The Story
The Laramie Project: An Examination of Prejudice
Over the course of this year, I have had the opportunity to see and review numerous shows that, upon ending, left me incapable of speech. This says volumes about the caliber and intensity of William and Mary’s shows this year, and Moisés Kaufman’s “Laramie Project” was no exception to the trend.
The premise of the show, directed by Jase Smith, centers around a theater troupe that travels to Laramie, Wyoming in order to interview the town about Matthew Shepard and gay prejudice so that they might gain inspiration for a play on the subject. A cast of eleven played over five times as many roles, managing to represent the varying perspectives of a small town that preaches tolerance but, as Shepard’s death evidences, does not always follow through.
Phi Beta Kappa’s studio theater was the perfect setting for this production. Its intimacy offered for greater connection with the cast, as they exemplified their roles as townsfolk participating in an interview. A play of this nature loses its impact when the audience and cast are separated by the traditionally elevated stage. Indeed, it functions best as a prolonged conversation, not a speech.
However, this is not to downplay the importance of the acting; on a whole, the cast was strong. Ali Miller (Baptist Minister, Lucy Thompson, etc.), Cristopher Clawson (Doc O’Connor, Fred Phelps, etc.), and Noah Foreman (Jonas Slonaker, Sgt. Hing, etc.) emerged as three nearly flawless performances.
Miller’s interpretation of an African American Baptist minister was unforgettable. She melded humor with social commentary and achieved a fantastically complete character embodiment. Likewise, Clawson personified a sputtering, furious Fred Phelps, an activist against homosexuality, with power, but also shone as an entertaining, yet poignant driver who shuttled Matthew Shepard to gay bars.
Foreman’s prize performance was without a doubt the hospital CEO that handled the raging press that loomed outside while Shepard attempted to die peacefully in the intensive care unit. His final statement to the media, a proclamation of Shepard’s death, tore at the heartstrings. Foreman’s face contorted in pain that was frighteningly believable. His beautiful delivery contrasted with the sound of snapping cameras; an effect that made manifest the process of human pain filtering through to the media’s desire for a dramatic story.
Other notable performances were given by Trinity Freihaut (Romaine Patterson, Aaron Kreifels, etc.) and Nic Rockwood (Jebadiah Schultz, Aaron McKinney). Freihaut was touching as Shepard’s dear friend who made it her duty to fight against Fred Phelps’ antagonism at the trials, and Rockwood proved again his potential as a rising collegiate star with numerous breathtaking monologues as both the doctor who treated Shepard and Aaron McKinney, his attacker, and Jebadiah, an actor struggling with his personal ideology.
The only weak performance came from David Pugh (Dennis Shepard, Philip Dubois, etc.). While he improved as a Unitarian minister, he failed to do justice to Dennis Shepard’s speech directed towards Aaron McKinney. While conveying emotion, Pugh failed to evidence heartbreak, and he appeared uncomfortable with the monologue.
While the play made manifest bitterness and pain, it also achieved its goal of exemplifying hope. Small segments of comic relief, particularly between the police officer who came to Shepard’s rescue (Natasha Ngaiza) and her mother (Kellyn Johnson) infused the play with signs that life will continue, although we must learn from past mistakes.
“The Laramie Project” does not mean to dwell on Matthew Shepard’s death, nor does it make him a martyr for the cause of gay rights. It only uses him as the example of a man who was deprived of his life for being something outside of the norm. Indeed, that is the overriding issue of this play. It is not violence against homosexuality, another race, or another gender that is the issue, but that a human being has no right to suffer at the hands of another, for in the end, we are all one kind.