{"id":363497,"date":"2025-01-23T07:39:25","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T12:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=363497"},"modified":"2025-01-23T07:39:25","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T12:39:25","slug":"excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/","title":{"rendered":"Excellent and on time, ‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ opens at Round House Theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"

This was the world as I went to Round House Theatre on January 21, 2025, to see a play about the Constitution: The President had just issued an executive order seeking to delete the application of the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment to any child born in the United States. Another executive order would not only remove the equal protection of anti-discrimination laws for transgender people but essentially erase their legal existence. Notwithstanding the constitutional imperatives of providing for the common defense and ensuring domestic tranquility, the President \u2014 now, thanks to the Supreme Court, immune from legal accountability for any \u201cofficial acts\u201d \u2014 pardoned violent offenders who had tried on his behalf to overturn the 2020 election by attacking the Capitol. What does the Constitution mean to anyone in this context?<\/p>\n

In Round House Theatre\u2019s excellent production of a revised, updated version of Heidi Schreck\u2019s superb 2017 play (which DCTA editor John Stoltenberg, reviewing the 2019 Kennedy Center presentation, called<\/a> \u201cthe most necessary American play of the century, so far\u201d), Heidi, played by Kimberly Gilbert, does a very necessary thing in our present political world: examine the human consequences of what is, and what isn\u2019t, in the Constitution.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kimberly Gilbert (Heidi) in \u2018What the Constitution Means to Me.\u2019 Photo by Kent Kondo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of particular importance to Heidi, what isn\u2019t in the constitution is protection for women, their bodies, and their autonomy. The document was, after all, written by white men 236 years ago. The failure of the Equal Rights Amendment to be ratified left the situation unremedied.<\/p>\n

As the play begins, Heidi steps into the persona of her 15-year-old self, giving speeches about the Constitution in an American Legion contest, the rules of which tell participants to relate provisions of the document to their personal lives. That is what the rest of the play does. Heidi\u2019s personal life \u2014 getting an abortion as a young woman, the history in her family of violent abuse of women by their male partners \u2014 becomes the heart of the play, taking what could otherwise be an abstract exercise in legal interpretation and making it a compelling human story about the lives of real people, particularly women.<\/p>\n

Heidi uses a lamentable 2005 Supreme Court decision, Castle Rock v. Gonzales<\/em>, to draw a contrast between constitutional abstraction and the human story of a woman left unprotected by it. The Court ruled that a town could not be sued for its police failing to enforce a restraining order<\/a>, a failure that led to the murders of a woman\u2019s three children by her estranged husband. In a snippet of the recorded oral argument, the Justices pay little attention to the woman and her children, instead delving deeply into the meaning of \u201cshall.\u201d Does it really mean \u201cmust\u201d? (Apparently not.)<\/p>\n

Gilbert does a remarkable job, physically and vocally, of embodying Heidi\u2019s thoughts and feelings at various stages of her life and as she considers the weakness of the Constitution in protecting the bodies of women from male violence and constraints on their autonomy. Hers is a passionate, emotionally rich performance, full of well-timed humor while communicating the interplay between the words of the Constitution and the events of her life, fully deserving the standing ovation she and her castmates received at the end of the show.<\/p>\n

The Round House production\u2019s changes to the 2017 version of the play (which remains viewable<\/a> on Amazon Prime) are timely, often subtle, and fit seamlessly into the flow of the script. One prominent update is the insertion of an excerpt from Justice Thomas\u2019s questioning of an attorney during the oral argument in Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization<\/em> (2022), which eliminated constitutional protections for women\u2019s reproductive decisions. The production also changes the character of Mike, the Legionnaire who supervises the speech competition at the beginning of the show. In the original production, Mike is a gay man who speaks of the difficulties of growing up in an unsupportive community. Here, played warmly and sympathetically by Michael Glenn, Mike is a father challenged by how to raise a son in a still-misogynistic society.<\/p>\n

\"\"
TOP: Kimberly Gilbert (Heidi) and Michael Glenn (Mike); ABOVE LEFT: Kimberly Gilbert (Heidi) and Fadekemi Laniyonu (Debater); ABOVE RIGHT: Kimberly Gilbert (Heidi) and Kat Pascual (Debater), in \u2018What the Constitution Means to Me.\u2019 Photos by Kent Kondo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A delightful feature of both the current and original production is when, toward the end of the show, Heidi introduces a local high school student to argue with her whether the Constitution should be abolished. On opening night, the Debater role was played by a highly impressive, whip-smart Richard Montgomery High School senior, Fadekemi Laniyonu (Kat Pascual plays the role in other performances). Essentially, the debate is whether to replace the present \u201cnegative rights\u201d constitutional framework (e.g., First Amendment prohibitions on laws curtailing the freedom of the press and religion) with a \u201cpositive rights\u201d framework (e.g., a right to health care). An audience member is selected to decide which argument won.<\/p>\n

The debate is lively and fun, though it never touches on the existing provision of Article V of the Constitution, which allows two-thirds of the states to call a new constitutional convention at any time. While the legal situation is very murky, there has been a strong conservative push in some states to call such a convention, which could rewrite the entire constitution, probably not much to the liking of proponents of expanded human rights.<\/p>\n

Another intellectual challenge facing the script is its premise \u2014 stated at the outset and repeated throughout \u2014 that the Constitution is a \u201cliving document,\u201d evolving with changes in society. This view is emphatically opposed by conservative advocates and judges, including the present Supreme Court majority, who take an \u201coriginalist\u201d approach to constitutional interpretation. The play does not engage with this significant obstacle to its preferred way of looking at the Constitution.<\/p>\n

The physical production is intentionally simple, with scenic designer Shoko Kambara\u2019s set representing Heidi\u2019s recollection of an American Legion hall furnished only with a podium and a couple of student desks. (Heidi mentions at one point wishing that there could be a grand set change but settles for Mike repositioning the podium.) Minjoo Kim\u2019s lighting is similarly unobtrusive but effective, notably when it illustrates Heidi\u2019s discussion of the Ninth Amendment\u2019s \u201cpenumbra.\u201d Morgan Gould\u2019s direction is smooth and perfectly timed, in keeping with the well-planned informality of the production.<\/p>\n

The coda to the play is a question-and-answer exchange between Gilbert and Laniyonu, as themselves rather than their characters, in which they respond to audience questions about their everyday lives. In an important way, this is what the play is about. If you get to know someone\u2019s personal story, it\u2019s much harder to convert them into abstractions, to be dealt with coldly and legalistically, at a distance. It\u2019s fair to ask those who would shut the doors on people different from themselves: Do you know any undocumented immigrants or their U.S.-born children? Do you know any transgender folks? Would you sit down with someone of opposite political views and have a conversation about how your life informed your views? Are you willing to step out of your social media echo chambers?<\/p>\n

In addition to larger-scale legal and political resistance and rebuilding in the face of the present political situation, these kinds of encounters are, at a micro level, an important element of meeting the challenge that Heidi poses to the audience: \u201cDemocracy is something we have to make happen, we have to fight for, every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Running Time: Approximately one hour and 45 minutes, with no intermission.<\/p>\n

What the Constitution Means to Me <\/em><\/strong><\/a>plays through February 16, 2025, at Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD (one block from Bethesda Metro station). Tickets ($50\u2013$108) can be purchased by calling 240-644-1100, visiting the box office, or online<\/strong>.<\/a> (Learn more about special discounts here, <\/a>accessibility here, <\/a>and the Free Play program for students here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

View the digital program for What the Constitution Means to Me<\/em>\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n

COVID Safety: <\/strong>Round House Theatre no longer requires that audience members wear masks for most performances. However, masks are required for the performances February 4 and February 6 (matinee). Round House\u2019s complete Health and Safety policy is here.<\/a><\/p>\n

What the Constitution Means to Me
\n<\/em><\/strong>By Heidi Schreck
\nDirected by Morgan Gould
\nFeaturing Kimberly Gilbert and Michael Glenn<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The revised, updated version of Heidi Schreck\u2019s superb 2017 play takes on today’s tests of democracy. By BOB ASHBY<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":363505,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,18],"tags":[64,65],"class_list":{"0":"post-363497","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"category-reviews","9":"tag-heidi-schreck","10":"tag-morgan-gould"},"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nExcellent and on time, 'What the Constitution Means to Me' opens at Round House Theatre - DC Theater Arts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The revised, updated version of Heidi Schreck\u2019s superb 2017 play takes on today's tests of democracy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Excellent and on time, 'What the Constitution Means to Me' opens at Round House Theatre\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The revised, updated version of Heidi Schreck\u2019s superb 2017 play takes on today's tests of democracy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DC Theater Arts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-23T12:39:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3_Kimberly-Gilbert-Heidi-in-WHAT-THE-CONSTITUTION-MEANS-TO-ME-at-Round-House-Theatre.-Photo-by-Kent-Kondo-800x600-1.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bob Ashby\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bob Ashby\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/\",\"name\":\"Excellent and on time, 'What the Constitution Means to Me' opens at Round House Theatre - DC Theater Arts\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3_Kimberly-Gilbert-Heidi-in-WHAT-THE-CONSTITUTION-MEANS-TO-ME-at-Round-House-Theatre.-Photo-by-Kent-Kondo-800x600-1.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-23T12:39:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6b8d2ca7654f6b3edcbc1eff574ad946\"},\"description\":\"The revised, updated version of Heidi Schreck\u2019s superb 2017 play takes on today's tests of democracy.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3_Kimberly-Gilbert-Heidi-in-WHAT-THE-CONSTITUTION-MEANS-TO-ME-at-Round-House-Theatre.-Photo-by-Kent-Kondo-800x600-1.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3_Kimberly-Gilbert-Heidi-in-WHAT-THE-CONSTITUTION-MEANS-TO-ME-at-Round-House-Theatre.-Photo-by-Kent-Kondo-800x600-1.jpeg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Kimberly Gilbert (Heidi) in \u2018What the Constitution Means to Me.\u2019 Photo by Kent Kondo.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Excellent and on time, ‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ opens at Round House Theatre\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/\",\"name\":\"DC Theater Arts\",\"description\":\"Washington, DC's most comprehensive source of performing arts coverage.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6b8d2ca7654f6b3edcbc1eff574ad946\",\"name\":\"Bob Ashby\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Bob-Ashby-96x96.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Bob-Ashby-96x96.jpeg\",\"caption\":\"Bob Ashby\"},\"description\":\"Bob Ashby is a longtime participant in the DMV theater world, having worked over many years for numerous companies as actor (often portraying lawyers, doctors, preachers, and villains), director, backstage worker and, more recently, dramaturg. He has reviewed professional and community theater productions since 2012. A semi-retired lawyer, he now lives in Western Maryland.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/author\/bob-ashby\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Excellent and on time, 'What the Constitution Means to Me' opens at Round House Theatre - DC Theater Arts","description":"The revised, updated version of Heidi Schreck\u2019s superb 2017 play takes on today's tests of democracy.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Excellent and on time, 'What the Constitution Means to Me' opens at Round House Theatre","og_description":"The revised, updated version of Heidi Schreck\u2019s superb 2017 play takes on today's tests of democracy.","og_url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/","og_site_name":"DC Theater Arts","article_published_time":"2025-01-23T12:39:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3_Kimberly-Gilbert-Heidi-in-WHAT-THE-CONSTITUTION-MEANS-TO-ME-at-Round-House-Theatre.-Photo-by-Kent-Kondo-800x600-1.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Bob Ashby","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bob Ashby","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/","name":"Excellent and on time, 'What the Constitution Means to Me' opens at Round House Theatre - DC Theater Arts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3_Kimberly-Gilbert-Heidi-in-WHAT-THE-CONSTITUTION-MEANS-TO-ME-at-Round-House-Theatre.-Photo-by-Kent-Kondo-800x600-1.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-01-23T12:39:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6b8d2ca7654f6b3edcbc1eff574ad946"},"description":"The revised, updated version of Heidi Schreck\u2019s superb 2017 play takes on today's tests of democracy.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3_Kimberly-Gilbert-Heidi-in-WHAT-THE-CONSTITUTION-MEANS-TO-ME-at-Round-House-Theatre.-Photo-by-Kent-Kondo-800x600-1.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3_Kimberly-Gilbert-Heidi-in-WHAT-THE-CONSTITUTION-MEANS-TO-ME-at-Round-House-Theatre.-Photo-by-Kent-Kondo-800x600-1.jpeg","width":800,"height":600,"caption":"Kimberly Gilbert (Heidi) in \u2018What the Constitution Means to Me.\u2019 Photo by Kent Kondo."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/01\/23\/excellent-and-on-time-what-the-constitution-means-to-me-opens-at-round-house-theatre\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Excellent and on time, ‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ opens at Round House Theatre"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/","name":"DC Theater Arts","description":"Washington, DC's most comprehensive source of performing arts coverage.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6b8d2ca7654f6b3edcbc1eff574ad946","name":"Bob Ashby","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Bob-Ashby-96x96.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Bob-Ashby-96x96.jpeg","caption":"Bob Ashby"},"description":"Bob Ashby is a longtime participant in the DMV theater world, having worked over many years for numerous companies as actor (often portraying lawyers, doctors, preachers, and villains), director, backstage worker and, more recently, dramaturg. He has reviewed professional and community theater productions since 2012. A semi-retired lawyer, he now lives in Western Maryland.","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/author\/bob-ashby\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}