One-woman play All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Gader Ginsburg set to play the State Theatre on Friday, Jan. 22, 2027
TICKETS GO ON SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC ON FRIDAY, SEPT. 25 AT 10 A.M.
MINNEAPOLIS (Sept. 14, 2026) — Hennepin Arts has announced it willpresent All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a one-woman play that explores the “Notorious RBG” with humor and heart written by Tony Award®-winning playwright Rupert Holmes and directed by Laley Lippard. This intimate portrayal of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a true American original, will play for one night only on Friday, Jan. 22, 2027 at 8 p.m. at the historic State Theatre (805 Hennepin Ave.).
Tickets go on sale Friday, Sept. 25 at 10 a.m. online at HennepinArts.org and in person at the State Theatre Box Office at 12 p.m.
| DAY | DATE | TIME | VENUE |
|---|---|---|---|
Friday | Jan. 22 | 8 p.m. | State |
In this one-woman play starring Michelle Azar, Court Justice “RBG” welcomes a friend of the family to her cozy chambers to convey, over the course of ninety fascinating and often funny minutes, a sense of her life and its many trials: losing her mother the day before she graduated as valedictorian of her Brooklyn high school; being one of only nine young women studying law at Harvard while also raising a daughter and helping her husband battle cancer; fighting for women’s rights in the 1970s before condescending all-male courts; and taking courageous stands for human rights as a voice of reason amid a splintering and increasingly politicized Supreme Court.
“In creating this play about her richly lived life and hard-fought struggles, I came to ever more deeply marvel at her strength, tenacity, sly wit, and compassion,” said playwright Rupert Holmes. “I believe All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg brings together the audience and the glorious RBG in an enlightening and touching encounter with the remarkable person behind the initials. It offers each theatergoer the chance to better know this woman, her yearning for equality, and her love for this nation's precious institutions: Ruth ... Justice ... and the American way.”
An evening with a great and compassionate icon of straight-thinking American justice emerges ... an RBG who is not only "notorious" but victorious as she takes a stand for ordinary people facing the many challenges of a changing world. Holmes captures RBG's compelling life, leaving no wonder why she became a cross-generational role model inspiring tens of millions of Americans and a world-wide following.
ALL THINGS EQUAL: THE LIFE & TRIALS OF RUTH BADER GINSBURG Written by Tony Award-winning playwright Rupert Holmes Starring Michelle Azar as Ruth Bader Ginsburg Directed by Laley Lippard Run Time: 90 minutes with no intermission
Rupert Holmes, born February 24, 1947, has worked as a composer, singer, songwriter, playwright, and author. After receiving his education from the Manhattan School of Music, he began recording his own music. His 1974 album Widescreen was a hit and Barbra Streisand used some of the songs in her movie A Star is Born. Holmes went on to write songs for five more Streisand albums and had multiple singles on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1985, he wrote the musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood. This musical was loosely based on a Charles Dickens novel and won multiple Tony Awards, among other honors. This show was special because every night, audiences would vote on what character they suspected was the murderer, so different audiences got to experience different endings. Some of his other successful theater works include Say Goodnight, Gracie, Curtains, Swango, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Nutty Professor, and now, All Things Equal. Full bio: rupertholmes.com
Michelle Azar is humbled and thrilled to have created this role of Ruth Bader Ginsburg as penned by the esteemed Rupert Holmes. Michelle received her BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, as well as her MA in Drama Therapy also from NYU. She has worked as an actor and singer since her childhood in Chicago, performing with Placido Domingo in the Lyric Opera children’s choir and at the Goodman Theatre to playing the role of Janis Joplin in the long running off-Broadway show Beehive. Her move to Los Angeles awarded her several Ovation nods for her roles in both dramatic and comedic roles with her theatre company, Neurotic Young Urbanites, and garnered her the 2016 Stage Raw award for Best Actress in Eric Coble’s My Barking Dog directed by Michael Michetti. Other favorite stage credits: Bella in Lost in Yonkers, Berte in Boeing, Boeing, Masha in Mayakovsky and Stalin (Cherry Lane Theatre) The Awakening of Spring (Circle Rep) and the creation of Constance Lily in the recent hit musical, Bronco Billy. Select television and film credits include: “NCIS LA,” “How To Get Away With Murder,” “Criminal Minds,” “The Magicians,” “Aquarius,” “Community,” and “Senior Moment” with Gene Smart and William Shatner. Michelle’s writing career has taken off with her published essays, and the web-series she co-created How To Beat Your Sister-In-Law (at everything!) As well as to her own one-woman show, From Baghdad To Brooklyn, which continues to tour the country after its sold-out premiere at the United Solo Festival in NYC. The piece explores our collective unconscious and hopes to bring to light the unchecked fears that create separation in our society, a dedication to which RBG lived her life. She is grateful to her family, to this entire artistic team for their faith in her, and to her manager, Alison Caiola, for having a hunch. michelleazar.com
Laley Lippard is a director, creative producer, and educator. Lippard has directed and collaborated with Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Guthrie Theater, Round House Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Cleveland Play House, American Theater Company, Magic Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, Court Theatre, Virginia Stage Company, among others. World Premiere directing projects include Matt Pelfry’s Pure Shock Value, Eric Coble’s These Mortal Hosts, and the National New Play Network’s Rolling World Premiere of David Valdes’ The Mermaid Hour. Her site-specific work has been noted in The New York Times (The Smuggler with Solas Nua) and her devised work was recently adapted to her first film which premiered in NY (In the Middle of the Fields). Lippard was the co-founder and co-executive producer of The Chicago Home Theater Festival, a five-year city-wide artistic network and annual event that organized artists across form, local community leaders, youth, and other invested neighbors to celebrate neighborhood culture, share a communal meal, experience transformative art, build intentional community across lines of difference, and inspire direct action. Other producing work includes “Z/Magic Mondays” at Magic Theatre as artistic associate, with The Welders as interim creative producer, and as Cleveland Play House’s inaugural artistic directing fellow. During the quarantine, Lippard developed, curated, and produced over 30 events with a DC theater company including creative conversations, peace cafes, and more with local and international scholars, artists, community leaders, and change-makers. For this original series developed by Lippard, she curated an hour-long memorial of Ruth Bader Ginsburg hosted by Edward Gero featuring Molly Smith, E. Faye Butler, Craig Wallace, and Ginsburg’s nephew actor Rory Boyd. Lippard has taught, workshopped, and directed at universities including Stanford University, Northwestern University, Hampshire College, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Maryland, and Case Western Reserve MFA Acting program. Lippard is a member of the National Directors Fellowship, a partnership between the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, National New Plays Network, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), and The Kennedy Center, a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, an Associate Member of the SDC, and holds an MFA in Directing from Northwestern University.
Hennepin Arts drives cultural and economic vitality in Minnesota through leadership of the dynamic Hennepin Theatre District in downtown Minneapolis and educational programming that reaches every area of the state. Its historic theatres — Orpheum, State and Pantages — and the Dudley Riggs Theatre light up Hennepin Avenue with top-tier entertainment, including the best of Broadway and a wide variety of arts programming. Hennepin Arts is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at HennepinArts.org.
This activity is made possible by voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.