Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the United States Supreme Court, is about to make history again. On Saturday, Justice Jackson will become the first sitting Supreme Court Justice to appear in a Broadway play.
Jackson will grace the stage for a one-night-only appearance in the hit musical ‘& Juliet’. The justice will then take the stage again after the show for a “talkback” session with the audience, according to People Magazine.
In her recent memoir, Jackson described herself as an “unabashed lover of theater”. She recalled writing about her love of both the law and musicals in her application to Harvard University.
“I expressed that I wished to attend Harvard as I believed it might help me ‘to fulfill my fantasy of becoming the first Black, female Supreme Court justice to appear on a Broadway stage.'” Jackson wrote.
Now, the justice is preparing to live out that dream in her ‘& Juliet’ cameo.
Ketanji Brown Jackson to appear in play celebrating independence, empowerment of Broadway’s most iconic female character
The Broadway play provides an alternate ending to the Shakespeare classic ‘Romeo & Juliet’. In the play, rather than kill herself out of anguish of the loss of her lover, Juliet chooses a different course.
She and her friends escape to Paris, where Juliet is introduced to a life far greater and richer than she ever dreamed of in Verona. Now liberated from the societal pressures of her hometown, Juliet is free to shape her own future. New York Theater Guide called the play “a triumphant coming-of-age story about a young woman finding her independence.”
It was not immediately clear what role Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson will take on when she graces the stage on Saturday night. However, what is certain is her history-making moment in the empowering play will come as the country prepares for the second Trump presidency. As Justice Jackson fights to protect the rights and freedoms of women from the bench, she’ll also get the chance to celebrate them on Broadway.