RBG: Of Many, One

RBG caused PETE’S EYEBROWS to form a SUPREME ARCH

RBG is a triumph.

Few things on a stage impress me more than an actor standing all alone, for ninety minutes to two hours, telling a story.

In RBG, the audience is treated to one actress – the wonderful Heather Mitchell – embodying not only the central protagonist at different stages of her long life, but also her husband, law lecturers, law partners, fellow US Supreme Court Justices and no less than three United States Presidents. She does so with great skill, whilst never stooping to caricature, which is an ever-present pitfall when it comes to portraying Presidents of the United States. My compliments to the actor (Heather Mitchell), the director (Priscilla Jackman) and the voice coach (Jennifer White).

The Unexpected Moment

Early on in the narrative, Mitchell portrays a teenage RBG attending the opera for the first time. The scene transported me to another place. As Ginsburg described the elation she felt the first time she heard Puccini, I was reminded of the first time I was swept up in the emotional tide of musical theatre. I can pinpoint the moment. It was when Christine sang Think of Me in The Phantom of the Opera. I felt the same way, several months later, when I first saw the dance at the gym in West Side Story. Neither is Puccini. But I remember feeling the same rapture which RBG describes on her first trip to the opera. I knew exactly what the character meant.

The Anticipated Moment

Fortunately, I arrived at STC’s Wharf 1 Theatre knowing something of the RBG true story. I knew that she was only the second woman to be appointed to the US Supreme Court. And the first Jewish woman. I knew that RBG was a champion of gender equality. And I knew that she was famous for her geriatric workouts (employed for good comic relief in the play).

I also knew that my American friends felt she tarnished her legacy by not retiring earlier, which would have prevented President Trump from appointing a conservative to fill her seat when she died, just 45 days prior to the 2020 presidential election.

I was looking forward to the moment in the play where President Obama invited RBG to a White House lunch to discuss her future plans. How would playwright, Suzie Miller, handle that delicate dance? She did it well and I was not disappointed.

As a one woman show, Heather Mitchell conveyed both what Obama said, how RBG responded and what RBG thought in between. This was gripping dialogue and I enjoyed every rhetorical lunge and parry. Whilst I knew the outcome, I was ignorant of RBG’s rationale. Spoiler alert – it had a lot do with the separation of powers.

Final Words

Whether you are familiar with the life and times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg or not, RBG: Of Many, One is an engrossing story. Suzie Miller provides just the right amount of exposition to allow the RBG ignoramus to follow the story without boring the RBG scholar.

I loved each of its 95 minutes (with no interval).

(Originally posted on 5 December 2022)