By Marnie Thomas
The Laramie Project is theatre with a message. It tells the story of a young man, Matthew Shepard, and how he died at the hands of two other young men in Laramie, Wyoming. It tells about the kind of hate that society can promote and how it can simmer within people until it boils over into murder—simply because a person is different. Matthew Shepard was gay.
The Laramie Project‘s message was clearly one that the performers all felt strongly about. It is a message that needs to be spread throughout society, so maybe the headlines will not be filled with such things as the recent crimes that have been committed in Charleston and as close to home as Delta. In the director’s notes, he shares President Obama quoting Martin Luther King. He says, “We must be concerned not merely with who murdered them, but about the system, the way of life, the philosophy that produced the murders”.
The play was conceived and created by Moises Kaufman and the members of Tectonic Theatre Project. This performance is free of charge and the venue is the Canyon Glen Amphitheater. The set consists of a length of fencing. It is a stark set that works well with a stark and sombre subject. The lighting comes from the gradually setting sun. The beauty of the setting is in contrast to the ugliness of the subject.
Each performer plays a number of characters. Some portray characters who are diametrically opposed to one another. It leads us to look at ourselves and those around us and ask some tough questions. While we may not be a part of the problem, are we a part of the solution?
Ryan Hopkins plays characters as varied as a news person, a Mormon home teacher and, probably the most challenging, Fred Phelps. He does it all with energy and in some cases, humor. Making the transition between each diverse character is quite a feat.
Ashley Knowles plays a minister, a news person and “Doc O’Connor”, as well as others. She portrays male and female characters with skill and emotion.
Brian Kocherhans has the daunting task of portraying both of the young men who tortured and beat—and caused the death of Matthew Shepard. We see the two different personalities of these young men in Brian’s convincing performances. He also portrays a number of other characters, including an actor, a priest and the governor.
Katrina Luthi has a very positive and upbeat way about her. In the talk back you could tell that she is very invested in this project. She is also a dramaturg, along with AJ Taysom. She portrays, among others, a judge, a waitress and a minister’s wife. Her portrayal of a police officer at the scene was probably her best.
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Kaylee McGhghy has a lot of stage presence. She gives a real flavor of small town America in her performances. Her portrayal of the mother of a police officer at the murder scene is particularly convincing.
Abigail Snarr portrays both students and faculty at the university., among several other characters. She is a graceful presence on stage.
Among the many characters that Kacey Spadafora portrays, his heart wrenching portrayal of Dennis Shepard is most impressive. As he speaks to the young men who had been convicted of the murder of his son, the emotion is palpable. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.
Two law enforcement officers and Father Roger Schmit are a few of the characters excellently performed by Javi Ybarra. His development of each separate character is impressive. The voices, actions and stances of each character are distinct. This makes it easy to follow each character and see them as individuals. Not a simple task, when portraying over half a dozen characters.
The cast all worked well together—although most of the dialogue was directed to the audience rather than to each other. But there was a definite feeling of cohesiveness.
Director Taylor Jack Nelson can feel legitimately pleased with his efforts. His cast stepped up to a difficult and emotional subject matter—and they did it very well. The show only performs two more times. You can see it on Saturday (June 27th) at 3 in the afternoon or at 7 in the evening. I would suggest taking a cushion of some kind, as the benches in the amphitheater are hard.
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Canyon Glen Park, Utah
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