Review: THE LARAMIE PROJECT at UCSB Hatlen Theater

Almost twenty years ago, Matthew Shepard was murdered in Laramie, Wyoming. His murder made Laramie infamous--the epicenter of homophobia in America. The Laramie Project, now on stage at the Hatlen Theater at UCSB, tells the story of Shepard's murder and how the response to it reveals humanity in its most menacing and benevolent. It's an important performance to attend: to witness Shepard's suffering and reflect on how to repudiate the bigotry that caused it.

The script was made by assembling transcripts of interviews conducted by the members of the Tectonic Theater Project and playwright Moises Kaufman. The words that are heard were actually spoken and the events real, giving a documentary texture to the production. It draws dramatic power from the inescapable awareness that the events discussed have happened and the people portrayed actually said these things. This close relationship to a real-life event brings a special responsibility to the production--to dramatize the issues with due reverence and a measure of forbearance to avoid exploiting its subject. Director Eric Jorgensen tunes the emotional shape of the production with due sensitivity.

Each cast member portrays multiple people in the town of Laramie in the wake of the assault. Some actors morphed so completely into their roles, I did not recognize them when they reappeared as someone new. The production employs a spare aesthetic for costumes and scenic design that gives the audience just enough indications of character and setting to differentiate the many characters and locations in the story.

The beginning orients us to the broad strokes of Matthew Shepard's story and then circles into the proximate events leading to his death. The depiction of those events was affecting as well as restrained. Junior BFA student Cooper Van Bruhns' performance as the bicyclist, Aaron Kreifels, who discovered the dying Shepard by quite by chance, did wrench me emotionally. However, because Shepard's murder is recounted through words rather than imitated through action, the audience has enough emotional distance from the brunt of its impact. We can bear to hear what we should not see.

The final act brings out larger questions about the nature of good and evil, punishment and mercy. Even the darkest aspects of the event precipitate inspiringly brave, virtuous, and imaginative actions by some. For example, policewoman Reggie Fluty's (Kerry Jacinto, a senior in the BFA) story provides contrapuntal notes of optimism and joy as the policewoman who first arrived at the scene of the assault. And senior BFA student Jason Bowe plays the father of one of the murderers while later depicting Matthew Shepard's father with nuance, specificity, and controlled sentiment as he gave his victim impact statement. As I said, it's an important performance to attend. It plays until March 9.

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