The New Beginnings Church of Central Arkansas is proud to be a sponsor of the current show at the Weekend Theater, The Laramie Project.
The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later
By Moisés Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris and
Stephen Belber
January 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28 at the
Weekend Theater.
In 1998, the murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard
in Laramie shocked the nation, brutally illustrating just what a hate
crime was – and providing the inspiration for a powerful stage play,
“The Laramie Project.”
In 2008, playwright Moises Kaufman and his Tectonic Theater Project crew
–Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris and Stephen Belber –
revisited Laramie to once again explore how the tragedy has affected the
city.
“The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later,” the result of all those
interviews, opens Friday, Jan. 13, at the Weekend Theater, Seventh and
Chester streets in downtown Little Rock.
Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Jan. 28.
Tickets, $16 for general admission and $12 for students and seniors age
65 and over can be reserved by calling (501) 374-3761 or online at
www.weekendtheater.org.
Sponsors for this production are Canvas Community Church, Quapaw Quarter
United Methodist Church, Open Door Community Church, and New Beginnings
Church of Central Arkansas.
Duane Jackson, who directed the first “Laramie Project” for Weekend
Theater a few seasons ago, also directs the new show. Local actors David
Anderson, Johnnie Brannon, Alan Douglas, Jeremy Estill, Julie Atkins,
Sally Graham, Regi Ott, and Roben Sullivant each take on multiple roles
to portray the various interviewees.
“It has been a joy to see these actors give voice to all of these
Laramie residents and make them real people,” Jackson says. “Kaufman and
the cast did interview some of the original people from the first
‘Laramie Project,’ but there are different residents for this epilogue.
The focus is more on how Laramie has changed, if at all, and the effect
this has had on its residents.
“It does focus on the right for equality and how Matthew's death has
changed the opinions of some of the Laramie residents, including one of
the investigators on the murder case.”
Among the new interviewees are Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, the
young men who brutally beat Matthew and left him for dead after he left
a local bar with them; they are each serving two life terms for the
murder. And Judy Shepard, Matthew’s mother, gets her say. Both segments,
Jackson says, are riveting in what they reveal.
As the play starts, the murder of Matthew Shepard might seem somewhat of
a remote, distant memory – it has been a decade, after all. However, the
memory soon becomes fresh and raw all over again.
We find a population struggling with the legacy of the tragedy, and
their place in history. Attitudes have changed for the better, as
exemplified by the Shepard Symposium for Social Justice, held every year
at the University of Wyoming. But there is also a “let’s just move on”
feeling among several citizens, and the play doesn’t shy away from
presenting those viewpoints.
The first staged reading of “Ten Years Later” was in 2009, and even
since then, there have been a few changes, so Jackson and his cast have
been mindful of updating some information in the script – for example,
the 2011 repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” rule for gays and
lesbians serving in the military, as well as the recent hate crimes act
signed into law.
Good change has occurred, yes, but society still has quite a way to go
in achieving true tolerance.
“People sometimes think that we've moved forward and that hate crimes
are a thing of the past or don't happen here in Arkansas, but that is
not the case,” Jackson says. “This problem still exists, whether it be
in the form of true physical violence or verbal abuse.
“Calling someone a derogatory name based on their sex, race, sexual
orientation or gender identity is the seed of hatred that leads to these
types of crimes against individuals.”
“The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later” is a bold new work that reminds
us not to be complacent.
Click here to view
the trailer for the movie.
Curtain Times
On Fridays and Saturdays, curtain times
are at 7:30 p.m.
For special Sunday showings (Musicals only) curtain times are at 2:30
p.m.
The Box Office opens 1 hour prior to curtain.
The House opens 30 minutes prior to curtain.
New
Beginnings Church of Central Arkansas
4303 East Drive
North Little Rock, Arkansas 72118
501-851-3355