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Disclaimer:
The reviewers' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of TheatreLouisville.org. |
Peer Reviews The Laramie Project
By Moises Kaufman and the Members of the Tectonic
Theatre Project
Ten years after the tragic death of Matthew Shepard, Pandora Productions has mounted a strong revival of this unique piece of material, which tells his story through the voices of his community. Beaten, tortured, tied to a fence and left for dead because he was gay, the incident drew national attention and helped spark the call for hate-crime legislation in America. Moises Kaufman and his colleagues in the Tectonic Theatre Project collected interviews over a two-year period to shape a documentary script of tremendous power. Opinions and memories from Laramie citizens, some of whom knew Shepard or his attackers personally, are masterfully juxtaposed with transcripts from trials and press conferences to construct a tapestry of experience and reflection that comment on issues that touch all lives: the destructiveness of hate and intolerance and the importance of healing and forgiveness.
Director Michael J. Drury leads a consistently fine group of players through the complex three-act play, wherein the 10 actors portray dozens of different characters. The staging and costumes are minimal, leaving the cast to carry the burden of a very emotional evening. Their success illustrates the meaning of the ensemble, as they for the most part functioned seamlessly as a unit, passing the focus back and forth with ease and confidence. I hate to single anyone out, so consistent was their work. They are Lucas Adams, Kent Carney, Trina Fischer, Anna Francis, Rand Harmon, Aurion Johnson, Corey Long, Raven Railey, Alden Sowder and Carol Tyree Williams. My one criticism would be that, particularly in the second act, some of the musical cues were overemphatic, prompting the audience's emotional reactions with heavy-handed choices. Beautiful as it is, Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings has been used so often that it is now impossible to employ it with any subtlety. The tightly structured and highly observant text, delivered by an able cast, gets the job done very well, and the interjections of mawkishness prove an unwelcome distraction. By the time we reach the climax of the third act, things are firmly back on track, as the play ends with a stunning moment of grief giving over to forgiveness, all the more graceful for being true and factual, instead of fiction, a moment that pulls poetry out of the most tragic loss.
The Laramie Project Posted Sept. 5, 2008
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