TIMEOUT CHICAGO
Kris Vire
March 9, 2006
The Laramie ProjectBy Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project. Dir. Sean Hargadon. With ensemble cast. Janus Theatre Company at the Athenaeum.It's tempting to call The Laramie Project a foolproof play. The docudrama, built from interviews conducted in the wake of Matthew Shepard's murder, is so well constructed that you might think it would be impossible to screw up. Truthfully, though, there are plenty of opportunities to go wrong. It wouldn't be difficult to go too maudlin or too self-righteous, or to get caught up in attempts at realism. Even the all-star HBO film of the play, directed by Kaufman, went too far in that direction, losing the sense of theatricality that makes a project like this thrive. Luckily, Hargadon hasn't lost sight of that. He and his cast keep things simple. Recurring characters are identified with simple costume pieces; props and design elements are kept to a minimum, allowing the performances and the words of the interview subjects to be the focus. The result is as thought-provoking and as moving as the subject deserves.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Monday, March 06, 2006
LARAMIE PROJECTS PACKS A WALLOP
CHICAGOCRITIC.COM
BY TOM WILLIAMS
Posted Monday, March 5, 2006
Recommended
Janus Theatre’s eight member ensemble landed the powerful, heart-wrenching saga of the horrible hate crime against Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998. The famous and saddening story of homophobia gone to extremes is told through the eyes of the Teconic Theater Project under Moises Kaufman’s leadership. This company traveled six times to Laramie and conducted over 200 interviews with everyone involved in the crime from town residents to law enforcement officials to religious leaders covering the complete story in a slick documentary style. Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, tortured and killed by two men simply because he was gay.
Lynn Wirth, Jeremy Schaefer, Seth Remington, Zachary Clark, Laura Schwartz, Jonathan Shalvi, Karen Pappas and Helen Young deftly played dozens of characters using first person narration that aptly told the story with enough background and local color to give context to how and why this terrible crime happened. This is an amazingly well performed show showcasing the versatile talents of each actor.
This documentary completely covers Matthew Shepard’s story that unfolds as powerful journalism and emotionally strong theatre. This approach contains a look into the lowly depths humans can reach when fear, ignorance and bigotry are allowed to exist. Kudos to the cast and director for mounting a fast paced sincere energetic telling of a story that needs to be heard often so it will not be repeated.
The talent of this ensemble is evident as they let the power of the story lead us into compassion for the victim and rage against bigotry. This is a polished production of an American tragedy. I think Matthew Shepard would appreciate the dedication of the Janus Theatre ensemble.
BY TOM WILLIAMS
Posted Monday, March 5, 2006
Recommended
Janus Theatre’s eight member ensemble landed the powerful, heart-wrenching saga of the horrible hate crime against Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998. The famous and saddening story of homophobia gone to extremes is told through the eyes of the Teconic Theater Project under Moises Kaufman’s leadership. This company traveled six times to Laramie and conducted over 200 interviews with everyone involved in the crime from town residents to law enforcement officials to religious leaders covering the complete story in a slick documentary style. Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, tortured and killed by two men simply because he was gay.
Lynn Wirth, Jeremy Schaefer, Seth Remington, Zachary Clark, Laura Schwartz, Jonathan Shalvi, Karen Pappas and Helen Young deftly played dozens of characters using first person narration that aptly told the story with enough background and local color to give context to how and why this terrible crime happened. This is an amazingly well performed show showcasing the versatile talents of each actor.
This documentary completely covers Matthew Shepard’s story that unfolds as powerful journalism and emotionally strong theatre. This approach contains a look into the lowly depths humans can reach when fear, ignorance and bigotry are allowed to exist. Kudos to the cast and director for mounting a fast paced sincere energetic telling of a story that needs to be heard often so it will not be repeated.
The talent of this ensemble is evident as they let the power of the story lead us into compassion for the victim and rage against bigotry. This is a polished production of an American tragedy. I think Matthew Shepard would appreciate the dedication of the Janus Theatre ensemble.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
CHICAGO TRIBUNE SEES LOVELY MOMENTS
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
ON THE FRINGE: NEW REVIEWS OF CHICAGO'S DIVERSE THEATER SCENE
By Kerry Reid Special to the Tribune
March 3, 2006
The Laramie Project
The movie "Brokeback Mountain" also inevitably came to mind while watching Janus Theatre's revival of "The Laramie Project," given the Wyoming setting and the gay-bashing death of Matthew Shepard that inspired Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project's portrait of the anguished college town. (One character even talks about the macho cowboy brand of homosexuality.)
But there are also echoes of "Capote" in the story of these New York-based writers who spent months interviewing Laramie residents about the effects on their lives of the crime and the punishment of its perpetrator.This show has been seen in numerous community and campus productions (and in an HBO movie) since its 2000 premiere.
The documentary narrative and emphasis on ensemble acting help this production. The greenness of some of the performers here doesn't interfere with the material -- in fact, the hesitancy feels honest and in the moment, of a piece with the difficulty of the stories being told. Director Sean Hargadon stitches together some lovely moments, and it's hard to keep a lump in the throat at bay when several of the townspeople don angel wings to block out the hateful invective of Fred Phelps. "Do your best to say it correct," a Catholic priest in Laramie urged Kaufman and his co-creators. Hargadon and his company, despite their lack of polish, manage to do just that.
ON THE FRINGE: NEW REVIEWS OF CHICAGO'S DIVERSE THEATER SCENE
By Kerry Reid Special to the Tribune
March 3, 2006
The Laramie Project
The movie "Brokeback Mountain" also inevitably came to mind while watching Janus Theatre's revival of "The Laramie Project," given the Wyoming setting and the gay-bashing death of Matthew Shepard that inspired Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project's portrait of the anguished college town. (One character even talks about the macho cowboy brand of homosexuality.)
But there are also echoes of "Capote" in the story of these New York-based writers who spent months interviewing Laramie residents about the effects on their lives of the crime and the punishment of its perpetrator.This show has been seen in numerous community and campus productions (and in an HBO movie) since its 2000 premiere.
The documentary narrative and emphasis on ensemble acting help this production. The greenness of some of the performers here doesn't interfere with the material -- in fact, the hesitancy feels honest and in the moment, of a piece with the difficulty of the stories being told. Director Sean Hargadon stitches together some lovely moments, and it's hard to keep a lump in the throat at bay when several of the townspeople don angel wings to block out the hateful invective of Fred Phelps. "Do your best to say it correct," a Catholic priest in Laramie urged Kaufman and his co-creators. Hargadon and his company, despite their lack of polish, manage to do just that.
"HIGHLY RECOMMENDED" BY READER
CHICAGO READER
Lawrence Bommer
March 2, 2006
THE LARAMIE PROJECT - Wyoming, the "Equality State," seems to be the place for gay tragedy. Though Ang Lee's Oscar contender speaks for closeted cowboys everywhere, Moises Kaufman's 2000 play reminds us that a real-life tragedy happened there in 1998. Where Brokeback Mountain ends with a murder, The Laramie Project begins with one: the homophobic killing of 21-year-old college student Matthew Shepard. But the townsfolk's reactions--as captured by Kaufman's original Tectonic Theater Project actors, who interviewed and portrayed them--count as much as re-creating the murder. So the challenge of producing this work is keeping what is essentially thirdhand storytelling immediate. Sean Hargadon's taut, true revival for the Janus Theatre surmounts every obstacle to deliver a valuable, compassionate night at the theater.
Lawrence Bommer
March 2, 2006
THE LARAMIE PROJECT - Wyoming, the "Equality State," seems to be the place for gay tragedy. Though Ang Lee's Oscar contender speaks for closeted cowboys everywhere, Moises Kaufman's 2000 play reminds us that a real-life tragedy happened there in 1998. Where Brokeback Mountain ends with a murder, The Laramie Project begins with one: the homophobic killing of 21-year-old college student Matthew Shepard. But the townsfolk's reactions--as captured by Kaufman's original Tectonic Theater Project actors, who interviewed and portrayed them--count as much as re-creating the murder. So the challenge of producing this work is keeping what is essentially thirdhand storytelling immediate. Sean Hargadon's taut, true revival for the Janus Theatre surmounts every obstacle to deliver a valuable, compassionate night at the theater.
FREE PRESS SAYS KEEP IT ALIVE
CHICAGO FREE PRESS
The Laramie Project
By Louis Weisberg, Staff writer
March 1, 2006
The brutal 1998 murder of 21-year-old University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard riveted the world’s attention on anti-gay hate crimes like no such incident has before or since. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project made six trips to Laramie and conducted more than 200 interviews with local people about the crime. They distilled their work into a piece of theater as stirring as it is authentic.
“The Laramie Project” is ultimately a searing portrait of America’s hypocritical view of homosexuality. Like most Americans, the good people of Laramie say they hate the sin but love the sinner. They can’t understand how this attitude could have led to a heinous crime that brought the eyes of the world peering in shock and disapproval over their backyard fences.
“Laramie’s live and let live,” says a character early in the play. “We don’t grow children like that,” says another, referring to the killers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. This denial is repeated over and over.
As the townspeople cast about searching for God’s meaning in an effort to put closure to the horrible experience, they look everywhere but in the mirror. Finally, toward the end of the play, Muslim college student Zubaida Ula, who knows a thing or two about Laramie hospitality, dares to utter the obvious: “People were going, ‘That’s not how it is here.’ Well, how is it here?” That line, even more than the convictions of McKinney and Henderson and the raw courtroom speech of Dennis Shepard, marks the climax of this work. If only the townspeople knew it.
Like Lanford Wilson’s “The Rimers of Eldridge,” another play that shined a scorching light on small-town bigotry, “The Laramie Project” is presented with minimal props and staging. The actors play multiple characters and switch in and out of them without a pause. This makes for a complex and difficult undertaking, and Janus Theatre Company’s young cast, under the direction of Sean Hargadon, does an admirable job of keeping it believable and absorbing.
“The Laramie Project” is a play that every GLBT person must see, and this capable production provides an excellent opportunity. Kudos to Janus for keeping this story and its message alive.
The Laramie Project
By Louis Weisberg, Staff writer
March 1, 2006
The brutal 1998 murder of 21-year-old University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard riveted the world’s attention on anti-gay hate crimes like no such incident has before or since. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project made six trips to Laramie and conducted more than 200 interviews with local people about the crime. They distilled their work into a piece of theater as stirring as it is authentic.
“The Laramie Project” is ultimately a searing portrait of America’s hypocritical view of homosexuality. Like most Americans, the good people of Laramie say they hate the sin but love the sinner. They can’t understand how this attitude could have led to a heinous crime that brought the eyes of the world peering in shock and disapproval over their backyard fences.
“Laramie’s live and let live,” says a character early in the play. “We don’t grow children like that,” says another, referring to the killers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. This denial is repeated over and over.
As the townspeople cast about searching for God’s meaning in an effort to put closure to the horrible experience, they look everywhere but in the mirror. Finally, toward the end of the play, Muslim college student Zubaida Ula, who knows a thing or two about Laramie hospitality, dares to utter the obvious: “People were going, ‘That’s not how it is here.’ Well, how is it here?” That line, even more than the convictions of McKinney and Henderson and the raw courtroom speech of Dennis Shepard, marks the climax of this work. If only the townspeople knew it.
Like Lanford Wilson’s “The Rimers of Eldridge,” another play that shined a scorching light on small-town bigotry, “The Laramie Project” is presented with minimal props and staging. The actors play multiple characters and switch in and out of them without a pause. This makes for a complex and difficult undertaking, and Janus Theatre Company’s young cast, under the direction of Sean Hargadon, does an admirable job of keeping it believable and absorbing.
“The Laramie Project” is a play that every GLBT person must see, and this capable production provides an excellent opportunity. Kudos to Janus for keeping this story and its message alive.
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