Heidi Schreck’s ‘What The Constitution Means to Me’ Film Adaptation Coming to Amazon
Heidi Schreck’s award-winning play “What the Constitution Means to Me” will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on Oct. 16.
Marielle Heller (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”) directed the filmed version of the show, which was recorded in the final week of its Broadway run at the Helen Hayes Theater. It will debut in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Schreck also inked an overall deal with the streamer to create content that will premiere exclusively on Prime Video.
“I’m delighted with how beautifully Mari Heller has translated Constitution to the screen and I’m thankful to Big Beach and Amazon Studios for making it possible to share the show with more people — especially right now when we can’t gather together in theaters,” Schreck said in a statement. “In light of the moment we are living through, I am donating part of my proceeds from this film to the Broadway Cares COVID Relief Fund and to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Voting Rights 2020 Initiative.”
The play centers on Schreck, who at fifteen years old earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions. The writer and performer resurrects her teen self for the play “in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives.” During its stage run, “What the Constitution Means to Me” was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Schreck received two Tony Award nominations for Best Play and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play.
Schreck and Heller serve as executive producers on the project, alongside Robin Schwartz, Kyle Laursen, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub. The special was produced by Big Beach and Defiant By Nature, Heller’s newly launched production company. Broadway producers Diana DiMenna, Aaron Glick, and Matt Ross also produce the filmed version.
“Heidi Schreck is one of today’s most relevant and original voices, and ‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ delivers a point of view that is equal parts hilarious, heartbreaking and hopeful,” Amazon Studios’ COO and co-head of Television Albert Cheng said. “We are proud to bring the award-winning Broadway show to the screen for Prime Video and we know that Schreck’s next projects will embody the same intelligence and humanity.”
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