Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Reviews / Theater 'The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later' at the Weekend Theater
Posted by Cheree Franco on Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 1:16 PM
- Byron Taylor
- Sally Graham, Johnnie Brannon, Regi Ott and, seated, Alan Douglas star in The Weekend Theater's production of "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later."
"The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later," now playing at The Weekend Theater, is an addendum to the original "Laramie Project." In 1998 Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old, openly gay University of Wyoming student, was robbed, tied to a fence post and beaten to death by a couple of acquaintances. Afterward, members of New York’s Tectonic Theater Project interviewed Laramie community members and university professors, as well as Matthew Shepard’s friends, family and the men who murdered Shepard. Those interviews were compiled in a script and performed by a small cast, often with nothing but a quick intro, accent change or prop to distinguish among characters. This updated show follows the same structure, but the script is based on interviews occurring a decade after the crime.
It’s an interesting premise — art based on journalism, per se, that isn’t burdened by journalism principles of non-bias and accurate presentation. You hear the words of those closest to the crime, but you can’t read their body language, expressions and intonations. Instead, you see an actor’s interpretation of those words, which brings an entirely different insight.
Alan Douglas, who plays, among other characters, a priest and a Republican congressman, gives an unmistakably queer performance. Throughout the play, his gestures are feminine, his accent affected — he hits all the gay clichés. It implicates the underlying theoretical queerness of many institutions. Queer simply means a deviation from the politically/socially defined norm. Catholic priests are asexual, pledging their allegiance in body and mind to God alone. They are the ultimate patriarchal figures, yet they are emasculated, and their lifestyle is unconventional. Bipartisan politics represent a deviation, either right or left of center. One of Shepard’s killers is Mormon. Mormonism, with its acceptance of polygamy, its concept of blood atonement, and its mandated missionary journey, is a deviation from social norms.
Were "The Laramie Project" a filmed documentary, the priest might not come across as effeminate and the congressman might not come across as a southern dandy, because possibly, that’s not who these people are. Having these real folks portrayed as characters highlights the cycles of queerness we all exist in, every day. Understanding that queerness — our personal queerness, which may not be based on sex or gender — is crucial to restructuring deep-rooted thought patterns that lead to contempt and ultimately, hate crimes.
In "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later," Laramie comes across as a backwoods, low-income town, with an agriculture university serving as a liberal bastion and a haven for alternative lifestyles (at least among faculty). It’s a recognizable place, as a town where many of us might have lived or worked. Town opinion is mixed, but people of all shades are weary of being defined by this single incident. Sometimes Shepard's murder is understood as something less shameful and more empathetic than a hate crime — a drug related robbery gone bad. Surprisingly, the cops come off as more progressive than local and national media.
"The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later" is an excellent catalyst for discussion and further research. Afterwards, you’ll want to know more about Matthew Shepard and Laramie, Wyoming. You’ll want to know more about civil rights, hate crimes, LGBT politics and queer theory. The changing characters were a bit confusing, and some actors were better than others, but overall, The Weekend Theater manages an engaging performance. Thus far, it also promises to be a popular performance. Saturday's performance was sold out, and the crowds was diverse — a range of ages, attire and (displayed) sexual preference.
Speaking of...
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Friday To-Do: 'Next Fall'
April 5, 2012Harold Dean and Jackson Stewart star in The Weekend Theater's production of "Next Fall." /more/
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Comments (4)
Showing 1-4 of 4
What is "queer theory" and why did you insist on using the word queer so many times in this supposed review. Did you know that most gay people don't like to be called queer. Queer, and fag, are like using the "N" word for African Americans.
In addition, what do you mean by "...and the crowds was (sic) diverse -- a range of ages, attire and (displayed) sexual preference." Is there a dress code? Also, are you homophobic or just uneducated? It's not sexual preference, it's sexual orientation; people do not choose to be gay, or queer as you call them.
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Just to clarify, queer as it is used in this story is an academic term and queer theory is a subset of LGBT studies.
Seriously, for someone so attuned to what "most gay people" prefer, etc., it's really surprising that No Drama has never heard of queer theory. I know not everyone has a liberal arts background, but there is always google...
Mrs. Frankweiler, You've got me on that. I should have asked what it had to do with the play since that's not part of the play. My mistake. I did use Google and find out about it. Most of the gay people I know in Arkansas don't use the word queer about themselves. I don't hear that word or fag unless it's used in a mean way.
But, honestly, what we're discussing isn't even the point of my reply or the play which is my complaint that I know nothing about the play from the "review." I saw the play. Either write an article about the queer theory and use the word "queerness" 5 times in one paragraph or write a review of a play. That's what my point was.
I'm just a commenter, I'm not a paid writer for the Arkansas Times although I did write a cover story for them in 2010.
Have a nice evening.
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