The Laramie Project

This drama goes past the newscasts and explains more in depth how the Laramie community was affected by this tragedy. Rather than portraying a bunch of "hicks" who were perceived as not caring by the media when the murder occurred, this book explains how most of the citizens of Laramie were affected. This is great in that it goes beyond the murder and looks into the aftermath and how the town was changed by the life and death of one special young man.

I am the 61-year-old father of a 24-year-old son who appeared in The Laramie Project two years ago, when he was a college senior. I sat in the front row of the theater in the round in which the play was produced. The play did not "get to me"--it dragged me into the worst What If a parent can have: what if my son were gay (he's not), what if he were murdered--how would I react, what would I feel?

The question was answered via the actor who played Dennis Sheperd. When he delivered his monologue to the Aaron McKinney character, and referred to Matt Sheperd as his firstborn son and his hero, I absolutely lost it. Hatred, a desire for vengeance, but a recognition that this was the start of a time to heal. A message like this can go out of style...never. For any parent, The Laramie Project is terribly difficult to witness. But witness it you must.

This play defies words. You probably already know this, but this play is structured as a "docudrama," somewhere between a documentary and a plot/character driven play. Laramie weaves together threads of national strife, the eternal fight against hatred and a plethora of deep, powerful characters. One of my favorite moments in this play comes when a middle aged gay man sits in his apartment and describes the rapidly growing group of people marching in a parade honoring Matthew in his last days, how eventually more people are marching for Matthew than for the parade itself. This play is a triumph of the human spirit that has arisen from a truly dark moment in recent American history. The recent HBO movie is a well-done rendition, although, having seen three different productions and been involved in one, I must say that the play is a bit more moving. Read it, and for the sake of the late Matthew Shepard, if you get the chance, SEE IT.

The 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was a watershed event. This tragedy stimulated debates on anti-gay prejudice and violence. "The Laramie Project," by Moises Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theater Project, attempts to find meaning in the murder and its aftermath.

Kaufman and the other members of the theater group travelled to Laramie, Wyoming, which was the focal point of the Matthew Shepard tragedy, in order to interview the people of the town. As the play's opening states, the dialogue of the play is drawn from these interviews as well as from other sources. Thus the play's language has a raw authenticity. Many different voices are heard: a policewoman, Matthew's father, a Catholic priest, a lesbian college professor, Matthew's killers, a Unitarian minister, a viciously anti-gay protestor, etc.

An interesting aspect of the play is the presence of Tony Kushner's play "Angels in America" as a sort of "background" text. "Angels" is mentioned more than once in this play, and indeed, there are significant parallels between the two texts. I recommend that people read both of these remarkable works.

Many issues are addressed in "Project." One character notes that "we need to own this crime." This play is a not only a morally challenging attempt to deal with a high profile tragedy, but also a compelling work of art.

The truth is, reading it wont do as much for you as a good performance. I'm not talking about HBO, I'm talking about theater.
However, even though hundreds of high schools have done this play in the fall of 2002 alone, maybe you aren't able to see it.
This is the most amazing play ever. Not because it has amazing language like Shakespeare. In fact, the language can get pretty ugly because this play is compiled of monologues. Each monologue is from one of the many interviews which the Tectonic Theater Company made in Laramie. In other words, every single word spoken in this book was really said. EVERYTHING is true.
The play we did was so amazing. It CHANGED people. They looked at homosexuality differently. They had new respect and a new view of things. We ended up performing it for the whole school because they felt the students needed to see it.

The Laramie Project is about the responses to the hate crime commited in Laramie, Wyoming. The monologues include people who grew up with Matt Shepard, the boy who was beaten and left to die, people who helped the family, and people who knew the accused. i strongly encourage you to read this twice. Don't bother watching the movie, though.