Roe

by Lisa Loomer

Genres: Plays

98 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

Lisa Loomer is an acclaimed American playwright and screenwriter whose work often explores family life, cultural identity, and pressing social issues. She is best known for The Waiting Room, a widely produced play examining body image and societal beauty standards across different cultures and eras. Her powerful storytelling also shaped the screenplay for the film Girl, Interrupted.
Born in New York, Loomer later moved to Mexico, an experience that deepened her connection to Latina and immigrant narratives, which often appear in her work. She studied theatre at Brandeis University and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, beginning her career as an actress and stand-up comic before turning to playwriting.
Loomer's plays, including Roe, Living Out, Distracted, and Homefree, have premiered at major theaters such as the Mark Taper Forum, Arena Stage, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival, with many receiving national and international productions. Her work has been honored with awards such as the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and the American Theatre Critics Association Award.
In addition to her plays, Loomer has written for television and film, with credits including Girl, Interrupted, Nappily Ever After, and TV pilots for HBO, CBS, and Showtime. She served as a supervising producer for the second season of Love Is… on OWN. In 2023, she adapted Real Women Have Curves into a stage musical.
Her writing is widely studied in university drama, Women’s Studies, and Latino Studies programs. An alumna of New Dramatists, Loomer’s work is celebrated for its wit, heart, and incisive social commentary, making her one of the most important voices in contemporary American theatre.

Reviews

[Evan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel bad for giving Roe such a low score given the importance of its subject matter; however, although I am strongly pro-choice and agree with this play politically, I cannot deny that Roe is just not a good play. The dialogue is just plain hokey, and the play cannot decide if it wants to be campy or a serious drama. The first half of the play reads like a Wikipedia article, listing events rather than dramatizing them. Act two fairs much better, focusing more heavily on the character of Norma. This focuses the plot, and Norma herself is an extremely interesting character to follow. Even still, the writing and dialogue is heavy handed at best and irritating at worst. It makes me question who this play is really for. Despite having queerness at the center of this story, the playwright feels the need to explain what a beard is to the audience. This choice tells me that this play is not likely written for a queer audience. Race is also an important factor in the play, but, more so than queerness, the discussion of race in Roe feels shallow. The play tries to be intersectional, but the discussion of intersectionality isn’t fleshed out enough thus making it fall flat rather than become impactful. When talking about reproductive rights we must also discuss intersectionality; however, the play mishandles this. Hokey, heavy handed dialogue paired with a mishandling of intersectionality makes for a not great play. The characters are engaging enough, particularly in act two, and I could see this play making an impact on some people; however, I feel like there are better ways to tell this story, and Lisa Loomer’s Roe simply falls flat.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most compelling and powerful plays I've read in a long while. Now, if we only had a local theatre group that had the BALLS to produce this masterpiece about the woman who was known as Jane Roe of the controversial Roe VS Wade. Both sides are well represented, and you'd be surprised at the true story of this complicated woman! To my friend Christine Crawfis…. Please read!

[Shann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am 100% pro-choice and completely align with the political statements in this play. However, I'm just not a fan the actual play itself at all - and I've been in it! Doesn't work on the page or stage.

It's like it can't decide if it's a comedy or totally dramatic. I've seen plays beautifully balance both (and the best plays often embrace both), but this just ain't it. I've performed it before, and you could see this in the audition and rehearsal process as well: some actors were totally campy about it, others very serious. Both were totally valid interpretations of the script (and not in a clever "interpretive" kind of way - in a "this play doesn't have cohesive writing" kind of way..). It was a mess to get all the actors on the same page and ultimately, I don't think it was pulled off in that applied context either.

[Kairan · Rating 2 out of 5]

disappointingly, I agree with Evan's two star review. for such an important topic, Roe deserves to be a lot better written. the dialogue is trite and often cringey, sometimes evoking SNL's high school theatre showcases, to the point i found myself literally saying "ew" out loud by the end. a good theatre company can make it decent, but the script wouldn't be doing them any favors. for something which should be laden with genuine nuance, complexity, and intersectionality, Loomer is more often gesturing towards those ideas than delivering on them.

[Carol Arap]

I have too many thoughts on this play to put concisely in a review- since I'm working in depth on the play currently. So this won't get a review or a rating until further notice.

what I'll say is
Lisa Loomer deserves credit for her successes with the play, but also it is important to acknowledge the many fallacies present in the play

[Grace Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am preparing to assistant direct this piece, and it feels like such a daunting task. Even just reading the script, my stomach was in knots and I began to cry at several moments. So much history and so much present.

[Sydney Gerlach · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the multiple story threads and perspectives featured, and of course, the acknowledgment of the complicated causes and effects of Roe v. Wade, but I found the script to be a bit chaotic and a lot of the characters very unlikable.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful and fascinating. This play should be produced all over.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this play. Very well written and extremely thought provoking. Seems a bit challenging to produce, but most of the challenges are easily addressed right in the script.