Friday March 2, 2007 SGN.org |
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Volume 35 Issue 09 |
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Sunday, Oct 12, 2008
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Stunning Laramie Project brings audience to their feet for standing ovation in Tacoma |
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| Stunning Laramie Project brings audience to their feet for standing ovation in Tacoma | ||
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by Rajkhet Dirzhud-Rashid -
SGN A&E Writer The Laramie Project Directed by Patrick Daugherty Starring Maggie Kelly, Lynn Geyer, Steve Casowitz, Whitney Blake, Martin Lobdell, Maraluu Hall, Kyle Benjamin Trauba, Brian J. Bennett, Rickey Lindemuth, Jr., Josh Sniffen, Blake R. York (and many more!) Pierce Community College February 24-March 4th It was really good news that Fred Phelps and his gang of anti-Gay nutjobs didn't show up to protest last weekend at Pierce Community College's opening weekend production of The Laramie Project (which is a re-telling of the events surrounding the death of Matthew Shephard, a Gay man who was beaten and left to die in Laramie, Wyoming in the mid-nineties). In fact, I was told by a friend who's in the play, that Phelps was supposedly protesting the same play in Montana, so Tacoma's Pierce Community College was spared his odious presence. The play, which has actors speak directly to the audience, as they channel some of the more vocal townspeople and the perpetrators themselves, has become a rallying banner for those interested in furthering the cause of not just GBLT rights, but tolerance of all differences. In fact, according to director and facilitating instructor of the acting class which produced the play, this is why he chose this play. "In light of the upcoming anniversary of the murders on Capitol Hill, and the Jewish Federation shooting, I wanted to do a play that addressed the price of hate, and after talking to several other professors in the area, who all agreed that 'The Laramie Project' would be perfect, I decided on this play," said Patrick Daugherty after the show last Friday. He also said that community support for the play has been enormously pro, and that there was only one anti e-mail condemning the school for doing The Laramie Proect. "I'm proud to have worked with such a great group of people, who put their hearts and souls into this project," he continued. And that level of dedication is clearly seen in the production as actor after actor takes the stage and brings their characters to life for the audience, giving them a slice of life before and after the hate crime. In fact, at points in the production, there were audience members who were clearly visibly moved. Definitely everyone who stood on that stage was determined to bring this difficult story to life, and I'm here to say they more than accomplished that task to perfection. So, go see this production, which takes place in a small enough theater that the intimacy of the subject matter is not lost, nor are the really stellar performances of the actors. Steve Casowitz, (who plays a taxi driver and ends the play with a brilliant monologue), and Martin Lobdell, Kyle Benjamin Trauba (who plays Aaron Mckinney, one of the murderers), Lynn Geyer, and, most of all, spunky Katie Wheeler (who looks a lot like a young Clea Duvall) stand out among their peers. For more information on showtimes and ticket information go to http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/Theatre/piercecollegetheatre.html. I'm sure you'll find info on the box office there and, believe me, this production is worth a trip to Tacoma. |
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