Outrageous crime gives rise to anger, hope in 'Laramie Project'

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Melanie Garcia, left, and Kyra Poppler are among eight actors who portray 62 characters in "The Laramie Project." The play, which focuses on the 1998 beating death of a homosexual student and its aftermath in Laramie, Wyo., reminds audiences that such an atrocity could happen anywhere, says director Dwight T. Martin. Photos by Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

In a funeral scene from "The Laramie Project," demonstrators voice their contempt for the slain Matthew Shepard.

'The Laramie Project' A play written by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theatre Project; produced by Manoa Valley Theatre Premieres 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; repeats at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays, through Aug. 3 Manoa Valley Theatre $25 general; discounts for seniors and military; $10 for those 25 and younger 988-6131 Also: "From Laramie to Honolulu: An Evening of Tolerance," a preview gala by Al and Jane Nakatani of the Honor Thy Children organization, will be held from 5:30 p.m. Tuesday; includes a supper and wine and a performance. $40, proceeds benefitting the Life Foundation; call 521-2437, ext. 0

It is the story of the town of Laramie, Wyo., where Matthew Shepard was killed in October 1998 — an act that divided the town and outraged the nation. The play's power and poignancy — and its reflection of anger, hate, fear, courage and hope — prompted Dwight Martin, MVT's managing director, to forsake his business duties to take on the artistic challenge.

"I'm blowing off 14 years of dust off my director's wings to do this one, because it's an evening of very compelling theater," Martin said about MVT's season finale and the Hawai'i premiere of an unusual dramatic journey that at times seems like a documentary. "The more I read the script, the more powerful it was to me; the more I found a place in my heart to be a part of its rendering."

The play was written through a collaboration by the Tectonic Theater Project and reflects an 18-month journey that included company members visiting Laramie and conducting scores of interviews of townspeople. The findings were then mounted in a touching and revealing work that captured the pulse of the town. The play, launched in Denver before its off-Broadway opening in May 2000, initially featured some of the researchers as actors playing multiple roles.

"It's a story about one town that has interesting parallels with other towns, including ours," said Martin. "It's one town's reaction to a violent act, the killing of a gay student, but it's mostly about how inappropriate attitudes can manifest themselves in other acts — whether it's dragging a black man or other repulsive incident simply because of being different. Yet the play doesn't take a point of view. It doesn't preach gay rights or gender. It's not an author's voice about race, religion or other tensions; it's all about the words and feelings of actual people."

In the MVT outing, eight actors portray 62 characters, the changes suggested through vocalization, body language and costumes.

Martin expects controversy, even before the launching of the play.

"Is that going to keep us from doing this show, developing an audience? No," he said. "We had a season subscriber write in last year who was not going to support the 'homosexual agenda'; I said we didn't have a country music agenda when we did 'A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline,' nor did we have a Jewish agenda when we did 'Visiting Mr. Green,' or a '60s agenda when we did 'Beehive.'

"There are those who will judge, or misunderstand, and think we're going through the Matthew Shepard killing all over again; this is not what the play is about. It's topical, it's timely, it's a true-life event, and the voices are real.

"What we need to keep in mind is that Laramie got stuck with this incident. It could have been Kahului or 'Aiea, anywhere here," said Martin. "I marvel at the fact that here we are, a country founded by immigrants trying to escape some kind of persecution, yet, in our own make-up, we still have a lot of people who have summarily dismissed others based on religion, race, nationality, sexual orientation. We pledge liberty and justice for all, but a young boy is beaten and tied to a fence, and the play says a lot about who we are and what we can hope to be."