproductive Care Southeast – June 30 is the deadline for July volunteer training. Learn how incredibly impactful your single email can be with state elected officials. Write and encourage them to look for opportunities for legislative action to support women’s maternal health. It’s an election year – make your voice heard. It matters!
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JUNE 11 • Dabney P. Evans, Subasri Narasimhan
A Community Conversation
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JUNE 12 • Lisa Haddad (Population Council)
A Community Conversation
About the Playwright
LISA LOOMER is an American Theater Critics Award-winning playwright. New York productions include The Waiting Room (Vineyard Theatre); Living Out (Second Stage Theater) and Distracted (Roundabout Theatre Company). Regional theater productions include Roe (Goodman Theatre, Arena Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Homefree (Denver Center for the Performing Arts); Expecting Isabel (Arena Stage, The Mark Taper Forum); Bocón (The Kennedy Center, Seattle Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Mexico and Europe) and Two Things You Don’t Talk About (Denver Center for the Performing Arts). Loomer has won the Pen Award, Jane Chambers Award, Imagen Award and Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She is a supervising producer for Season Two of Love Is… on OWN. Films include Girl, Interrupted and Nappily Ever After for Netflix. Lisa has written TV pilots for HBO, CBS, Fox, and Showtime.
Creative Team
- Lisa Adler, Director
- Isabel Curley-Clay and Moriah Curley-Clay, Scenic Designers
- Jordan Jaked Carrier, Costume Designer
- Mary Parker, Lighting Designer
- Johnathan Taylor, Sound Designer
- Kimberly Binns, Projection Designer
- Carolyn Cook, Dialect Coach
- Julianna M. Lee*, Production Stage Manager
- Dionna D. Davis, Asst. Stage Manager/Co-Props Master
- Lauren Morris, Dramaturg and Community Engagement Manager
Cast
Click directly on the actor’s name to view their bio.
*Member of Actor’s Equity Association
Swings/Alternates
- JEFF McKERLEY*: Henry McCluskey, Robert Flowers, Ensemble Alternate/Blackmun Swing
- KATIE CAUSEY: Norma McCorvey Swing
- RACHEL FRAWLEY: Linda Coffee Swing
- KYLA CHENEIL: Aileen/Barbara/Roxy Swing
- ZACH STOLZ: Male Swing
Horizon Press & Reviews
- RADIO INTERVIEW: WABE, LOIS REITZES: Horizon’s ROE Highlights the Women
- REVIEW: Atlanta Theatre Buzz: Where the Personal is Made Political
- REVIEW: ArtsATL: Horizon’s “Roe” offers choice to be informed about issue of the moment
- RADIO INTERVIEW: It’s Just Us Radio Show with Charlene S. Bowden: Featuring Lisa Adler, Lauren Morris and several members of the cast
- Feature: AJC: Horizon Theatre Stages “Roe” as Decision Faces Reversal
Related Press
- WRITING ROE: An article about Oregon Shakespeare Company commissioning this play
- Chicago Tribune: Lisa Loomer’s ROE wants to honor both sides of the abortion debate.
- The New Yorker: A Play About Roe v. Wade That is a Parable of an Exclusionary Women’s Movement
- The Guardian: Telling the story behind Roe v. Wade