THE LARAMIE PROJECT
2002

March 29, 2002
HBO
USA
English

Everyone carries a piece of the truth.

-->Rulon Stacey.....Dylan Baker [MichaelVox Top TV Dramedy Of All Time Northern Exposure; Oz; The Practice; CSI; Planes, Trains & Automobiles; The Long Walk Home; The Last Of The Mohicans; Radioland Murders; Disclosure; Murder One; From The Earth To The Moon; Happiness; Committed; Requiem For A Dream]
-->Doc O'Conner.....Steve Buscemi [L.A. Law; MichaelVox Top TV Drama Of All Time Homicide: Life On The Street; Lonesome Dove; New York Stories; Mystery Train; Bloodhounds Of Broadway; King of New York; Miller's Crossing; Billy Bathgate; Zandalee; Barton Fink; Reservoir Dogs; Rising Sun; Twenty Bucks; The Hudsucker Proxy; Airheads; Pulp Fiction; Dead Man; Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead; Desperado; Big Night; Fargo; Trees Lounge; Con Air; The Wedding Singer; The Big Lebowski; Armageddon; The Sopranos; Big Daddy; 28 Days; Ghost World]
-->Moises Kaufman.....Nestor Carbonell [The Tick]
-->Jedadiah Schultz.....Jeremy Davies [Nell; Spanking The Monkey; Twister; Saving Private Ryan]
-->Amanda Gronich.....Clea DuVall [ER; Can't Hardly Wait; She's All That; Girl Interrupted; Committed; See Jane Run]
-->Doctor Cantway.....Peter Fonda [Easy Rider; Futureworld; The Cannonball Run; Bodies, Rest & Motion; Ulee's Gold; Jackie Brown; The Passion Of Ayn Rand; The Limey]
-->Aaron Kreifels.....Ben Foster [Freaks and Geeks; Boston Public; Liberty Heights]
-->Catherine Connolly.....Janeane Garofalo [MichaelVox Top Five List; Mr. Show; Seinfeld; Law & Order; The Simpsons; The Sopranos; The Larry Sanders Show; The Ben Stiller Show; Tales Of The City; Reality Bites; TV Nation; Bye Bye, Love; Now And Then; The Truth About Cats & Dogs; The Cable Guy; Sweethearts; Romy And Michele's High School Reunion; Cop Land; The Matchmaker; Permanent Midnight; Felicity; The Minus Man; Dogma; New York: A Documentary Film; Titan A.E.; The Search For John Gissing]
-->Harry Woods.....Bill Irvin [MichaelVox Top TV Dramedy Of All Time: Northern Exposure; Eight Men Out; Hot Shots!; Subway Stories: Tales From The Underground]
-->Matt Galloway.....Joshua Jackson [The Simpsons; The Mighty Ducks; Dawson's Creek; Cruel Intentions]
-->Dennis Shepard.....Terry Kinney [MichaelVox Top TV Drama Of All Time: Homicide: Life On The Street; The Grapes of Wrath; The Last of the Mohicans; The Firm; Devil In A Blue Dress; Fly Away Home; Sleepers; Oz; George Wallace]
-->Sherry Johnson.....Laura Linney [Lorenzo's Oil; Dave; Tales Of The City; Searching For Bobby Fisher; Primal Fear; Absolute Power; The Truman Show; You Can Count On Me; Maze]
-->Reggie Fluty.....Amy Madigan [Frasier; The Day After; Field Of Dreams; Roe vs. Wade; Uncle Buck; The Donner Party; Baseball]
-->Rebecca Hillicker.....Camryn Manheim [Eraser; The Practice; Romy and Michele's High School Reunion; Mercury Rising; Happiness]
-->Romaine Patterson.....Christina Ricci [The Simpsons; Malcolm In The Middle; Mermaids; The Hard Way; The Addams Family; The Cemetary Club; Now And Then; The Ice Storm; Buffalo '66; The Opposite Of Sex; Sleepy Hollow; The Man Who Cried]
-->Marge Murray.....Frances Sternhagen [Cheers; Law & Order; ER; Sex And The City; Bright Lights, Big City; Communion; Misery; Doc Hollywood; The Donner Party; New York: A Documentary Film]

A theater troupe from New York City traveled to Laramie, Wyoming just after the Matthew Sheppard murder, to interview the townspeople about their feelings about the crime and what it meant to their town. They then 'performed' the transcripts of the interviews onstage in New York and Chicago and finally in Laramie itself.

I was surprised at how moved I was while watching a who's who of great actors read lines that actual Wyoming residents had said. I didn't forget for a second that these were actors and not regular folks, but somehow that didn't matter. The casting was fantastic and you could tell that everyone really believed in the project. Obviously when something like this happens in a small town, few people are going to come out in favor of a gay man being beaten and tied to a fence and left for dead. But behind the condemnation of the attack, you could sort of sense some people thinking that Sheppard sort of deserved it for being gay in a cowboy town.

All the acting was terrific. One performance I'm remembering is Amy Madigan as a cop. During a taped interrogation that is played in court, the looks on the faces of the gallery is unforgettable. Christina Ricci and Steve Buscemi also deserve special notice. I keep thinking of new memorable parts. Jackson is good as the cocky bartender, DuVall has a showy breakdown, and Baker is harried as a hospital administrator. The more I think about it, the better I remember it being.