The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later

by Moisés Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti

Book annotation not available for this title.

Genres: Plays, Nonfiction, LGBT, Theatre, History, Drama, Queer

80 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2012

About the author

Moisés Kaufman (born November 21, 1963) is a playwright, director and founder of Tectonic Theater Project. He is best known for writing The Laramie Project with other members of Tectonic Theater Project. He is also the author of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde and 33 Variations. He was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela and moved to New York City in 1987.

Kaufman is of Romanian and Ukrainian Jewish descent. He described himself in an interview by saying "I am Venezuelan, I am Jewish, I am gay, I live in New York. I am the sum of all my cultures. I couldn’t write anything that didn’t incorporate all that I am."

Kaufman was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2002. He made his Broadway directing debut in the 2004 production of I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Play.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fitting epilogue to one of the most important plays ever written. It's crazy to see how in just 10 years people have forgotten the brutality of the crime and that many have written it off as just a robbery. Before I read this "sequel" of sorts, I thought it was unnecessary to continue the storyline but I now completely disagree. Matthew Shepard's story needs to be told because the battle is not yet over and this is a man whose life was destroyed just because who he loved. Though it's not as powerful as the previous play, Ten Years Later is a heartbreaking, tragic and brilliant play. I can't recommend this play enough and Judy Shepard and Aaron McKinney's testimonies alone make this one a worthwhile read.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 oof

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Laramie Project: Ten Years After was new to me, and I enjoyed it almost as much as the original. The contrast between who the two murderers had become was striking, and the whole thing was one long lightbulb moment of "Oh, that's how my classmates all had such terrible opinions in 2006."

In general, as a whole: FUCK. It was lovely to hear from the queer folks in Laramie, but beyond that, you know it's bad when the cops are some of the next-most sympathetic characters to me. o_O

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I had taught "The Laramie Project" several times, I had never read its sequel until recently. While I think "TLP" offers hope after the brutal death of Matthew, this one feels bleaker and hopeless, even with the passing of the federal hate crimes bill. In the play, many of the same characters are present from the first play, but we also hear more from Russell and Aaron, Matthew's attackers. Aaron is particularly nasty and scary. I recommend this play, but it is not very hopeful.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving; infuriating; so sad. Concise; nicely edited. We could do this as a readers theater project, but it would have to be under very special circumstances, maybe as part of a gay rights event. Doing it out of the blue would be very disconcerting and difficult to pull off without some broader context.

[Dariann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a great epilogue to The Laramie Project. In the first play, Laramie was still entrenched in the tragedy, confusion, and media circus following Matt's murder. While, on one hand, I regret that the theatre company may have dug up old pain, I believe it was an important endeavor to consider what page Laramie is on now. As someone who attended the University of Wyoming very recently, it was interesting to see how the community has learned, changed, and distinctly remained unchanged.

[Nick Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had only ever read The Laramie Project and to say I was touched and effected by the story is an understatement. But then to go back and to see how that tragedy changed or unaffected Laramie, Wyoming is fascinating. This event will always be significant to me. I can't wait to direct this play later this summer. This story should never be forgotten.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished this, and I feel a little sick to my stomach both from crying as well as from anger, frustration, and disappointment. I wish such an epilogue weren’t necessary, but it is. I’m glad the company went back to Laramie and followed up to see if and how things had changed. It’s important and has much to teach.

[John Geddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a strong script, but it just doesn't capture that lightning in a bottle that the original script has. I suppose it is troubling to see how slow society changes, but it also seems to lack the warmth and sense of optimism that was scattered throughout the original.

[Luke Brix · Rating 5 out of 5]

When reading the first Laramie Project, I felt it was a little incomplete. This play completes it. I'd say it's essential, and if ever I was involved in a production, I'd encourage both plays to be performed back to back.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read play.

[sophie rose]

"He didn't seem scared at all. He was just looking at me. Even when I was hitting him in the truck, he just kept staring at me."

[Mary Blair Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The necessity of this epilogue becomes clearer than crystal as infuriating responses and themes become more reinforced as the play goes on. Everyone must read.

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though it's nice to check in with some of the figures from the first part of the Laramie Project, the second feels at once more like a traditional play, and less like the visionary, heartfelt exploration of a small town tragedy that shook the world. The material is well presented, but the hand of the writers is much more evident, often resulting in a reduction of the authenticity (or perceived authenticity, at least) that helped make the first play so compassionate, and so devastating. While it's certainly worth reading and makes for a nice companion piece to the original, and the discussion of how the legacy of a person or event evolves over time, as a dramatic work unto itself it feels lacking in urgency, and despite some really powerful interview scenes with the perpetrators of the crime, it often feels surprisingly underwhelming. The original play is a masterpiece that has aged incredibly well. Ten Years Later ironically feels dated, despite being more recent, and while it definitely deserves a look, it's unlikely to have the same success as its predecessor.

[Brian Murray · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
The information presented here is fascinating and would make for a good chapter in a nonfiction account of Laramie and Matthew Shepard, but it makes for a pretty lousy play. There is no story here at all, just a few random scenes whose only relation is the topic. It has none of the power, tenacity, or emotion of the original play with the exception of two scenes involving interviews of the convicted Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. These scenes have a tremendous sense of illumination of these two men and their motives. You really get a feeling of who these guys are and at times it can feel unusually touching. But without those, the play would just fall apart.

[Heather Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Maybe because I read them back to back, but the first one was more powerful. This one leaves you with an unease, a sense that culture is defined not by truth but by perception. The number of people 10 year later that claim "they know the truth," even when it contrasts that actual assailants testimony and interviews, is staggering. It is not about what is true, it is about what we believe is true. That difference is massive.

[Nick Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief followup to The Laramie Project that shows some disappointing shift toward rumors that the murder wasn't a hate crime, despite overwhelming evidence from the trial. But they get to show some of the progress made in the past couple of years, including the 2010 passage of a national hate-crimes law honoring Shepard.

[Richard Downey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting play by Kaufman and company about returning to Laramie 10 years after the Matthew Shepard incident. Their focus is about how the town and its residents had changed since the events. Some things are surprising, others not so much. Still, very interesting reading. I would love to see this performed back to back with the Laramie Project.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reread this because I’m about to start directing these plays, as a staged reading, that together are called “The Laramie Cyle.” It's great and profound stuff in this play and The Laramie Project.

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this epilogue to the original play because it felt more like a psychological study of a town. It felt timely how people want to move on from a horrific situation (which is understandable, of course, but it also tends to make them forget and repeat their mistakes) or how certain people will try to rationalize or normalize their horrific actions.

[Grace Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I personally liked this play better than The Laramie Project original. However you can't read THIS play unless you read the original. It's all a matter of personal preference anyway. But this is a very deep story and it was interesting to see their opinions 10 years in the future, especially the opinions of the perps.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m angrier reading this after watching our version of TLP be performed for two weeks. We’re 20 years later and both shows still ring true.

I’m angriest at the folks who grumbled when our actor playing Russell played him as remorseful— You’re still not listening. You still won’t let them be your teachers. You’re still not fucking learning.

[madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This gave me mixed feelings because it’s a disappointing how little had changed in Laramie during the 10 years after Matthew Shepherd’s murder. Still an important piece of art, and a good follow up to the original play.

[Holli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good though it lacked the power of the original. In staged reading.

[Hetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

denser and less.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars -- attention-worthy 10-year follow up to the Laramie Project.