Issue 77

The Laramie Project comes to the North Fork

The Laramie Project is a unique theater experience.  It is not for the faint of heart or those who go to the theater simply to be entertained or escape from reality.  But it is a wonderfully moving and thought-provoking experience for those who are willing to witness the truth and understand how it reflects on hatred and lack of tolerance lurking just below the surface all around us.  The play tells the gruesome story of the beating and killing of Matthew Shepard, a gay university student in Laramie WY in 1998 through interviews with the people who were there at the time and experienced first-hand how the fabric of a small community can be torn to shreds by underlying hatred. 

It is also not the usual fare one would expect from community theater.  In that respect, this latest production of the North Fork Community Theater (NFCT) in Mattituck was a difficult and courageous undertaking.  But from the minute the cast of 16 actors assembles on stage in front of the huge high-definition panoramic photographs taken in Laramie that serve as a sparse but effective set, to the final moments following the trials and sentencing, the audience is absolutely riveted to the thoughts and emotions of the 80 “characters” they skillfully and empathetically bring to life.  Through the words of those who were there, playwright Moises Kaufman conveys the story and its impact on the community but also provides a framework to examine and dissect the homophobia that fueled this vicious attack. 

Steve Liss/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty as published in The Guardian

Each cast member had several diverse characters to portray, and under the direction of Huck Hirsch they did so effectively through changes in costume, affect and dialect.  This was a challenging effort for a community theater group but was performed as a professional level production.  I can only imagine how difficult it must be for them to live inside this play from the first table reads through rehearsals and its three-week run from Feb. 25 – March 13, experiencing the emotions inherent in the tragedy through each production.

NFCT thoughtfully provide a free packet of tissues and bottle of water as you enter and they are needed.  For the audience, it is a visceral experience hearing/feeling the raw emotions that fueled this horrendous hate crime and how it has been so difficult for the community to move on.  Perhaps it’s because after more than 20 years, Wyoming is just one of three U.S. states that has not enacted hate crime legislation. 

To their credit, the director and cast stayed after the Sunday matinee production for a discussion with the audience about the play and its ramifications.  Hirsch led the discussion which provided additional insight on how the production was born and gave both actors and audience an opportunity to reflect and talk about how homophobia and hatred in general affects us all. 

Matthew Shepard is no longer with us but  it’s so important to keep this play alive and keep telling his story.  Congratulations to the NFCT for having the courage to take this on and for the wonderful job they did in presenting such a moving performance.

For ticket information, go to https://www.nfct.com/on-stage/. Proof of vaccinations is required and audience is required to wear masks.