'Laramie' a tale of intolerance worth revisiting

In September 2008 - a decade after the beating death of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard shocked the nation - writer/director Moises Kaufman and members of New York City's Tectonic Theater Project returned to the scene of the crime.

Literally.

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 again 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.

"The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later"

★ ★ ★ ½

Location: redtwist theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr, Chicago, (773) 728-7529 or redtwist.org

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through April 7; 6:30 p.m. March 16 benefit for the Matthew Shepard Foundation with special guest, Judy Shepard

Running time: About one hour 50 minutes with intermission

Tickets: $25-$30

Parking: Metered street parking near the theater

Rating: For teens and older; contains adult subject matter, some strong language