Voice of Matthew Shepard's Killer to Feature in Laramie Epilogue

In August I posted about the 80-minute epilogue to The Laramie Project which was to open on the 11th anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death. Some new details: the show will be opening at more than 130 theaters simultaneously on October 12.

The AP reports that a major segment of the show features testimony from Aaron McKinney (above, center), whom gay actor/writer Greg Pierotti interviewed for more than 10 hours:

"According to the detailed notes taken by Pierotti and condensed into the new script, McKinney says he had been drawn to crime ever since childhood, feels sympathy for Shepard's parents and expresses regret that he let his own father down. 'As far as Matt is concerned, I don't have any remorse,' McKinney is quoted as saying in the script, which was provided to The Associated Press by the production company. McKinney, according to the script, reiterates his claim that the 1998 killing in Laramie, Wyo., started out as a robbery, but makes clear that his antipathy toward gays played a role. 'The night I did it, I did have hatred for homosexuals,' McKinney is quoted as saying. He goes on, according to the script, to say that he still dislikes gays and that his perceptions about Shepard's sex life bolstered his belief that the killing was justified. McKinney and his accomplice, Russell Henderson, targeted Shepard at a bar in Laramie in part because they assumed he was gay, according to the script. 'Well, he was overly friendly. And he was obviously gay,' McKinney is quoted as saying. 'That played a part ... his weakness. His frailty. And he was dressed nice. Looked like he had money.'"

Of Judy Shepard's ongoing work against hate crimes, McKinney says: "...she never shuts up about it, and it's been like 10 years."

Pierotti says he wanted to address whether or not the murder was a hate crime, a question raised by a sensationalist 20/20 segment by Elizabeth Vargas in 2004 claiming the murder was motivated by drugs.

Adds Pierotti: "He's perfectly comfortable acknowledging he doesn't like gay people, and for me it was unnerving to experience his lack of remorse. Yet I feel very protective of him — not in an apologist way, but I see he has a lot of complexity. ... As an artist, it's more interesting to dig into who this person is."

The New York performance, which will take place at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, will reportedly be connected to all the other performances by the internet with a live question-and-answer session following the debut.

80-Minute Epilogue to The Laramie Project in the Works

On the 11th anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death, this October 11, at least 40 and up to 100 regional theaters across the U.S. will debut an 80-minute "epilogue" to The Laramie Project, the NYT reports:

"Moisés Kaufman, the playwright and director who, with his Tectonic Theater Project company, wrote and produced the first 'Laramie Project,' said the epilogue would explore the impact of the Shepard killing on the residents of Laramie, Wyo., where it occurred. The dialogue will be drawn from interviews with dozens of people there, some of whom were involved in the crime, including Aaron McKinney, who was convicted of murdering Mr. Shepard and who gave an interview to the Tectonic artists. 'We wanted to see what occurs in a small town in the long run when it’s been subject to such a devastating event,' Mr. Kaufman said in an interview. 'What has been the long-lasting effect of this watershed moment? Is the fallout of these events positive, negative or perhaps a better question, is it measurable in those terms?' In holding multiple premieres of the play on the same night, Mr. Kaufman said he was taking a page from the Federal Theater Project, the New Deal program that often opened plays in a multitude of cities on the same night."

The New York performance, which will take place at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, will be connected to all the other performances by the internet with a live question-and-answer session following the debut.

Big Opening for Epilogue to ‘The Laramie Project’ [nyt]

Kaufman and collaborators Stephen Belber, Leigh Fondakowski, Andy Paris and Greg Pierotti interviewed Laramie residents and people involved in the original Laramie Project last fall and posted some of the excerpts from those interviews on YouTube in June.

Watch the excerpts, AFTER THE JUMP...

Kaufman wrote, in a blog entry of September 13 on the first day of interviews: "It's important to remember that Laramie was very hurt not only by the brutal murder but by the media portrayal of it as a town of "rednecks and hillbillies and cowboys" which of course it's not. What we found so interesting about Laramie is not how different it is from the rest of the country, but how similar. Ten years ago we heard so many times people cry out against the media portrayal: 'We're not like this!'. The town's reputation had been tarnished. And there's still the need for many people to 'set the record straight'. Several of the interviewees talked about burnout. There's still so much work to do in the state. And too many people who want to 'put this behind them'."

Watch the excerpted interviews, AFTER THE JUMP...

Cheyenne, Wyoming Holds First AIDS Walk Despite Blizzard

Towleroad reader Travis Kirchhefer writes in to us about Cheyenne, Wyoming's first AIDS Walk which took place yesterday amid wintry April weather.

Kirchhefer tells us: "Thanks to the dedication of my fellow Wyomingites, WyoAIDS Walk: Cheyenne persevered today despite freezing temperatures, closed roads, and blizzard conditions. This is most significant because, although WyoAIDS Walk has existed for 8 years, 2009 is the first year that our state's capital, Cheyenne, has held its own walk. 33 individuals braved the wintery weather to bring us donations, while 16 very committed individuals took to the streets and actually walked in support of Wyoming residents living with HIV/AIDS."

He elaborates a bit more in a CNN iReport: "All total, the Cheyenne community raised $4,063 to add the over $100,000 raised to date by WyoAIDS Walk.  Today's event was marked by a proclamation from Wyoming's Governor, Dave Freudenthal, and official statements of support from the State's two Senators Michael B. Enzy and Dr. John Barrasso."

News: Melrose Place, Matthew Mitcham, Wyoming, BAFTAs, Bolivia

Wyoming House kills anti-gay marriage bill: "After an hour of impassioned debate Friday, the House defeated an attempt to define marriage in the state Constitution as a union between a man and a woman. House Joint Resolution 17, also known as the "Defense of Marriage" resolution, failed by a vote of 35-25. Wyoming law already stipulates that only marriages between a man and woman are valid, but the law also requires the state to recognize valid unions performed in other states."

Matthew Mitcham gets a sponsor: Aussie telecommunications giant Telstra.

The juice on the Melrose Place remake.

Boy George to leave jail early? Meanwhile, he scrubs sinks.

New constitution in Bolivia bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity!

Strange drag queen bird spotted in the wild.

Virginia man gets 35 month for attack on gay man in DC last October: "Court documents claim that the 19-year-old and his friend, Saad Elorch, approached the victim and his friend. When Abdulgader and Elorch learned of the men's sexual orientation, they made homophobic remarks to them. Documents also state that Abdulgader knocked the victim unconscious with a glass bottle and that he admitted to attacking the victim because he was gay."

BAFTA Awards handed out in London. Here's what won.

Obama names Fred Davie to Policy Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Brad Gooch on closets, Harvey Milk, and the art world of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns.

Anti-gay vandalism condemned at Long Island LGBT Youth Center forum: "When somebody is attacked because of their race, religion or sexual orientation, we're all attacked."

Ann Coulter under investigation for voter fraud: "Ann Coulter is now the subject of a formal probe by Connecticut’s Elections Enforcement Commission, moving her closer to being charged with fraud. The commission is now conducting a 'thorough investigation' of whether the prolific conservative pundit broke the law earlier this decade by voting in Connecticut while living in New York City, a spokeswoman for the commission told the New York Daily News."

Kristen Wiig is Kathie Lee Gifford.

Berlinale: First gay Basque film unveiled. "Pushing even a larger envelope, most of 'Ander’s' finance comes from the Basque government, via Berdindu, its gay-lesbian service...Roberto Caston, its writer-director, bridles slightly at the gay tag. Pic follows fortysomething Ander, a Basque farmer-cum-factory worker who breaks a leg. He hires a Peruvian immigrant, Jose (Christian Esquivel, 'Che'), who inspires in Ander feelings he didn’t know he had. 'The film’s about solitude, which most of the characters suffer,' said Caston. 'Ander' rides a new Basque cinema wave."

All My Children: Daytime television to have first same-sex wedding.

Male model fix: Travis Hanson.

A write-up on NYC's new East Village straight-owned gay bar The Hose.

Fort Lauderdale Democrats club running ads revealing which mayoral candidates are supported by anti-gay outgoing mayor Jim Naugle: "The ads, running in gay publications, have a grid that notes which candidates are Democrats, gay or lesbian, filled out the Dolphins questionnaire or are supported by Naugle. The mayor acknowledged that linking him with candidates he supports — Jack Seiler for mayor and Romney Rogers for City Commission — could hurt them with gay voters. 'Certainly it might hurt,' Naugle said. But, noting that he's been elected 'eight consecutive times, and all by wide margins,' Naugle said his support would help with the non-gay majority."

Anti-gay Marriage Bill Introduced in Wyoming House

An anti-gay bill has been introduced in Wyoming's House. The AP reports:

"The gay marriage bill would let Wyoming voters decide whether to amend the state constitution to deny state recognition of same-sex marriages performed elsewhere...A similar gay-marriage bill has stalled in the Senate Education Committee. Rep. Owen Petersen, R-Lyman, is the main sponsor of the House bill. He declined comment on the bill, saying he will not discuss it until the bill hits the floor."

Colorado's Focus on the Family group has been lobbying Wyoming residents to support the Senate resolution, but one of its co-sponsors says it hasn't been brought to a committee vote yet because there isn't enough support to pass it.

previously
Focus on the Family in Anti-Gay Attack on Wyoming Constitution [tr]

Focus on the Family in Anti-Gay Attack on Wyoming Constitution

James Dobson's Colorado Springs-based group has begun a telephone lobbying campaign in support of Senate Joint Resolution 2, which would allow Wyoming voters to decide whether the state should recognize same-sex marriages from out of state:

"Wyoming already has a law in place that says only marriages between a man and a woman may be conducted in the state. However, the state is bound to recognize marriages performed in other states, some of which allow same-sex marriages and civil unions. 'Those phone calls are part of an effort to encourage and enable Wyomingites who care deeply about protecting marriage to contact their legislators,' said Sonja Swiatkiewicz, director of issues response for Focus on the Family Action. Swiatkiewicz said the calls began on Friday. She declined to disclose the cost of the effort or how many calls the group were being made. She said her group has worked for the past several years to pass amendments in other states defining marriage as existing only between men and women...The group's calls have been targeting voters in districts represented by some members of the Senate Education Committee. The resolution has been assigned to the committee but has yet to come up for a vote. Sen. Curt Meier, R-LaGrange, is one of the sponsors of the resolution. He said Tuesday that it hasn't been scheduled for a committee vote because there isn't enough support there to pass it."

Said Equality Wyoming spokesman Bob Spencer: "I really don't like to see an out-of-state group getting involved. I just don't think it's necessary. I feel like the Focus on the Family has just moved into the state and wants to see this happen, and I hate to see us go in that direction. I think that equality is important for all people."

Focus on the Family group lobbies for anti-gay-marriage bill [billings gazette]