REVIEW: 'The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later' at Actors Bridge

 

The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later--which had its premiere Monday night in a theatrical endeavor that was, both literally and figuratively, of worldwide proportions--is by turns provocative, moving and awesomely inspiring. Presented by some 150 theatre companies in all 50 states and around the world, the "epilogue" to the widely performed Laramie Project was staged in Nashville by Actors Bridge Ensemble and featured an 11-person cast that vividly brought the work to life.

Staged at the W.O. Smith Nashville Community Music School, The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later offers a follow-up to the original work and was produced internationally on the 11^th anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard, the young gay man who was so brutally murdered by two young men near the city limits of Laramie, Wyoming, in 1998. Audiences the world over were given the tremendous opportunity to share in the new work with the contemporaneous productions, an undertaking that amplifies the notion that live theatre can be transformative in its power to challenge conventional wisdom and, quite simply, provoke thought and introspection.

So where the hell were you? The 11 theatre artists gave of their time and considerable talents to bring this story to life onstage before an audience of fewer than 75 people. The actors performed for free, there was no admission charged at the door, and thanks to school director Jonah Rabinowitz, use of the facility was offered free of charge to Actors Bridge. And it happened on a Monday night.

So, again I ask: Where the hell were you? Surely, you could have missed one night of Dancing With the Stars or Monday Night Football on ESPN to witness this stirring account of what has transpired (or more accurately, what hasn't happened) since Matthew Shepard lost his life in a horribly homophobic hate crime. This was an important theatrical event that should not have been missed.

Linked by an internet feed to AlIce Tully Hall at New York's Lincoln Center, the evening was book-ended by the broadcast which featured host Glenn Close and Tectonic Theatre Project's Moises Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris and Stephen Belber. Further utilizing new technological advances, and thus advancing the theatrical experience, audience members worldwide could tweet questions via Twitter to the writers in a Q & A session that followed the reading.

Staged simply, as readers' theatre more often than not is, the power of this production came from the words and interviews collected by members of the Tectonic Theatre Project, who revisited Laramie and the "characters" that shaped the story in the earlier work, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Shepard's death and the subsequent trial of his killers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, and the impact that the events have had on the small Wyoming city and on the world at large.

Just as the original did, The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later has a sobering effect on its audience as the full reality of the aftermath of Shepard's murder comes to light. In separate prison interviews, McKinney and Henderson continue to come across as confused young men still struggling to accept their roles in the horrific crime. While Henderson seems to seek absolution and forgiveness in his acceptance of the role he played (thereby becoming a more sympathetic character, if you will), McKinney refuses to express remorse, except for "remorse for all the wrong reasons": he feels remorse for disappointing his father by not being the man he was meant to be and for some other self-serving, self-centered reasons. He does, however, finally say he wishes he could go back in time to make the decision to not murder Shepard.

In a look at the progress, and lack thereof, since Shepard's death, one of the most moving (and clearly, most exhilarating) stories told is about the fight in the Wyoming state legislature over a Defense of Marriage Act that was being debated. Considered a certain defeat for progressive politicians, the bill was ultimately upended on a vote by Democrats and some very conservative Republicans, who displayed their true humanity and their support of basic human rights in defeating the bill.

Directed by Actors Bridge Ensemble's Bill Feehely, who doubled as the reading's narrator, the cast featured Henry Haggard, Jenny Littleton, Rebekah Durham, Ross Bolen, Brent Maddox, Jessica Pfranger, Emily Byrd, Thom Booton and Jeff Lewis. The Nashville reading was hosted by Vali Forrister, the producing artistic director for Actors Bridge, whose warmth and humanity lent an air of aid and comfort to the proceedings. Feehely and his capable cast gave startlingly fresh and genuinely moving readings, breathing life into their characters and creating a sincerely heartfelt theatrical experience.

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