New Musical Celebrates the Women Who Changed America in its Southern California Premiere

Ensemble Theatre Company Presents ‘Justice’ — Supreme Court Tales of Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Sotomayor (Julie Garnyé), Sandra Day O'Connor (Heather Ayers), and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Valerie Perri) in Ensemble Theatre Company's production of 'Justice' | Photo: Courtesy

Ensemble Theatre Company’s season finale is the Southern California premiere of Kait Kerrigan and Bree Lowdermilk’s new musical about the women who broke the glass ceiling of the Supreme Court. Justice focuses on the work of and relationship between conservative judge Sandra Day O’Connor (Heather Ayers) and liberal judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Valerie Perri) — women whom director Jenny Sullivan calls polar opposites who were able to reach across the aisle to form a friendship. Written by popular playwright Lauren Gunderson, this new musical also features Sonia Sotomayor (played by Julie Garnyé) serving as narrator for O’Connor and Ginsburg’s early careers before joining the bench herself.

Poster for Ensemble Theatre Company’s production of ‘Justice’ | Photo: Courtesy

“It’s not your traditional musical,” says Garnyé. “It’s a lot of facts; I don’t think people in the United States fully grasp how the Supreme Court works, so it’s a lot of the court cases these women were part of — and how they actually changed the course of those cases.” Sullivan describes her directorial process as personalizing the musical so the show feels as narratively satisfying as it is informative. “It’s about learning how these cases impacted these women individually and sometimes made them change their mind,” she says, pointing out that the show’s illustration of two Supreme Court justices who were able to discuss issues with civility is an attribute of the court we don’t want to lose.

Sullivan also notes that in drama, music can sometimes tell a deeper story with more powerful expression. Garnyé as Sotomayor, for instance, sings a song about trailblazing as a female judge and the first Latina on the bench. “The tonality of ‘Blaze’ is that we have more work to do,” says Garnyé. “There are trailblazers that are going to come ahead of us — people that are going to step up … especially women stepping up and our voices being heard is hugely important.”

See this musical manifestation of the women of the Supreme Court at the New Vic Theater (33 W. Victoria St.) June 7-22. See etcsb.org/production/justice.