Connecticut Repertory Theatre Presents 'Roe' by Lisa Loomer

STORRS, CT – Connecticut Repertory Theatre (“CRT”), the professional producing arm of the University of Connecticut Department of Dramatic Arts, continues its 2022-2023 season with ROE by Lisa Loomer. ROE previews March 2 and runs March 3 – 11, 2023 at the Nafe Katter Theatre.

The groundbreaking 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade legalized abortion and set the stage for decades of fierce debate. 50 years later, ROE explores the personal journeys of attorney Sarah Weddington and plaintiff Norma McCorvey (“Jane Roe”), the women behind the case. Humorous, poignant, and sometimes shocking, ROE explores their divergent paths, reflecting our national polarization and illuminating the heart and passion each side has for its cause. Featuring Equity guests Lori Vega and Andrew Rein. Taneisha Duggan directs.

“Clever, impactful and immensely entertaining.” – Third Coast Review
“[A] stimulating, personal and artful piece of theatre.” – Chicago Tribune

ROE was originally commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s American Revolutions program and received the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award and PEN Award. Loomer’s other stage works include Café Vida, Distracted, Living Out and The Waiting Room. She has written extensively for film and television, including Looking for Angels and Girl, Interrupted. She is the recipient of multiple writing awards, including the American Theatre Critics Award (twice), the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award, the Lurie Foundation Award, the Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award, the Imagen Foundation Award, the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award (twice) and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, among others.

CRT Artistic Director Megan Rivas programmed ROE into the CRT season after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization opinion was released in June 2022. “The theatre can be a safer space for dangerous topics, and a laboratory for new ways to be a community. With this production of ROE Connecticut Repertory Theatre strives towards both those goals.” Rivas continues,” as ROE makes evident, and as our production’s director Taneisha Duggan affirms, the voices, needs, and lived experiences of Black women and other women of color have not been heard fully – or, often, at all – in these vitally important civic debates.”

“The issue of reproductive freedom, and the Supreme Court’s recent decision to withhold those rights granted by Roe v. Wade, challenges us to embody the best qualities of our democratic society – to acknowledge the wide spectrum of ethical positions our citizens take, and to listen, engage, and develop plans that support a healthy community moving forward,” says Rivas. To that end, CRT is hosting a series of talkbacks throughout the run of the show with community partners. For special events details, go to crt.uconn.edu.
ROE co-sponsors are UConn Human Rights Institute and UConn’s Women’s Center. Join the ROE company as we celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, 2022.

ROE
by Lisa Loomer
Directed by Taneisha Duggan
March 2 – 11, 2023 at the Nafe Katter Theatre.
Full performance schedule:
Preview: Thursday, March 2 at 7:30 pm
Press Opening: Friday, March 3 at 8pm
Saturday, March 4 at 2 pm – (talkback to follow) – PATRON MASKING REQUIRED Saturday, March 4 at 8 pm
Tuesday, March 7 at 7:30 pm (talkback to follow with the Texas Women’s Center) Wednesday, March 8 at 7:30 pm (International Women’s Day)
Thursday, March 9 at 7:30 pm – PATRON MASKING REQUIRED
Friday, March 10 at 8 pm
Saturday, March 11 at 8 pm

Location
The Nafe Katter Theatre, UConn Fine Arts Center, 820 Bolton Road, Storrs, CT 06269.
Ticket and Box Office Information
Tickets for Roe are on sale now and may be purchased online at crt.uconn.edu, by phoning the CRT box office at 860-486-2113 or emailing crtboxoffice@uconn.edu. Group rates are available. The Box Office is open Tuesday 10 am – 12 pm, Wednesday – Friday 12– 4 pm and one hour prior to curtain. Schedules, sales and COVID-19 information is available online 24/7 at crt.uconn.edu. To help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, there is currently no in-person walk-up box office service. Please note that dates and COVID -19 policies are subject to change.

Covid Safety
Masks are strongly encouraged for audience members and are required at our two scheduled masked-only performances on Saturday, March 4 at 2 pm (including the talkback) and Thursday, March 9 at 7:30pm