Marina C. wrote on November 18, 2009 05:07 PM: Regarding Matthew Shepards not being a hate crime...

"a hate crime, is a hate crime. If you MURDER someone, you hate them."
If beating someone, and tying them to a fence, leaving them for 18 hours to die by themselves, doesn't qualify as hating someone, murdering someone...
I don't know what does.

Imagine that being your child, your brother, your husband, your best friend.

It is not your place to decide what qualifies as a "hate crime" leave that to the job of the police, the confessions of the guilty, and they will tell you.
Matthew Shepard's murder was in fact, because he was a homosexual.

concerned wrote on November 18, 2009 05:02 PM: M.G



"let he who is without sin cast the first stone"

Stop attacking the lives of the GV theatre students, and department, and worry about your own life right now, I am sure there are more important things then commenting on a article about a HIGH SCHOOL PLAY. Please, leave them alone. It's attitudes like yours,that give religion a bad rap.

FYI: Laramie is left to interpretation, if you perceived the religious leaders in negative light, thats up to you.
As for me, I thought Father Roger, was very brave and forgiving for the way he handled the situation, and I think that Russell Henderson's home room teacher shows great dedication by sticking with Russell through all these troubles.

Let others take from these plays what they want,
You are not God, and you can not stop them.

M.G. wrote on November 10, 2009 02:53 PM: Thank you for a balanced view. I was getting a little tired of being labeled a bigot and intolerant for not sharing the views of others - seemed rather intolerant to me. Further, this trend in society of name calling is forcing more people to keep their mouths shut when they disagree with the politically correct dogma of society today.

How does Laramie skew reality? Anyone that believes that homosexuality is a sin before God is portrayed as a closed minded bigot. Every religious leader interviewed is put forth in that light. I am starting to wonder if the supporters of this play have actually read it. It is a farce and a fiction. Matthew Sheppard was killed because of illicit drug use not his homosexuality; that is a creation of the media and this play.

Rent portrays the man that gets a job, gets married, finishes school, and owns the building the losers live in as the bad guy. He allows his former friends to live there rent free until they decide to protest him and his family; then he requests they pay rent. If they choose not to pay the rent, they can not protest. For this he is portrayed as the villain. Definitely the message we should send to our children - success and family are bad and evil.

To the other parent - yes there are other productions. But no other musicals. Given the way the school selected this play and shut parents out of the process - next year it will be "Oh Calcutta" performed completely in the nude and it includes a sex scene - but it did win many awards. I am sure the kids will do a fabulous job.

Parent of Student at GVHS wrote on November 08, 2009 12:21 PM: Thank you for a balanced perspective. I agree - these plays offer an opportunity for productive debate and a honest discussion. Hopefully, Judge Wall on Tuesday will permit these performances to go on and not allow a small constituency to deny my child the chance to perform in both these productions. I would like to point out that Rent and Laramie were not the only opportunities for our kids to participate in the Theatre program at GVHS: An Evening of Shakespeare, Broadway Memories, Little Women, and Student Directed One-Acts round out this season.

Green Dragon Regular wrote on November 07, 2009 07:31 AM: @Joseph P-

So long as "The Laramie Project" paints a picture of intolerance and propels the myth that Mr. Shepard's murder was a "hate" crime, it is, ultimately, a work of fiction. Most of the people interviewed for the production later condemned the work and complained about the way the editing's selective use of their words were used to paint a dramatically different scene.

The facts of Mr. Shepard's horrific and sad fate do not support what "The Laramie Project" attempts to convey. The vast majority of the people involved in this case agree that Mr. Shepard was not murdered because he was gay.

Joseph P wrote on November 06, 2009 05:13 PM: I'm not sure what liberties were taken in "The Laramie Project" script. I have seen the show numerous times. It is direct dialogue from interviews with members of the town of Laramie following Matthew Sheppard's murder. Members of the Tectonic Theater Company travelled to Laramie and performed hundreds of interviews with community members discussing their views of what happened and how the crime effected their community as well as personal opinions. I'm sure there was artistic license taken in editing the interviews (as would be expected for the development of any dramatic piece of literature), but none of the material is "fictional" as it is derived from actual transcripts from words spoken by actual people about their opinions, feelings, and knowledge of events.

As a parent of three students in the Clark County School District, I am looking forward to seeing these productions and finding out how these delicate and important topics are handled by the Green Valley theater. It will surely generate some valuable conversation in our household and I am grateful for the open discussion these events have provided.

Green Dragon Regular wrote on November 06, 2009 01:45 PM: And art is what they are. Both fictional as well. "The Laramie Project" is based on true events, however it takes great liberty with the truth of the sad case of Matthew Shepard. It's about as accurate as "JFK".

Joey Mac wrote on November 06, 2009 12:46 PM: Excellent article. Great points about how the parents, from both sides, are missing the bigger picture. If folks haven't seen either play, they shouldn't create opinions based on someone else's interpretation. Art is subjective to each individual.

Wonder what side of the "issue" the folks who agree with Anthony's article.

I for one, encourage the shows to go on, create dialog for children and parents to have some conversations about topics that are very relavent today.

While not the main push of the play, La Boehme (as Rent) is about folks struggling to stay in their homes...a very familiar theme in Las Vegas today, no?