BWW Reviews: THE LARAMIE PROJECT: 10 YEARS LATER at The Wesley Arena Theatre Through 5/11

By: May. 07, 2013
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In the fall of 1998 Matthew Shepard was beaten and left to die on a fence post in Laramie, Wyoming. Shepard's death garnered national media attention, not only because of the viciousness of his death, but because it was almost immediately labeled as a hate crime. It was labeled a hate crime because Shepard was homosexual, and his attackers admitted to targeting him because he was homosexual.

After death of Shepard, and the subsequent conviction of Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, a group called the Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie to talk with the people of the town to get a feel for how Shepard's death, and the circumstances of his murder, affected those in Laramie. They used those interviews to write a play, and later make a film for HBO, called The Laramie Project.

Ten years after the murder of Matthew Shepard, they returned to Laramie to see how things had changed in the town, and with the people they'd interviewed the first time around and new people they'd met along the way. They even interviewed Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. Those interviews were turned into The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later.

This production of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later, was directed by Kathleen Gilpatrick at The Wesley Arena Theatre. A cast of ten plays over fifty roles, sometimes several actors play the same role at different times during the show. While this could have been confusing, a narrator leads the audience through the many different scene changes and characters as we encounter them.

Gilpatrick chose to stage the show as reader's theatre or a staged reading of a play. There is no set, save the chairs and music stands on which the actors have their binders with their scripts. There are some simple costume props to help differentiate the characters that each actor is playing at the time. Outside of that, all the actors are dressed in black. I couldn't help but think this was appropriate considering the subject matter of the play and that the entire thing was to honor Matthew Shepard. It was as if the cast was in mourning.

The most intriguing thing about the play, overall, was the way that the people of Laramie, and the friends and family of Matthew, were reacting to the anniversary of Matthew's death. It was almost like watching a sociological documentary. The people of the community in Laramie seemed to have done exactly what I think many communities do when they feel as if they have been attacked: they protect themselves. Many of the residents of Laramie refused to acknowledge that Matthew's death was a hate crime. The ones who didn't ignore the circumstances of Matthew's death seemed to feel as if they were fighting a never-ending battle. Some of the characters felt like change had happened on a great level. Others felt like there had been little to no change at all.

Two of the characters intrigued me in their interviews more than others. Jonas Slonaker talked about being homosexual in Laramie and finding a "safe pocket" of people who accept them as they are. I couldn't help but thing how true that is. In many ways it's true for all people. No matter who we are or what we believe or what types of things we do, we gravitate toward others who share our views and beliefs, creating our own "safe pocket" of protection. The sad part is that anyone would have to do this.

A friend of Matthew's, Romaine Patterson, also touched me. In two separate monologues her words touched my heart. Patterson has moved to New Jersey since Matthew's death and works with young people. She spoke of how the children that are younger are the ones that are changing things first. She later closed the show, speaking of separating Matt, the person she knew, and the importance of Matthew Shepard and his story. I can only imagine the difficulty of separating the two, but can see the necessity of doing that for one's own sanity.

So many people were profoundly affected by the murder of Matthew Shepard. Some were affected on a very personal level, having lost a friend or family member. Others were affected because their town had been changed forever after Shepard's death. And in a way, the entire country was changed. Take a chance on this simple, yet beautiful show. The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later is an eye opening look at the continued effects of the horrible murder of Matthew Shepard and the ways in which his death has helped shape social changes in the United States.

I want to also note why I didn't mention any of the actors in this review. This cast does a beautiful job of translating the story of the people in Laramie, the actors in the Tectonic Theater Project, and those closest to Matthew. But the show isn't about them or their performances, it is about the stories of the people they represent. With each of them taking on multiple roles and sometimes multiple people taking on multiple roles, it is nearly impossible to pull out specific performances. But know that the ten actors who graced the stage more than did the show, and the people they represented, justice.

Cast: Erica Dyer, Louis (Luke) Frank III, Michael Gilpatrick, Lora Lee Jones, Lindsay McReynolds, Jordan Oysten, Pamela Patton, Tanya Samples, Lisa Shinn, Mike Walsh

You can still see The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later from Thursday through Saturday, May 9, 10 & 11 at 8:00 p.m. at The Wesley Arena Theatre in Cookeville. All tickets are $10.00 per person except for Thursday, May 9 which is a pay-what-you-can-performance. Thursday, May 9 tickets will not be sold in advance - they will only be available at the door. For ticket information contact: Arlene Dubo at Art a la Carte at: 931.520.8155.

Photo Credit: Kathleen Gilpatrick



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