In her recently released memoir Lovely One, Ketanji Brown Jackson reflects on her lifelong “unabashed love of theater.” The Supreme Court justice’s passion for the stage is set to reach its pinnacle this weekend, when the lights will go up on her Broadway debut.
Jackson will appear in a one-time-only, walk-on role in the 8 PM showing of & Juliet on Saturday, December 14, at New York City’s Sondheim Theatre, according to Deadline. After the curtain call, she’ll hang back for a conversation with the audience.
In a walk-on role, actors pass through the background of a scene—generally without dialogue. Producers have not commented on what Jackson’s appearance will consist of specifically, other than that a new ensemble role has been created especially for her.
Only a handful of seats are available for Saturday night’s production: Tickets through the theater start at $179. A few other options are available on Stubhub—including top-of-the-line orchestra spots priced at a cool $2,680.
Jackson’s cameo isn’t the first time a Supreme Court justice has crossed over to be a thespian. Ruth Bader Ginsburg also famously loved the theater. In 2014, RBG read a monologue as part of Arena Stage’s Our War production to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. In 2016, Ginsburg appeared briefly as—you guessed it—a judge in a Venetian production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. That same year, she also had a speaking part in the Washington National Opera’s Donizetti.
Ginsburg also gave a few performances at DC’s Shakespeare Theater Company, including as Dick the butcher in Henry VI. In fact, SCOTUS justices tend to be regulars at STC—the theater’s “Mock Trial” series invites prominent judges to offer legal perspectives on classic productions. Earlier this year, Amy Coney Barrett presided over proceedings based on Macbeth.
& Juliet is a jukebox musical, scored with hits from Swedish pop producer Max Martin (think Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, and Katy Perry), that picks up where Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet leaves off—a reimagined epilogue of sorts, exploring what could have been if Juliet hadn’t taken her own life at the end of the original play.
