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  Redtwist Theatre's Must-see The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later Finds the Hope in the Horror Reviewed by Robert Bullen "Laramie is a community, not a 'project,'" declares a biting editorial published in the Laramie Boomerang on October 12, 2008 -- the tenth anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death. It goes on to say, "... it is infuriating for those of us who consider this our home to be labeled because of the actions of a few questionable characters." This editorial, which echoed the sentiments of many, though not all, Laramie residents at the time, served as a pointed response to the widely-produced play The Laramie Project, which members of the NYC-based Tectonic Theatre Project developed after interviewing residents of Laramie, Wyoming a few weeks after Matthew's death in 1998. And it's this kind of defensive, passionate response that makes The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, a follow-up piece by the theatre company, such a completely compelling study on how a close-knit community attempts to make sense of such an earth-shattering event. The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later debuted on October 12, 2009 -- the 11th anniversary of Shepard's death -- as a simultaneous reading across 150 theatres. And now, Chicago's Redtwist Theatre, under the direction of Greg Kolack, is delivering a powerful, unfettered, supremely well-acted and deeply authentic Chicago premiere production in their 50-seat storefront space. And it's a must-see. (In addition, Redtwist is also presenting a staged reading of The Laramie Project in rep with this companion piece.) From the hundreds of interviews with residents featured in the original play, perhaps the most eye-opening discovery is that several members of the community discredit Shepard's death as hate crime-related. Rather, they view it as simply a robbery gone wrong by a bunch of tweaked-out teenagers. As appalling as that viewpoint may be to many (including me), the play's creators use this as an opportunity to learn how such a perverse viewpoint comes to be -- and if there is, indeed, any validity to it. And the results are frustrating, frightening and, in an unsettling way, fascinating. Other remarkable moments include interviews with faculty members from the University of Wyoming who attempt to keep Matthew's memory alive by fighting for equal rights within the school (most notably, extending healthcare benefits to same-sex partners) and an interview with Judy Shepard (played with grace and gritty determination by Jan Ellen Graves). And there's also an interview with one of Matthew's murderers that chills the blood, removing any doubt one may have of if this was, in fact, a hate crime. The final hopeful coda of this play concerns the evolution of the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. This measure, which expanded current federal hate crimes law to include violence based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability, was signed into law in 2010 -- 11 years after Matthew's murder and death. Change may come slow, but change does come. I fully realize I haven't devoted much space to analyzing Redtwist's production in this review, but here is all you need to know: see this production. It's why we go to the theatre, folks. It slaps us awake and forces us to examine how we can support change not only as individuals, but as a community. Back to top  ★★★★ Reviewed by Catey Sullivan for examiner.com In the age of the 24-hour (if that long) news cycle, the tragedies of 1998 might as well be ancient, irrelevant history. So in some sad respects, it’s not surprising that when the Tectonic Theatre Company returned to Laramie, Wyoming to talk about Matthew Shepard a decade after his murder, they were met with hostility (“We’ve moved past that”) and blank stares (Matthew who?) What is surprising, and at times overwhelmingly dismaying, is the degree of denial and revision Tectonic found in the Wyoming city where 22-year-old Shepard was targeted because he was gay, beaten and strung up on a fence to die. Among the revelations in Tectonic’s The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later is the gradual erosion of facts into revisionist denial. The trial (and the confessions) that followed Shepard’s murder unequivocally proved that the murder was a hate crime. But when Tectonic returned, the company found that more than a few locals (and the leading local paper) were rewriting history by claiming Shepard’s death was a drug deal gone wrong. Never mind the police reports or the jury’s verdict. According to more than a few Laramie residents, the whole hate crime thing was nothing but an invention by a liberal-leaning, agenda-driven media. So is history is erased. If all that sounds like the makings of a play that's more depressing than dramatic, rest assured it is not. Director Greg Kolack, who has long demonstrated a documentarian’s gift for truth-seeking and a dramatist’s knack for sculpting that truth into vibrant theater, doesn’t disappoint in Redtwist Theatre's staging of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later. The piece is a collage of interviews conducted by Tectonic company members and shaped into a story that not only takes the pulse of a community ten years after a defining event, but also shows the wide ripple effect Shepard’s murder had on the nation’s ongoing debate over legislation impacting hate crimes, gay marriage and domestic benefits. In Redtwist Theatre’s intimate staging, a large ensemble cast shifts between various roles ranging from passionately vocal gay and lesbian activist scholars to laconic cow pokes who take a jaundiced eye to the New York theater types who have returned to write about them. Costumes are a matter of adding a scarf or removing a vest, the set is two rows of wooden chairs set against rough planked walls reminiscent of weathered barns. That minimalism puts the focus where it should be, on the words. The piece starts slowly, but builds with increasing tension toward the second act interviews with convicted killers Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson (both serving consecutive life sentences for the murder). It’s the lead-up to those conversations that provide The Laramie Project with the dramatic hook needed pull the audiences along through the narrative. By intermission, a rich context for a monstrous crime has been established and the audience is primed to hear from the men responsible. There’s an undeniable voyeuristic element – tweaking or not, what kind of human monsters could have done such a thing? But if voyeurism is the inevitable by-product of understanding, it doesn’t seem such a high price to pay. Before the prison interviews, the cast draws a memorable and often conflicting sketch of Laramie and its residents. Physically, any reminder of the tragedy has been erased: The fence where Matthew languished for more than 16 hours is gone. So is the bar where McKinney and Henderson pretended to be gay so as to gain Shepard’s trust has been sold. Quizzed about whether they’ve visited the Matthew Shepard memorial bench on Laramie's university campus, students look blank. Still, Shepard's death served as a catalyst for positive change in Laramie (and nationwide) and The Laramie Project presents just as clearly as it does the more dispiriting aspects of not uncommon attitude that “the media” needs to stop obsessing about Matthew Shepard. In the police officers who recall that drugs simply weren’t involved, in the University professors waging a 10-year fight for domestic partner benefits, in Judy Shepard’s steely, unswerving and ultimately successful drive to get a hate crimes bill passed at the national level – in these skillfully, drawn characters, we get the full measure of Laramie. For every misguided newspaper editorial claiming it was drugs and not hate that killed Matt Shepard, a firebrand rises up and shoots a flaming, impeccably reasoned rebuttal of fact into the sphere of public discourse. The piece is pocked with fine performances. As a lesbian drama professor who makes a successful run for the state legislature, Lisa Herceg affects just the right amount of flourish and wry, determined outrage. Matt Babbs brings telling, subtle detail to numerous roles, including a haunted, defeated Henderson and a gay university employee contending with a deep well of frustration and anger. Back to top  ★★★★ An update on Hate – and Hope Review by Lawrence Bommer October 12, 1998—that’s the night of horror when 23-year-old Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence. As he faced the lights of college town Laramie, Wyoming, he was tortured to death by creatures named Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. (McKinney, the more evil perpetrator, inflicted 21 vicious hits on Matthew, with a brand new gun that supposedly made him a man.) The equally young predators singled out this frail young gay man because he seemed the perfect target, friendly and trusting enough to trust them to give him a ride. But also because he was gay. After robbing him of chump change, the bullies went on to inflict unspeakable torment on this sweet soul—not just that terrible “fence-icruxion” but six days of agony in a hospital before death freed him of more agony. In 2009 the Tectonic Theater Project premiered their seminal The Laramie Project, a triumph of oral history based on interviews with the townsfolk of Laramie. It quickly reached national prominence on screen and stage. Returning ten years after the tragedy, artistic director Moises Kaufman updates that seminal work. The 110-minute result is equally eye-opening and invaluable—a mixed-bag testament to both downhome decency and stubborn bigotry. Richly orchestrated by Greg Kolack, the eight performers in this Redtwist Theatre’s Chicago premiere deliver a combustible collage of well-balanced, tell-all anecdotes and observations from Laramie citizens, police, and scholars. We also hear interviews with Matthew’s outspoken mother Judy and both killers. This crazy-quilt confessional gives hope and takes it away. It confirms, confuses and contradicts stereotypes about Westerners, Republicans, and cowboy justice. Though never preaching to the choir, it finally affirms that, though Matthew died for no one’s sins, his unwanted sacrifice may someday equal in good deeds the sheer evil that caused it. Returning to the scene of the crime (in a state that served as the setting for “Brokeback Mountain”), the Tectonic actors discovered that the town, the home of the University of Wyoming, has grown through dirty coal-mining and other environmental exploitation, only recently succumbing to the recession. Still haunting the locals is the stigma of a very speakable 1998 hate crime, an assassination which will be as associated with this town as Chernobyl, Littleton and Johnstown are with their calamities. The university now has a Rainbow Resource center and a barely visible Matthew Shepard Memorial Bench. The town also sponsors an annual AIDS Walk; afterwards drag queens entertain the patrons at a cowboy bar. Yet, just as Tyler Clementi’s suicide proves that bullying is far from over, Shepard’s name both sums up and predicts homophobia, just as the Stonewall riots do resistance. (Happily, it’s also on the name of the nation’s first anti-hate crime legislation.) Understandably but pathetically, many Laramie citizens want to find a phony “closure” on the gratuitous outrage. Egged on by a shamefully unbalanced and utterly fallacious “20/20” update in 2004, they try to believe that it wasn’t a hate crime after all—it was a drug deal gone wrong, a robbery that got out of hand by meth-addled muggers. Blaming the victim, they dismiss the supposedly unwary Matthew as in the wrong place at the wrong time. But for McKinney and Henderson he was the right victim as well. As the cops who knew the facts point out, this mythologizing is weird wishful thinking. McKinney and Henderson pretended to be gay to lure Matthew into their car (much as homosexual lovers/thrill-killers Leopold and Loeb lured Bobby Franks into their car over 70 years before). As the 2008 anniversary forced Laramie to face its ugliest hours, the Laramie Boomerang blamed outsiders with their special agenda for stirring up bad memories and preventing the town from putting its pain behind them. “Let the boy go,” they plead. But, as an opponent says, “They want to write the murder off” as the work of two bad apples, not the homophobia that fed their rage. As a folklore specialist at the university explains, a town beset with scandal and shame will refuse to “own” their homegrown horror, abandoning responsibility by ignoring the facts and manufacturing a self-serving “urban myth.” Only three people know for sure what happened that autumn evening. One is dead. When interviewed, Henderson, however, seems almost remorseful, ashamed that he was such a follower that he couldn’t stand up to the demonic McKinney. But in McKinney’s interview that thug all but admits it was a hate crime. This Nazi sympathizer– who, improbably, has always been kept imprisoned with Henderson no matter what prison they’re moved to (sounds like male bonding of the worst variety…)—says he hates gay people. (The interviewer, alas, never asks him if he has ever known any or if he ever felt any of Matthew’s pain.) Though [Henderson's] mother was brutally raped and murdered in Laramie, that ugliness apparently hardened McKinney to Matthew’s suffering. He found the young man “overly friendly,” the perfect mark for a robbery turned homicide. He’s more upset that the prison T.V. only gets ten channels. As if to balance the indictments, the play digresses in the second act to depict the Wyoming legislature’s enlightening debate about a “defense of marriage” act that came to a surprising ending. An interview with the indomitable Judy Shepard further confirms our belief in American integrity and ultimate justice. (Judy Shepard will appear this Saturday in a benefit at Redtwist Theatre.) Ironically, the infamous fence, from which a grievously injured Matthew stared down at a town without pity, has been torn down. (It should have been as preserved as fragments from the original Cross or panels from the AIDS Quilt.) Happily, Tectonic’s “Laramie Projects” provide a powerful cautionary tale, a learning curve that rises to the occasion. Despite the town’s denial, a “new normal” has changed Laramie forever—and the nation. Matthew, who never sought martyrdom or sainthood, got no justice that night but at least his murderers’ lives are stunted forever. Tectonic and Redtwist’s triumph is to try to dig some good out of unfathomable evil. Theater, as always, appeals to our better angels. Redtwist deserves kudos for speaking so much truth to hate. Back to top  expert direction, the cast was sublime Reviewed by Katy Walsh Where were you when Matthew Shepard was bludgeoned to death for being gay? Shocking tragedies remain in our long term memory by associating them to a personal moment. 911: I heard on a radio at a coffee shop. Princess Diane: I opened my front door and read the headline. Whitney Houston: I was on a bus and read a tweet. I don’t know where I was when Matthew Shepard was killed because the news wasn’t news yet. But since October 12, 1998, I’ve come to know who Matthew Shepard was. The details of his death horrify me. And the reason for his death devastates me. Redtwist Theatre presents the Chicago premiere production of THE LARAMIE PROJECT: TEN YEARS LATER. After the death of Matthew Shepard, the Tectonic Theatre Project conducted a series of one-on-one meetings in Laramie, Wyoming. Along with trial transcripts, Tectonic used the interviews to create the iconic “The Laramie Project,” one of the most-produced plays in the U.S. and around the world. A decade later, the Tectonic Theatre Project returned to the scene of the crime. What they found was startling! The fence was gone. The town was divided. The facts were disputed. Through a series of interviews with police, family, friends, townsfolk, university students, legislators and the killers, Tectonic generated an epilogue in the rippling aftermath of Matthew Shepard’s murder. THE LARAMIE PROJECT: TEN YEARS LATER disturbs with reminiscences laced with veracity and mendacity. This show is a documentary in 3-D. Under the expert direction of Greg Kolack, the eight member ensemble morph into an entire community. Slipping on a vest or glasses, the actor becomes another person. The interviews seamlessly combine for a comprehensive review of the good, bad and the apathetic. The back and forth viewpoints between ‘Laramie is a town not a project’ and the ongoing fight for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning) rights is riveting. Many recollections start with ‘I heard’ which support opinion based in rumor. In 2004, the television show 20/20 reinvestigated the Shepard case. 20/20 disputed the hate crime facts and announced the robbery-gone-bad theory. This tabloid expose fueled the ignorance and anger of the interviewees in this sequel. ...And we wonder why people hate the media? Kolack paces the show with deliberate and thoughtful movement. The cast is on stage for the duration of the show. They sit on the sidelines, four on each side. With ongoing perfect timing, one actor announces who is about to talk and another actor steps into the moment. It’s exceptionally well-done. For more poignant soliloquies, the actor delivers his/her message and steps slightly offstage into the shadows. It allows the powerful message to linger behind. Although the entire cast was sublime, I was incredibly disturbed by Matthew Klingler’s performance as an aggressive 20/20 producer but mostly as a cold-blooded killer, Aaron McKinney. Klingler's excited description of his new gun purchase followed by a non-emotional blow by blow of the murder was gasp-worthy. THE LARAMIE PROJECT: TEN YEARS LATER is considered the companion piece to the “Laramie Project.” Don’t let your failure to see the first play, stop you from seeing this production. I haven’t seen the “Laramie Project.” I want to. And I will. But to me, THE LARAMIE PROJECT: TEN YEARS LATER is even more significant. Sure, right after something horrific happens, a community responds with support. Everyone wants to help heal the hurt right after an accident. But it’s more important to work toward a solution that ensures no one else gets hurt. That hate is not tolerated. That all people are protected by equal rights. I look forward to “The Laramie Project: Twenty Years Later” that shows a community and a country more evolved. That the term *hate crime* is obsolete because people have stopped hating. Back to top  Recommended a "Must See" Show A journey back to Laramie proves how far we have to go. Ten years after the "Laramie Project" became a national phenomenon, the Tectonic Theater Project returned to the scene of Matthew Shepherd's murder, once again interviewing locals about the long-lingering aftermath of the famous hate crime. The resulting theatre piece is now making its Chicago premiere at Redtwist, where the living-room sized stage will put the audience right in the middle of the drama. Playing in concert with staged readings of the original "Laramie," this show is an ideal way to see where we stand now in relation to where we were then. Why is this still relevant? Reviewed by Rory Leahy The murder of 21 year old gay college student Matthew Shepard shocked America in 1998. Shortly afterwards Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater company traveled to Laramie, Wyoming to interview residents about their reaction to the crime that took place in their midst and the hate that motivated it. The varied reactions they got allowed them to create a unique and moving piece of documentary theatre that has now become a high school and college staple. It’s even been filmed by HBO. One could well question why Kaufman and company are going back to the well with their creation of a sequel. One unfortunate answer is historical revisionism. The killers, who originally admitted they were partially motivated by Shepard’s sexuality, changed their story and attempted to perpetuate the narrative that it was simply a robbery or “drug deal gone bad”. Astoundingly, much of Laramie seems to believe this version of events despite overwhelming evidence to its contrary. It appears to be a way to strike back at “the media” with their “agendas” whom they feel unfairly demonized their town. In this way the sequel is actually less hopeful and optimistic than my memories of the original, but it’s honest. The setup is simple. Eight actors play the original company members who were interviewers and also multiple Laramie residents. One intriguing element is that outside the University, the most decent and progressive characters in the show are the cops. Dave O’Malley, the investigating officer into the killing admits he was a homophobe before. He laments that it took a tragedy to change his heart but he is now “180 degrees different”. It’s a variation on our civilization’s most oft told story: The torture and murder of an innocent man redeems our sins. It’s powerful stuff, with great performances especially from Gene Cordon as O’Malley and others. Matthew Klingler offers an appropriately chilling turn as the murderer Aaron McKinney. If you have tears, prepare to shed them. Why is this still relevant? Because we’re still asking that question. Back to top  Highly Recommended Reviewed by Albert Williams This 2009 sequel to The Laramie Project chronicles the legacy of Matthew Shepard, a gay 21-year-old college student whose murder in 1998 galvanized national awareness of antigay violence. Returning to Laramie, Wyoming, a decade after Shepard's death, members of the New York theater collective responsible for the original docudrama find a town divided between those who want to bury the past—or even dismiss the killing as a "drug deal gone bad"—and those who want to stoke awareness of Shepard's martyrdom. Based on interviews, media accounts, and journal entries, Ten Years Later preaches to the choir as it celebrates the progress of LGBT rights, including passage of federal hate-crimes legislation. The most compelling scene in Greg Kolack's intimate, well-paced production re-creates a chilling jailhouse confession by Shepard's unapologetically homophobic killer, played by the excellent Matthew Klingler. Back to top  Highly Recommended reviewed by Clint May An Ignominious Anniversary Gets a Nuanced Observation. The fence has been removed. The Fireside Lounge has been sold and renamed. The town of Laramie, Wyoming has been slowly erasing its ignoble history and moving on. But not always forward. Entropy and fatigue have eroded the past and the certainty that came with once insurmountable facts. The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later takes audiences a few short years back to 2008 and the infamous town where “hate crime” got a face. There, it explores the concepts of change. Those who want it, and those who would rewrite history to protect a comforting self-image. Told in the form of journal entries, transcripts and recorded interviews from the original Tectonic Theater Project, Laramie is a bracing and emotional journey that takes time to look at several facets of an event that tore a hole in the American fabric. Those interviewed had a decade to make sense and nonsense of the unspeakable. By then, truth and fiction had been blended by blind rumor and “reputable” sources. In 2004, 20/20 revisited Laramie with a sensationalist agenda to turn a crime driven by homophobia into a more manageable story of drugs and a robbery gone wrong. Their intent was exposed and debunked, but the ripple effect of that event caused a whitewashing of the 1998 tragedy. A more protectionist narrative took hold, one that removed the backwater stigma that Laramie had endured since becoming the inadvertent hate crime capital of America. As one folklorist puts it, Laramie simply wanted (and wants) to take back control of its history with the power of rumor. Fallout from events like those in Laramie create a tear in societal fabric. Laramie is an in-depth exploration of how a community exposed to terror and infamy tries to repair that rip, even if it shouldn’t. Each of the eight cast members takes a turn becoming professors, town members, a priest, legislators, law enforcement, his parents and in a harrowing feat, the killers themselves. Their voices range from sympathetic to accusatory, angry to exhausted, exploring an American complacency shattered and now seeking to reign again. It has many lessons to teach about the nature of hate, acceptance and painful change. A demanding script is more than met by the diverse ensemble, flickering in and out of personae, accents and emotional states with a seeming ease. Minimalist costume alterations and a set of only eight chairs magnifies the emotions on display. Each member gets to take a turn at some facet of the story. Perhaps most poignantly, one of Matt’s friends reminds us that there are in truth two people in the public discussion—Matthew Shepard, the face of hate crime; and Matt, the slip of a lad who was a good friend, brother and son, who passed away under monstrous circumstances on a random night. It could have happened anywhere, but it happened there. It could have happened to anyone, but it happened to him. It could be ignored and dismissed under the weight of a decade of fatigue, or it could still be the catalyst for change that America still so desperately needs. Stories like Tyler Clementi’s and countless other stories of bullying demonstrate we’re in danger of backsliding. Martyrdom—requested or forced—requires that those left in its wake take up the mantle of the worthy cause. Laramie is a moving and honest drama that looks unflinchingly into an uncomfortable anniversary. It galvanizes a forgetful world, reminding us that the journey into the future begins only when we can fearlessly acknowledge the past. Back to top  ★ ★ ★ ½‘Laramie’ a tale of intolerance worth revisiting By Barbara Vitello Kaufman and his fellow theater artists first arrived in Laramie, Wyo., in 1998, shortly after the murder of the gay University of Wyoming student. Over the next 18 months, they interviewed a number of Laramie residents from which emerged the revealing docudrama, “The Laramie Project.” A chronicle of the events surrounding Shepard’s murder at the hands of Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney, it showed the impact of the hate crime on the community, reflecting its bigotry as well as its compassion. In 2009, Tectonic premiered “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later” — a companion piece by Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris and Stephen Belber — crafted from follow-up interviews with people featured in the original play. The Chicago-area premiere of “Ten Years Later” comes courtesy of redtwist theatre, whose intimate, storefront space is particularly well-suited to this poignant and provocative testament to basic human decency and to the regrettable persistence of intolerance and prejudice. Directed with compassion and clear-eyed restraint by Downers Grove resident Greg Kolack — who made his own pilgrimage to Laramie to interview some of the individuals depicted in the play — redtwist’s production is a wonderfully articulated, superbly cast show. Kolack’s eight-member cast plays multiple characters, all of whom are identified by the simplest of accessories — a pair of glasses, a jacket, a cowboy hat. That simplicity carries over to Andre Onegin’s minimal set, comprised of plain wood chairs set against wood panels. The play opens with the return of Tectonic company members to Laramie to determine how — or if — people’s attitudes and institutional policies have changed in 10 years. Like the original, “Ten Years Later” unfolds as a series of snapshots comprised of recollections and observations from those caught up in the tragedy and the media frenzy that followed. We become reacquainted with feisty, plain-spoken Reggie Fluty (Eleanor Katz), the first police officer on the scene, who found the badly beaten Shepard bound to a fence outside the town, and Romaine (Devon Candura) who found her calling as an activist after her friend Matthew’s death. We meet up with retired detective Dave O’Malley (Gene Cordon), committed to making Laramie and the nation face the truth about Shepard’s murder. We encounter Catharine Connolly (Lisa Herceg), a theater professor turned politician. And we meet Matthew’s mother Judy (Jan Ellen Graves), who continues to fight for compassion, understanding and tolerance so that no other parent has to endure what she has. Their frank and truthful portrayals — and those of their equally impressive cast-mates Matt Babbs, Kurt Brocker, Lisa Herceg and Matthew Klinger — are such that even the briefest cameos leave an impression. Leaving a more disturbing impression are the responses to the anniversary from young university students who express ignorance of the murder, and to older residents who want to simply “move on” from it. Most alarming of all is the insistence by some that Shepard’s death was not the result of a hate crime, but rather that it resulted from a drug deal gone wrong. This myth, a university folklorist posits, comes from a community trying to insulate itself from its ugly truths. The action builds to the second act, which is dominated by prison interviews with Henderson, the follower (played with quiet insight by Babbs) and McKinney, the leader (played with a detached, swagger by Klingler), who reveals a striking self-awareness in acknowledging that prison is exactly where he belongs. Both are serving consecutive life sentences without possibility of parole. Babbs also earns kudos for his portrayal of a gay man who finds a measure of security as a university employee. “Finding our safe pockets is what we do as gay people no matter where we live,” he says, suggesting that as much as awareness and tolerance have increased, gay people still have much to fear. Cordon also triumphs in his deeply eloquent portrayal of a Wyoming legislator who, in a surprise stand, defies his Republican colleagues by opposing their defense of marriage bill. Ultimately “Ten Years After” does more than update the original play. It illustrates the wide-ranging effect Matthew Shepard’s death had on the continuing debate over hate crimes, marriage equality and ever-persistent intolerance. Certainly the play has an agenda. But it’s one worth advancing. The work continues. Back to top  by Beth DuganEDGE Contributor Just over 13 years ago on October 6, 1998, Matthew Shepard, a young, gay student at the University of Wyoming, was severely beaten by two men and left for dead, tied to a fence post. He died of his injuries six days later. The motive for the beating was determined to be homophobia, and the hate-crime captured the attention of world. The small town of Laramie, Wyoming, where the crime occurred, became the focus of media attention that put it under an uncomfortable microscope, and changed it forever. The Tectonic Theatre Project company, from New York city traveled to Laramie to find out what had happened there, and why. They interviewed townspeople, Shepard’s parents, the law enforcement professionals involved in the case, and hundred of others. Their work became the play "The Laramie Project". That play has been performed by playhouses all over the world and was also made into an HBO movie, directed by Moises Kaufman, one of the original theater company members. Ten years later, the theater company returned to Laramie to see what, if anything had changed. "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later" is the sequel to the original play that evolved from another series of interviews with the people of Laramie, Wyoming. With a cast of eight -- four men and four women -- "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later" at Redtwist Theatre manages to give the impression of a much larger cast and performance space than its intimate 40 seats and 12’ x 12’ stage space. With eight chairs and a series of hats, glasses, vests, and scarves, the cast of the play effortlessly slips into and out of the roles of interviewer, interviewee, prison inmate, sheriff, friend, college professor, and a plethora of other pivotal persons in the town of Laramie and the story of the life, death and aftermath of Matthew Shepard. The staging is ballet-esque and innovative. Directed by Greg Kolack, the show captures the breadth of the research, interviews, and background gathered by the theater company in a compact space and time frame. Each transition from character or interview subject is announced to help the audience keep track of a truly dazzling number of characters. The members of the theater company are played by the same actors who also play Shepard’s convicted killers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, slipping from one starkly different persona to another as easily as taking a breath. Particularly strong were the performances by Gene Cordon, Lisa Herceg, and Matthew Klingler, who all wrung both laughter and tears from the audience with their nuanced performances of multiple characters. All the actors turned in moving, bold, and deeply experienced performances that are a credit to the play, the theater, the subject matter and the memory of Shepard. The conclusions of "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later" are hard to pin down. Certainly the tragedy that occurred in Laramie changed the town. It changed the Shepard family, undoubtedly. Matthew’s mother, Judy, has spent the time since her son’s murder championing for a national hate-crime legislation (that was signed into law by President Obama in October of 2009), and working to end hate-crimes across the country. The play explores how the collective memory of the town is shifting, however. Now, young town’s people who were no more than children when Shepard was murdered, believe -- through rumor, speculation, and a wildly misleading "20/20" story that aired -- that Shepard was murdered in a robbery or drug deal gone bad, and the crime had nothing to do with homophobia. The characters of the theater company express outrage and disbelief at this distortion of collective memory, not understanding why this conclusion is more comfortable to the town. A folklorist, who is interviewed, sheds light on the patterns of self-denial, rumor, supposition, and peer stories to help explain this. It is human nature to wrongly remember things that hurt us. Not all the news is bad, out of Laramie. An act similar to California’s Prop 8 was struck down in the state legislator with the help of a lesbian college professor-turned-politician and some unlikely Republican allies. The college granted same-sex partner benefits (and then added a ridiculous caveat) and the aforementioned hate-crime federal law, bearing Matthew Shepard’s name, was passed. Unfortunately, there are also people who are still struggling to accept that their town is a place where this crime could occur. The play makes a strong argument (both in the original and in this sequel) that this could happen in any town, anywhere, and there is nothing that is special about Laramie or Shepard or the young men who killed him. Ultimately, that is what is so terrifying and haunting. Back to top  Shedding light on Laramie a decade later ★★★ Reviewed by Kerry Reid, Special to the Tribune "Laramie is a community, not a project." That was the blunt assessment of an editorial in the Wyoming college town's paper on the 10th anniversary of the murder of Matthew Shepard. The young gay university student was robbed, pistol whipped, and left to die tied to a wooden fence in October 1998. It's a not-so-subtle jab at Moises Kaufman and the New York-based Tectonic Theater Project, whose play (and subsequent HBO movie) "The Laramie Project" became a landmark in documentary theater and a flash point for activists against homophobic hate crimes. In fall 2008, Kaufman and his team returned to the town that had become famous for a tragedy many of its citizens would like to forget. In "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later," now in a stark and often-moving production with Redtwist Theatre under Greg Kolack's direction, one feels one's sympathies shifting and deepening as the voices of those we met in the original piece — and some new ones — ruminate upon the meaning of Shepard's death. Kaufman and his cohorts discover that some in Laramie have come to view Shepard's murder by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson (both are serving life terms) not as a hate crime but as a drug deal gone bad — a view reinforced by an ABC "20/20" special in 2004. But Reggie Fluty (Eleanor Katz), the now-retired police officer who was the first cop on the brutal scene, remains haunted by what she saw and frustrated at the slow pace of progress on gay issues. What emerges in the sensitive and detailed performances of the eight members of the ensemble (who all play multiple roles) is a sense of confusion and remorse, tempered with civic pride in the incremental changes that have occurred. Laramie now has an AIDS walk and a "Drag queen bingo AIDS benefit," one resident points out. And in one of the most moving sequences, Cathy Connolly (Lisa Herceg), a gay women's studies professor at the University of Wyoming and a newly elected member of the Wyoming legislature, witnesses a bill that would amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage go down in defeat — with crucial help from a conservative Republican (Gene Cordon), who speaks movingly of his gay daughter. The most chilling moments come in the jailhouse interviews with Henderson and McKinney. The former, played by Matt Babbs with quiet despair, mentions that his own troubled mother froze to death on a road outside of Laramie after an assault — a year after he participated in Shepard's slaying. And Matthew Klingler's hard-edged McKinney tells the Tectonic team, "I feel remorse, but for all the wrong reasons." It's a startling admission — but its truthfulness reminds us that despite the celebrated passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, we have a long lonely road to travel in overcoming crimes of prejudice. Back to top  An epilogue to Tectonic Theater Project’s first docuplay about Matthew Shepard’s death finds some Laramie residents trying to rewrite the incident. ★★★ Reviewed by Oliver Sava While being interviewed for Tectonic Theater Project’s 2009 epilogue to The Laramie Project, Judy Shepard (Jan Ellen Graves) tells Tectonic founder Moisés Kaufman (Gene Cordon) that America has seen “ten years of change and no progress.” A decade after her son Matthew Shepard’s death, hate-crime legislation has not been passed, same-sex rights are still denied, and the town of Laramie, Wyoming, has rewritten the story of Matthew’s death to save its reputation. Composed from interviews conducted during Tectonic’s 2008 return to Laramie, much of Ten Years Later is a response to rumors—fueled by a 2004 20/20 story—that Matthew’s death was a drug-related robbery and not a hate crime. The play revisits characters from the first edition while adding two new voices: Matthew’s killers Aaron McKinney (Matthew Klingler) and Russell Henderson (Matt Babbs). These tense interviews are the highlight of the piece. Prison has hardened the remorseless McKinney and given him a new appreciation of Nazis, but the genuinely apologetic Henderson is painted as a tragic victim of circumstance. With eight actors playing multiple roles, Greg Kolack’s production moves smoothly and clearly conveys large amounts of information. Some of the characterizations are more exaggerated than necessary for a docudrama in Redtwist’s intimate space, but the versatile ensemble effectively portrays a town trying to escape its past. Back to top  ★★★★ Brilliant Production Reviewed by Al Bresloff There are many people who are unfamiliar with “The Laramie Project,” a play that detailed the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998. The play is in actuality made up of interviews that took place in Laramie after the events that forced humanity to truly look at intolerance and prejudice when it came to sexuality. It was written by Moises Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theater Project, the same group that has put together the current production at Redtwist Theatre, “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later,” a brilliant production under the direction of Greg Kolack. Redtwist, for those of you who have never been there, is one of our shining “storefront theaters”, an intimate “black box” where the audience is close enough to touch the actors, and for a show of this nature, a great spot. This is also based on a series of interviews with the actual people of the town, the parents and the two men who were the killers of Matthew. What these two “plays” did was cause the world to re-examine how people felt about the Gay populace and their rights to live their lives. Matthew’s mother, Judy, has been a force in bringing awareness to our country and in doing so, keeping his memory alive and allowing others not to face the brutality that killed her son. The cast of eight actors take on many roles as they become those interviewed and the interviewers, but as they change characters, with minimal costumes or glasses added, we are informed as to who they are making it much easier to know what is happening. They are all solid in performance and make each of their characters believable. Matt Babbs, Kurt Brocker, Devon Candura, Gene Cordon, Jan Ellen Graves (who handles the role of Judy Shepard with the heart of a mother fighting to keep her son’s memory alive), Lisa Herceg, Eleanor Katz and Matthew Klingler. Most of these actors are new to the Redtwist stage, but each follows the Redtwist mission statement , “to do white hot drama, in a tiny black box, with a little red twist” to perfection. What makes this show effective is the warmth of each performer as they take on the personas of the people who lived through this. The people who knew what really took place and those who wanted to think it was only a robbery that went wrong. The lighting by Christopher Burpee and the sound by Rachel Spear added to the moods as created by the story and Kolack. The set is really nothing compared to the story being told as it is only some chairs that are moved about as scenes go from one to another. This is not a typical production with sets, costumes and props that are meaningful to telling of the story. In fact, this is the purest form of story-telling; 8 solid actors doing what the do best! Back to top  Reviewed by Jonathan Abarbanel A decade after the 1998 Matthew Shepard murder and the documentary drama about it, The Laramie Project, the play's authors returned to interview their subjects again along with people who came to Laramie later. To their shock, they uncovered denials that the death of Matthew Shepard was a homophobic hate crime. Stimulated by a 2004 episode of TV's 20/20, some now believe the murder was a drug deal gone bad, or an out-of-control robbery, or that perps Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were meth-binging—anything but gay-bashing—all of which were thoroughly disproved by the original evidence and Henderson/McKinney statements. Although cavalier and untrue, such opinions are real expressions of "the desire for control over memory or over history," as an expert states in the play. A decade on, after experiencing a growth boom, Laramie doesn't want to be regarded as a bigoted, hateful society, or to be known chiefly for the Shepard murder. Citizens cannot deny what happened, so they alter the reality of why it happened. That doesn't make them homophobic, but it means they might not recognize homophobia if it hit them upside the head, which should concern us all. The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later is interesting rather than exciting. It's not an entirely fresh reality check, in part because it spends much time reminding folks of the original conclusions in the case. The show also notes the election of a lesbian to the Wyoming legislature, the unexpected defeat by the legislature of a defense-of-marriage act and—above all—the passage of federal hate-crimes legislation (the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Act). However, the long digression about the Wyoming legislature is linked only indirectly to the Shepard case and seems curiously off-point. The very skilled director Greg Kolack easily guides his amiable eight-person cast through numerous character changes demanded of each, with strong assistance from lighting designer Christopher Burpee. Even so, the show seems static—not boring, mind you, but static—in the tiny Redtwist space with audience on either side of the small playing area. One wonders how it might be presented on a larger stage and whether that would make it less of a voice play. The highlights, perhaps, are prison interviews with Henderson and McKinney. Henderson comes off as sympathetic and remorseful while McKinney is hard-boiled, unrepentant and somewhat devious. Still, Henderson was the enabler whose lack of intervention cost Shepard his life. In a way, they encompass the ambiguities of Laramie then and now, and most other places as well. The show aptly calls itself "an epilogue to The Laramie Project," an addition rather than something entirely new, and one resolved to reconfirm the original conclusions. Back to top  Reviewed by Bonnie Kenz-MaraHighly recommended. Where else can you currently see 8 actors take on upwards of 50 characters in two interrelated shows?! Redtwist Theatre is one of our local favorites, with a long string of Jeff recommended productions, and an intimate performance space. They've got a new entry way into their black box space, off the front lobby now, and a thought provoking show that provides a new entry way into the hot button issue of how hate impacts society. We've been promoting The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later since February, on our Facebook and Twitter streams, but if you still haven't seen it yet, you just have until April 7th to check it out. We were blown away by Redtwist's current and incredibly timely offering, The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later. The choice of simple costume pieces ...glasses here, a tie there, and the presentation of the show on a bare bones set, only serve to accentuate the immensity of the content. Thirteen years after the horrific beating death of Matthew Shepard, hate crime protection has finally been enacted on the federal level by President Obama, after his two predecessors failed, yet hate crimes, harassment and bullying are still increasing. As Matthew's mother so eloquently states, "These plays are not about being gay. They are about being hurt for being different, or perceived to be different, whatever that difference may be." As the right wing amps up the hate rhetoric to the point where gay teen suicides are in the news frequently and bullies feel sanctified in their violence against others, this production's message is as urgent as ever. I was saddened though not surprised by the townspeople's collective amnesia, and eagerness to spin history to support a more palpable view of themselves. A mere ten years later, people who once saw irrefutable court room proof of a heinous, lethal gay bashing, bandied about victim blaming falsehoods about a drug deal gone bad. Who wants to openly identify with a homicidal homophobic town where peaceful college students are killed for pocket change and partner preferences? It seems a robbery co-opted into a hate crime by liberals, to advance their politics, is an easier lie to believe. On a parallel note, my husband's presently on a TV shoot with someone who was a student at Columbine during the shootings, and she recently met with similar resistance and hostility when she wanted to make a 10 year documentary. Even as an insider, many of her classmates refused to talk to her and were adamantly against the project. People wanted to forget and not dredge up the past, and gave her so much resistance that the project may not advance. Still, for all the haters and amnesiacs, there is an encouragingly dogged group in Laramie and beyond, still making sure Matthew's death meant something, and will make a difference for future generations. The scene of the gay marriage political debate and vote gave me hope, as well. Even with our current two steps forward, one step back, politics in 2012, there are still leaders who will cross conservative and liberal lines and party views to vote with wisdom and compassion. This courageous and vital set of shows spread the message to that many more people. Suggested for adults audiences and mature teens. Back to top  ★★★ Review by David Zak The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later Watching "The Laramie Project" performed by the original members of The Tectonic Theater Project in New York was one of the most emotional experiences I have had in theater. Those actors had assembled massive amounts of research in the town famous for the murder of Matthew Shepard, and stitched it into a challenging and powerful evening of theater. In many ways, their work ignited our national discussion on hate crimes and bullying. Since then, "The Laramie Project" has gone on to be one of the most widely performed shows in American theater. I have seen student productions at universities and middle schools, and it always packs a punch. So it is understandable that Moisés Kaufman and four original cast members made a second trip to collect material for "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later". And while director Greg Kolack has assembled a terrific ensemble and facilitated excellent design work at Redtwist Theater, the evening does not deliver the emotional depth of the original. As new interviews begin, the ensemble members are dismayed to find Wyoming inhabitants recasting the story in an effort to reclaim their memory and history. Who wants to live in the state that brought us both "Brokeback Mountain" and Matthew Shepard? College students, regular citizens, and even those involved in the initial case are only too happy to repeat a disreputable 20/20 report which recast the crime as a robbery or drug deal gone bad, not a hate crime. Only the cops in the original case maintain that the trial testimony remains valid. Much of Act 2 is devoted to interviews with the convicted killers, who were only represented in the first play through indirect testimony. Here Russell Henderson, and especially Aaron McKinney (in a blazing performance by Matthew Klingler) can almost be seen sympathetically. An inappropriately large section of Act 2 deals with Montana's efforts to pass a bill to ban gay marriage. The effort fails, earning applause from the audience. But in all this, where is Matt? The original piece took the time to uncover layers of the man, who with his death became an icon. But only a brief chat with his mother Judy reveals the human cost of this tragic event. The cast deserves great praise for their individual work, ensemble playing, and listening skills. Matt Babbs, Kurt Broker, Devon Candura, Gene Cordon, Jan Ellen Graves, Lisa Herceg, Eleanor Katz, and Matthew Klingler all do fine work. Terrific design work comes from kClare Kemock (costumes), Christopher Burpee (lights), and Andrei Onegin (set). Kolack weaves a tighly paced and richly evocative fabric. Perhaps it is too much to expect the return to Laramie to be as potent as the original journey. But by initiating the conversation about Matthew Shepard's death, hate crimes, and bullying in schools and theaters all across America, I believe Moisés Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theater Company have changed the arc of our history. For those who missed it, Redtwist is also offering staged readings of the original "Laramie Projects" on off-nights. Back to top Don’t-Miss List: Laramie Reviewed by Kelly Kleiman The first thing to know about The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later is that it’s not really about gay-bashing or the Matthew Shepherd murder at all. It’s about how lies and dishonesty take over from the facts– and about who decides what things are really about. When the authors of The Laramie Project returned to the town 10 years later, they discover pervasive denial and distortion: The hate crime is described as a robbery gone wrong, Shepherd himself as a child molester. The Shepherd murder may seem like old hat to you; but in a political setting where the Big Lie seems an established mode of operation, a play about how lies take hold is stunningly current. Back to top  Redtwist Theatre recently received a Jeff Recommendation for its current production of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later. It marks the 11th show in a row to be recommended by the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee for outstanding work. Beginning with the 2009-2010 season opener, Lettice and Lovage, all our regular season, Jeff-eligible shows have been Jeff recommended. Several of the productions also received nominations and awards in the most recent completed season, including the Non-Equity Jeff Award for Best Production in 2011 for Man from Nebraska. The list, beginning with the current production going back in time, is as follows: CURRENT JEFF SEASON March-April 2012: The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, directed by Greg Kolack Dec 2011-Jan 2012: Opus by Michael Hollinger, directed by Jason W. Gerace. Sept-Oct 2011: Elling by Simon Bent, directed by Steve Scott. July-Aug 2011: That Face by Polly Stenham, directed by Michael Colucci. May-July 2011: Bug by Tracy Letts directed and designed by Kimberly Senior and Jack Magaw. PREVIOUS JEFF SEASONS Mar-May 2011: Man from Nebraska by Tracy Letts, directed by Andrew Jessop. Nominated for Best Production, Principal Actor-Chuck Spencer. Won for both Best Production and Actor, Chuck Spencer. Jan-Feb 2011: Shining City by Conor McPherson, directed by Joanie Schultz. Nominated for Supporting Actor-Brian Parry who won the award. Dec 2010-Jan 2011: Lobby Hero by Kenneth Lonergan, directed by Keira Fromm. Nominated for Best Production, Director-Keira Fromm, Principal Actor-Andrew Jessop. Sept-Oct 2010: A Delicate Balance by Edward Albee, directed by Steve Scott. Nominated for Best Production. Nov 2009-May 2010: The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh, directed by Kimberly Senior. Nominations were for Best Production, Director--Kimberly Senior, Principal Actor--Andrew Jessop, Supporting Actor--Peter Oyloe. Peter Oyloe won the award. Oct-Nov 2009: Lettice and Lovage by Peter Shaffer, directed by Steve Scott. Millicent Hurley was nominated for Principal Actress. Back to top A return to LaramieSCOTTISH PLAY SCOTT by Scott C. Morgan, Windy City Times 2012-03-07 Director Greg Kolack is surprised that it has taken more than two years for a Chicago theater company to produce an extended run of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later. Now directing a production at the intimate storefront Redtwist Theatre, Kolack feels The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later should get more exposure on its own, but also should be paired with the original Laramie Project. "These shows have to be presented together," Kolack said, calling The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later more of an "epilogue" or "follow-up" than a sequel. "Even though [The Laramie Project plays] were written 10 years apart, I still think of them very much as an Angels in America or The Kentucky Cycle where each play stands on its own, but to get the full impact you need to see them both," Kolack said. "That became a bit of a project for me to pitch around to theaters." Although Redtwist Theatre isn't presenting both plays as full-fledged productions, it is at least producing the first Laramie Project play in a staged reading form on Saturday afternoons. That way die-hard theater fans can see both works in one day the way many have also experienced the multi-play Kentucky Cycle and both parts of Angels in America (which, incidentally, will be staged at Court Theatre March 30-June 3). Since The Laramie Project debuted in Denver before moving to New York in 2000, it has gone on to be one of the more influential dramas of the past decade. It came about when playwright Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theatre Project (best known then for the thoroughly research drama Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde) journeyed to Wyoming and Colorado to interview townsfolk to get their reactions to the widely reported 1998 hate-crime death of gay college student Matthew Shepard. Kaufman and his collaborators' verbatim interviews formed the powerful docu-drama text for The Laramie Project. The play prompted great community discussions and served as a conduit to promote acceptance and tolerance of LGBT people and issues when The Laramie Project saw regional productions around the country and the world. Yet as the 10th anniversary of Shepard's death approached in 2008, Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theatre Project returned to Wyoming to see how the community had (or hadn't) changed in the ensuing years. These interviews formed the basis for The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, which had its premiere in simultaneous readings across the world on Oct. 12, 2009, the 11th anniversary of Shepard's death. About Face Theatre teamed up with the Goodman Theatre to present The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later in Chicago. "People are actually still discovering it," Kolack said, noting that despite the big publicity for The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later in 2009, there has been relatively few productions of it across America. "It surprises me that there are a lot of people, even in theater, who know of The Laramie Project, but don't know the second one exists." Chicago actress Eleanor Katz appeared in a London staging of The Laramie Project in 2007 at the East 15 Acting School, and she's grateful to be a part of Redtwist's Laramie productions. "I think it's given us a sense of closure," said Katz about performing both Laramie plays back to back. "We've started with these characters and now we've seen how they've changed and how their lives have been affected over a decade." However, on the controversial side, The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later focuses on the revisionist takes on Shepard's death that take homophobia out of the equation. It also depicts a disturbing interview with Aaron McKinney, one of Shepard's convicted murderers. At the sentencing of McKinney and his accomplice, Russell Henderson, both were specifically barred from speaking to the press (it was part of the agreement that spared the two from the death penalty). Yet ABC News' 20/20 broke that ban in 2004 with a much-condemned interview with McKinney where he argued that Shepard's murder was not a hate crime, but a drug deal gone wrong. "The characters from the first one that you think will have a profound change over 10 years, do," said Eleanor Katz. "It's the new characters that come into the second piece that really I think shock you when you hear them because there are rumors that have manifested and have taken the whole murder and what surrounds it into a different and frustrating direction." On Saturday, March 10, Redtwist Theatre presents a special benefit performance of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later that will benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation. It prominently features a pre-show reception and introduction by Judy Shepard, Matthew's mother. "I'm really more excited than nervous to meet her," Katz said about Shepard's Redtwist appearance. "I think she appreciates anytime a theater company does one of the two Laramie productions because it's bringing awareness because that's one of the best things about theater is how it can bring about social change." Back to top Activist Judy Shepard coming back to Chicagoby Jerry Nunn, Windy City Times, 2012-03-07 Judy Shepard is the mother of Matthew Shepard who was murdered in Laramie, Wyo., in 1998. Since then she has become an advocate for LGBT rights creating the Matthew Shepard Foundation with her husband. Several events are bringing Judy back to town and we caught up with her to talk about it. Windy City Times: Hello, Judy. We haven't talked in a while. You have been a little busy. Judy Shepard: It has been crazy busy. WCT: You are coming back to Chicago with a full schedule. Judy Shepard: I am looking forward to it. Keep that weather nice until we get there, okay? WCT: I will do my best! You have an appearance at the Chase Auditorium and then a reception after. Judy Shepard: Yes, at The Carlyle. WCT: Elaine Dame, who is singing in a jazz quartet, I have seen perform several times. Judy Shepard: Great. I have not. Is she wonderful? WCT: Yes. I saw her perform at coffee houses years ago. On Saturday, you are a Center on Halsted. Judy Shepard: I have been there before. WCT: Is it a speech that you are doing there? Judy Shepard: It is H.E.R. day at the Center. I speak then there is a luncheon. After the luncheon there are several workshops dealing with women's issues. This is also for anyone describing themselves as women so for transgender also. WCT: The play The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later opens that night. Judy Shepard: It is the second half 10 years later. WCT: So this is a completely different production. Judy Shepard: It is the Redtwist Theatre group. The group went back in 2010 to do research and visited some of the same folks. They re-interviewed some of the same people from the first play to see if anything had changed since Matt was killed. I think, initially, they were pretty disappointed that things hadn't changed that much but overall I don't think it was less or more any different than the rest of the country at that point in time on how far they had come in the recognition of the gay community and their rights. In the last few years, things have totally turned a corner. WCT: What part did you play in the show? Judy Shepard: I was interviewed this time. That is pretty much it. As with the original production I had no input and no involvement other than being interviewed. WCT: So there is a person playing you onstage this time. Judy Shepard: Weird, huh? Well, it was weird for me. WCT: I imagine it would be. Where have you been traveling to? Judy Shepard: I couldn't even tell you. I am gone all the time it seems like. I was at the UN. They are getting ready to do a giant global initiative on homophobia. It is really a big deal for them. I was part of a panel there. We were participants in getting awards for Chase. It was on TV before Christmas. It has been really busy in a really good way. I was happy to see that in some places; attitudes are changing. The poles are showing how much more accepting folks are about the gay community. That is wonderful. WCT: Has it been challenging to raise money in these economic times? Judy Shepard: We have survived that. We are doing okay. We have been doing more corporate tasks and sponsorships. We are not huge. We never have been huge. There are only five or six of us at any given time. We are not looking to be a huge organization. We have our own little niche and we fill it very well. I think that is how we are still here. When times are tough we are tight with our money but we are doing okay. We never want to turn down a donation, don't get me wrong, but we are not in danger of having to close our doors. WCT: Politically, how are you seeing things? Judy Shepard: On a personal level, I am very much an Obama supporter. He has been wonderful for the community. In a follow up term he could do amazing things. One concern I have in the Republican campaign is that it has dissolved into this mess of 1950 attitudes. We could have the most amazing president in office but if he doesn't get some cooperative work with Congress, nothing will get done. The system is the system and, yes, it is annoying but it works with people compromising. It is not what everyone wants 100 percent, but it certainly seems better than the stalemate we have right now. WCT: Were you involved with "Don't Ask, Don't Tell?" Judy Shepard: I wasn't directly a part of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." I spoke on it when asked. I was invited to come to the signing but I couldn't. I had a conflict. Everyone in country worked very hard on that. It was a life changing moment for everyone. I think it is appalling that folks are still fighting against it. It is done so let's move on! WCT: You're doing something on the marriage-equality front. Judy Shepard: I am on the advisory board for the organization that is sponsoring Prop 8's decision. They have done amazing work. Chad Griffin is doing great work. Mr. Boyd and Mr. Olson, the attorneys, are keeping the discussion in the forefront. The fact that we have gone in Washington State and making progress in Maryland is important. I am very disappointed that Governor Christie took the stance that he did. Everyone should realize that when you put any civil rights issue to the popular vote it is never going to work. It just doesn't. If we did that in the 1960s, we would still have segregation. That was disappointing. I understand he has to keep his little pocket of people happy. He is on the wrong side of history. I think in my lifetime we will actually see a national change like we did in Loving versus Virginia where there will be a federal mandate to recognize marriage equality. WCT: I am from Tennessee and wondered if you get a chance to speak down there with all of the recent controversy. Judy Shepard: Oh, my. I have spoken to several colleges there and churches as well. If I am invited to an area it is never the area where I am the controversy. I am invited because they are already on the same page as me or I am on the same page as them. It is a reinvigoration of the movement. I don't get invited to a place where I have the opportunity to change anyone's mind. It is the yin and the yang of what I do, I guess. My husband was in Tennessee with the Tennessee hate-crime folks. He spoke to members of the state congress and was very critical of the "Don't Say Gay" bill. I can't believe the things they are doing in Tennessee and Virginia as well. It is beyond the pale how many steps we have taken backward. WCT: That is very common down there to avoid the subject and not talk about things. Well, I always enjoy talking to you. See you in town soon and keep up the important work you are doing. Judy Shepard: I will. See you soon. Take your own steps forward to see Shepard in person March 9 at the Chase Tower Auditorium, 10 S. Dearborn St., at 11:30 a.m.; on March 10 at Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St. at 11 a.m.; and the same day at 6:30 p.m. at Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. For more details and tickets for Judy's appearances, visit www.matthewshepard.org . Back to top |
