Theater
Hope amidst hate
This weekend offers rare chance to see two ‘Laramie’ plays back to back
‘The Laramie Project’
Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2.
‘The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later”
Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 7:30
Tickets: $35 (some available for $15 for those 30 and under)
1101 6th Street, S.W.
202-488-3300
This weekend Arena Stage provides an unprecedented opportunity to see the two “Laramie Project” plays ā works inspired by the death of hate crime victim Matthew Shepard that have become contemporary theatrical staples ā back to back.
The plays will be performed give times over three days. Together they present a poignant and stirring medley of emotions ā shock, rage, grief, and even hope. And now the two plays are presented here, for the first time together anywhere, but only this weekend at the stunning new Mead Center for American Theater, in Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theater. It’s the starting point for a national tour by the Tectonic Theater Project, with both plays directed by Moises Kaufman and Leigh Fondakowski, two of the five co-authors. For those interested in what being gay means in modern America, this is a great chance to catch these great works.
But why are they important? And what more can be said about the Shepard case, which received more national press attention than any other anti-gay hate crime? These works show there’s much more to the story, and it is one told with absorbing detail in a vivid reconstruction of how the people of Laramie responded in the aftermath of Shepard’s murder. This was the task tackled less than a month after Shepard’s death, when Kaufman and nine other members of the Tectonic, a New York City theatre company he had co-founded, arrived in Laramie, a city of 27,000 people, seeking to interview residents about what they knew and felt about what had happened.
At first, Kaufman says, “we had to put up with the people’s distrust of a New York theater company, and perhaps more damaging, the bruising caused by the media,” which had portrayed Laramie “as a town full of hillbillies, rednecks and cowboys,” so of course this hate crime could happen there. Ā After their initial visit, the group composed the first draft of what was called “The Laramie Project.” Ā But it took nearly a year before people really opened up to them.
They returned six more times to Wyoming for further interviews ā more than 200 in all ā until by the year 2000, it was ready for its premiere performance in Denver, next in New York City and, finally in 2002, in Laramie itself.Ā It was later produced for television by HBO and the stage version has quickly become one of the most frequently produced plays by colleges and community groups in America.
Then, 10 years after Shepard’s death, they returned again to Laramie to produce an epilogue, based on follow-up interviews with residents featured in the original play. These interviews were adapted into the companion piece, “The Laramie Project: Ten Years later,” which debuted as a reading in nearly 150 theaters across the U.S. and internationally in October 2009, on the 11th anniversary of his death.
As the critic Ben Brantley wrote in the New York Times in 2000 about the first play, “Kaufman has a remarkable gift for giving a compelling theatrical flow to journalistic and historical material.” In the playwright’s own words, “for me, there’s a great wealth of beauty and truth in reality, and how theatre can articulate this, that’s what I keep coming back to.”
Only eight actors play the more than 60 parts. The twin plays are constructed as a series of juxtaposed monologues and multiple viewpoints, featuring townspeople and Shepard’s friends as well as those who knew his assailants, and in the second play, Aaron McKinney himself, one of Shepard’s killers, is featured.
“Laramie is so small that there was one degree of separation between people,” Kaufman says. Ā “So it was personal. People asked themselves, ‘What did I do to cause this murder? Ā What kind of community am I helping to create?”
Theater
Second City brings āDance Like Thereās Black People Watchingā to D.C.
āThe full spectrum of Blackness and queerness representedā
āDance Like Thereās Black People Watchingā
Through Dec. 22
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
641 D St., N.W.
$40 ā $83
woollymammoth.net
The Second City, Chicagoās famed improv proving ground, makes a timely return to Woolly Mammoth with āDance Like Thereās Black People Watching,ā a humor-loaded and sharp show especially tailored to D.C.
Breon Arzell whoās Black and gay, has been a part of Second City and āDance Like Thereās Black People Watchingā since 2022, first as choreographer and now as both cast member and choreographer. He says although the show is highlighting Black culture, itās geared for everyone. In short, āif you donāt know about [Black culture], learn about it; and if youāre a part of it, come celebrate with us.ā
He adds, āThere are some things Black audiences will instantly get and appreciate more. But thereās something for everyone to enjoy. Itās rooted in joy and comedy.ā
Performed by six talented and versatile Black actors, the show consists of sketches derived from improvisation, audience participation improv, monologues, songs, and rap solos.
As the title suggests, Arzellās choreography is a vital part of whatās happening on stage, too. The dance (inspired by TVās āIn Living Colorā and its unforgettable Fly Girls) peppers the showās 90 minutes with bursts of backup and transitional moves.
āDance Like Thereās Black People Watchingā was created and premiered in Chicago, and it was āvery Chicago,ā says Arzell, adding āthere were some references that wouldnāt have worked here, so we slotted in some D.C. specific things including political references and thereās a cast member [Julius Shanks II] whoās currently in his senior year at Howard University. He shouts out the school.ā
Itās opening in D.C. at an undeniably hot time, and thereās no guarantee that election results will be settled anytime soon. Arzell says, āWe know nothing will be wrapped up neatly with a bow. We have contingency plans depending on how things go and how that might play into the material.ā
Any queer aspects to the show? āOh, itās so gay in a lot of ways,ā he says without hesitation. āI donāt shy away from queerness at all and I make sure itās infused in my character work.ā
For instance, during songs he changes lyrics, mostly pronouns, and intention. Also, his costuming is gender fluid and close to his preferred real life masc-femme style.
And his funniest bit? He says itās his praise dance, āa good old Black church moment. Itās very fun, comes out of nowhere, and audiences love it.ā
While based in the Windy City, Arzell, 41, is no stranger to Woolly Mammoth. In both 2022 and 2023, he memorably acted in āAināt No Moāā and āIncendiary,ā respectively.
āIām an actor first and foremost,ā he says. āI was a theater major in college [Miami University in Oxford, Ohio] but choreography sort of just happened to me. Iāve always had an affinity for movement. As a kid growing up in Detroit, it was me dancing in front of the TV doing a little show for company. I was that little chubby Black kid.
Watching videos when MTV actually was music television, he learned to dance and developed a vision. Now with regard to professional employment, choreography is on par with acting. His āabsolute jamā is acting in a show that heās also choreographed.
Beyond the comedy and the fun, says Arzell, are the perspective and inclusiveness that come with the work and its troupe of players.
āAs Black people weāre not a monolith; thereās not a specific way to operate as a Black person in this world. And the same goes for queer people.
āAt Woolly, youāll see the full spectrum of Blackness and queerness represented.ā
Theater
Signatureās fresh take on classic āForumā
Actor Mike Millan says āitās like a new work in many waysā
āA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forumā
Through Jan. 12
Signature Theatre
4200 Campbell Ave.
Arlington, Va.
$40-$126
sigtheatre.org
For out actor Mike Millan, Signature Theatreās production of āA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,ā couldnāt feel fresher.
Set in ancient Rome, the 62-year-old Tony-winning hit (music with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart) borrows from Roman comedy, farce, and a dash of bawdy vaudeville to the tales of slaves, soldiers, courtesans, and a lovesick young man.
Millan plays Hysterium, a nervous slave in the House of Senex, whose tagline reads āI live to grovel.ā
āIāve never done āForum,ā so to me itās like a new work in many ways,ā he says. āAnd because itās older and has a classic musical point of view and weāre doing it now, itās as if weāve been given a lovely opportunity to make it our own.ā
And indeed, they are doing just that. Directed and choreographed by Matthew Gardiner, the Signature production is introducing new bits and playing with gender: the central character Pseudolus, a sly slave role created by Zero Mostel, is played by Erin Weaver; Erronius is played by Sherri Edelen in drag; and two male actors and one nonbinary actor play courtesans.
Though Millan, 35, is based with his partner in Los Angeles, he regularly travels to New York and is pleased to make Signature in Shirlington an additional destination on his bicoastal work journey. Recently, the affable actor took time to talk about Signature and āForum.ā
WASHINGTON BLADE: A little about the brilliantly named Hysterium, please.
MIKE MILLAN: As a gay actor, I can say that Hysterium is one of the gayer characters Iāve ever played. Heās a sort of fop and heās in drag most of the second act. How can you not see him as a queer character?ā
When the part was written it was sort of gay coded and now itās just abundantly clear, you donāt think twice about it.
BLADE: āForumā is unapologetically fun. Is now the right time for a romp?
MILLAN: The show comes with a level of escapism that is really infectious. During these tense times, it feels great to be doing a silly musical. Weāre doing fart jokes in tunics, and the material and jokes really hold up. Youāll feel better leaving than when you came in.
BLADE: All that and a Sondheim score too?
MILLAN: Heās the reason Iām here. In high school, I discovered his āInto the Woodsā and remember locking myself in my room until I knew every word to āGiants in the Sky.ā
āPassion,ā āFollies,ā I love it all. Heās so singular because he writes from a perspective of acting and storytelling; Sondheim touches me in a way that feels quasi-religious.
When I think about the number of times I sang āLast Midnightā alone in my car, it fills me with a joy that Iāve never gotten from any other composer or jukebox musical.
BLADE: In 2022, you played Idina Menzel super fan Jeff in āWhich Way to the Stageā at Signature. Are you glad to be back?
MILLAN: Yes, Iām happy to be employed. Itās a tough business. Not only are we asked to be great singers, dancers, actors, and performers but weāre asked to have a social media presence and to be the most popular kid in school.
Signature provides a safe environment to try something new and different, to experiment with a community that respects doing that. Also at Signature, it never feels like any audience members are being dragged by their partners to see a show. Itās a supportive community.
BLADE: Speaking of partners, do you miss being away from home?
MILLAN: Sometime itās nice to have that time away from each other; it builds a little mystery.
BLADE: Will your performance change between now and January?
MILLAN: In recent years, Iāve changed my acting approach from cracking the code on how to play a character to inviting the audience on a journey and making them part of the process.
I was raised in musical theater, but by doing comedy, standup, and improv, Iāve come to find the joy of failure freeing. And I like being part of a changing show. I like the idea of somebody being able to say āI was there the night Patti LuPone yelled at the guy who took a picture.ā
BLADE: An unexpected moment.
MILLAN: Of course, I go in with certain things I have planned out, but I like the element of excitement that anything might happen. And I think the audience should feel that way too.
Theater
Sexy, spooky werewolf tale comes to Congressional Cemetery
āLĆ½kos ĆnthrÅposā explores story of men who live double lives
LĆ½kos ĆnthrÅpos
Oct. 31-Nov. 24
Thursday through Sunday at 8 p.m., 75 minutes without intermission
Congressional Cemetery
1801 E St., S.E.
Tickets: bob-bartlett.com
Just in time for Halloween, Bob Bartlett is reprising āLĆ½kos ĆnthrÅpos.ā With his sexy, spooky werewolf tale, the gay playwright brings his passion for horror and site-specific productions to historic Congressional Cemetery on Capitol Hill.
āVampires are great and I love ghosts and kind of believe in the spirit world, but werewolves are my favorite,ā he says.
Bartlett is interested in the duality of men who turn into wolves and consequently live double lives. The character heās written is on the queer spectrum but not particularly discriminating. However, one night a month when the moon is full, he reliably leaves his wife and kids and hooks up with a guy. The playās conceit starts off with two men cruising in the dark outdoors.
Before penning āLĆ½kos ĆnthrÅpos,ā Bartlett believed āthere isnāt a lot of horror theater, and what there is, isnāt particularly sophisticated. Itās kind of grand guignol, or tongue in cheek,ā and he was ā and remains ā eager to expand on that.
So, he spent a month in the summer of 2022 in Rhodes, Greece, immersed in lycanthropy. Based in an Airbnb far from any touristy hubbub, he explored the countryside and wrote his werewolf-themed play.
āIt was sunny, dry summertime, and I wrote a good deal of the play in ruins and ancient amphitheaters; I looked at classical texts, including Ovidās āMetamorphoses,ā and included much of what I learned in my play.ā
His characters talk about rocky landscape, the heavens, and the effect of the moon on the Earth ranging from tides to our moods and, of course, its impact on werewolves. Itās all a bit more nuanced than the classic Hollywood take, i.e. Lon Chaney Jrās 1941 horror hit āThe Wolf Man.ā
In keeping with the playwrightās love for site specific locales, āLĆ½kos ĆnthrÅposā premiered around Halloween in 2022 in a clearing in the woods on a farm near Bartlettās home in Davidsonville, Md.
The team that opened the two-hander in the woods, director Alex Levy and cast members Patrick Kilpatrick and Nicholas Gerwitz, remain on board for the Congressional Cemetery version.
Moving the story from the farm to an urban cemetery in the Nationās Capital presented some amusing challenges: āI definitely did some tweaking; rewrites include references to the city and all the dog walkers found in the cemetery. Itās been fun.ā
A horror fanatic since childhood, Bartlett cut his teeth on George A. Romeroās āNight of the Living Dead,ā when his aunt let him stay up past his bedtime and watch the scary classic on TV, and though he only made it through the first five minutes, and didnāt didnāt sleep for a week, he was hooked.
Growing up in Accokeek, Md., Bartlett was introduced to theater through his high school pit band. Later he acted, and did some directing at the community theater level. After returning to school for a second masterās in playwrighting, he took up writing.
With his current production, he says āThe gods had my back. We open on Halloween and its first weekend will be performed under a full moon,ā says Bartlett. āPeople (about 30 per performance) are asked to bring a fold up chair, blanket and lantern or flashlight. They will meet as a group and walk together, with a guide, to the performance site at the cemetery where the actors will be in place surrounded by a circle of eerie light. Death metal will be pounding from the woods.
āSometimes itās more terrifying if the violence is offstage. I believe in the mantra donāt show the monster, so there are moments when the characters turn off the lights.ā
Also, a longtime professor of theater at Bowie State University, Bartlett is a semester from retiring after which he intends on becoming āa full-time creepy writer.ā
Upcoming projects include a play about the controversial and closeted FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and his longtime romantic partner Clyde Tolson, who not incidentally are buried just a few yards apart in Congressional Cemetery. Largely fictional, the play wonāt be site specific, but, says Bartlett, will have its own monster in Hoover.
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