I saw this yesterday as well. I actually teach constitutional law, so I was pleased to see that they got the law right, and the depiction of Scalia feels very accurate. In fact, the resemblance is so on point that I found myself forgetting that it was not the real deal.
I was less enchanted with the play itself. There is not much of a drama there, and the woman who plays the law clerk is still finding her performance. I also feel like the play could have been (and should have been) updated to take into account Scalia's final term on the Court, and his death. Concluding with the Windsor decision makes the play feel dated, particularly since that decision was so quickly eclipsed by Obergefell, and his opinion in that case (as well as King v. Burwell) very much marks a return to (acerbic) form, ending his career on a decidedly sour note. There is also more that could have been done with Scalia's (too close) relationship with Cheney, and the associated concerns about undue political influence on his decision-making.
But as a meditation on originalism, the play works very well. Viewers will get an accurate, balanced overview of some of the major constitutional issues, and the central performance is extraordinary. |
