Director Laley Lippard finds herself revisiting a particular phrase when she discusses "All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg."
"It's like being in the room with her."
All Things Equal was penned by Rupert Holmes — yes, the very one who wrote and recorded "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)," although he’s also a Tony winner for "The Mystery of Edwin Drood."
All Things Equal stars Michelle Azar as the late U.S. Supreme Court justice Ginsburg and is being presented by the Virginia Arts Festival on Sunday at Norfolk's Attucks Theatre.
Lippard, a graduate of Cox High School in Virginia Beach and a proud alumna of the Governor's School for the Arts, can scarcely keep the awe out of her voice when she talks about the play.
"I can tell you, she speaks so loudly right now to so many people and her voice is still necessary. It gives me chills."
All Things Equal is a one-person show, with RBG welcoming a family friend into her chambers. She offers up a wealth of stories, from the death of her mother the day before graduating as valedictorian of her Brooklyn high school to fighting for women’s and civil rights on the Court. Ginsburg died in 2020.
Putting the play together began four years ago, but the script has evolved with the work between Lippard and Holmes, and she and Azar.
“When Michelle and I got into the room, there was so much open space for collaboration,” Lippard said. “One time while working on it, Michelle and I, all of our hair stood up at the same time … We were surrounded by her words and her books, because we were doing all of this research and all of this immersion into her life, and it was like the spirit of this woman showed up.”
Although the play has an inevitable amount of political power, Lippard is confident that it can be appreciated by anyone, no matter their side of the spectrum.
"One of the most telling quotes that Ginsburg has is, 'Yet what greater defeat could we suffer than to come to resemble the forces that we oppose and their disrespect for human dignity?' Who couldn't agree with that? And what more piercing lesson could we all have than that?"
For Lippard, the play is also a homecoming, since she made her directing debut in the Black Box Theater at GSA. Mind you, she also performed in "A Little Night Music" and "Merrily We Roll Along" at the Wells Theatre.
“Look, I am a 757 girlie,” she said, with pride.
Along with fellow GSA alum Julie Baber, Lippard is also helping to bring theater back to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands with a production of Shakespeare’s "The Tempest." She recently worked with New York’s One Year Lease Theater Co. as part of its International Performance Residency in India, Japan and Greece.
"I have lots of very beautiful projects and irons in the fire!”
Visit vafest.org for tickets and more information.
