ROE, by acclaimed playwright Lisa Loomer, is a theatrical survey of the complicated and divisive underpinnings of Roe v. Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that established a woman’s right to an abortion. The playwright has updated the script since the Court’s June 2022 ruling in Dobbs. V. Jackson Women’s Health, overturning that constitutional right.

Loomer’s incisive play cuts through the headlines and rhetoric as she offers a clever, shocking, humorous, and poignant portrayal of the two women at the center of this issue and explores what it is like to be an average citizen caught in the currents of history. Taking place from the 1970s to the present with characters on both sides of the issue from decidedly pro-choice to decidedly pro-life, ROE reflects the polarization in America today while illuminating the heart and commitment each person has for their cause.

ROE was commissioned in 2012 by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) as part of their series “American Revolutions: The United States History Cycle”, a multi-decade program of commissioning and developing new plays about moments of change in U.S. history. It was developed at the University of Texas and The Kennedy Center as part of DC’s Women’s Voices Festival as well as OSF’s Black Swan Lab before premiering at OSF in 2016.

Written by Lisa Loomer
Directed by Sara Conlon

Suitability warning: This production is for mature audiences. Roe contains strong profanity and graphic language. It also contains stories of sexual assault, abortions, self-abortions, parental abuse, drug use and alcoholism, mentions of suicide and systemic oppression.

Co-sponsored by the Sociology Department, Center for Civic Engagement and the Intersectional Feminist Collective.

For access and accommodation information, visit https://www.salemstate.edu/access or email access@salemstate.edu.