The Zachary Scott Theater in Austin, Texas is the hub of where it's happening this spring as they mount two thought-provoking and highly-entertaining productions, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and, on the mainstage, The Laramie Project, helmed by producing artistic director Dave Steakley. Moises Kaufman's compelling documentary, a modern-day Our Town, delves into the murder of 21-year old Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student, who was lured from a Laramie bar, taken to a remote site, brutally beaten, tied to a fence and left to die in freezing temperatures in October 1998.
Riveting theater, The Laramie Project is brought to life by eight extremely talented actors, including Austin's iconic Jaston Williams, co-creator and co-star of The Tuna Trilogy. The work is an ensemble piece in which each actor takes on anywhere from six to nine roles. The idea originated when Venezuelan-born playwright Moises Kaufman (Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde), founder and artistic director of Tectonic Theater Project in New York, wanted to learn more about the reasons leading up to Matthew Shepard's murder -- the details of events of the evening leading up to the murder and the reaction of Laramie's residents. He wanted to learn whether Laramie was all that different from the rest of the country.
He and his acting company journeyed to Laramie one month after the murder and paid another five visits within an 18-month period to interview townspeople who knew Matthew Shepard and the two young men who murdered him. They conducted over 200 interviews, including the one with the University of Wyoming student who, while riding his bicycle, stumbled across Matthew, 18 hours after his brutal attack, bludgeoned but still alive in freezing temperatures. (Matthew died six days later.)
The Tectonic actors' visits to Laramie culminated in their return for the trials of the two murderers, now serving life sentences. The climactic event was Shepard's father addressing the jury about his wish for sentencing during the punishment phase of the trial.
Dave Steakley's direction brings this story to life in a fluid and dynamic manner, aided by the excellent design team who render The Laramie Project into a cohesive theatrical experience.
