ACT Reviews 2022-2023 Season

I saw it and this is what gave me that sense of discomfort. This contrast between beauty and horror, sadness and hope was maintained throughout the production, never so graphically illustrated than in the beautiful songs that invited the audience into the town of Laramie at the beginning of the play – we felt "welcomed to their world" despite knowing what was to come.

The musicians, singers and sound team did a wonderful job throughout the production to continue to bring us a sense of hope, and this was particularly vivid during the vigil song. The sound crew performed admirably in ensuring that everyone – actors, singers, and musicians alike – could all be clearly heard at all times. Similarly, there were no points when the lighting failed to allow me to see the action clearly. This was not a "showy" production in terms of tech, its role was very much to ensure that the audience remained focused on the

words and the story throughout, and this was very effectively achieved. The exception to this came at the end where the beautiful sparkling light effects ensured that no one left the auditorium without feeling the emotion of the final scene. Similarly, the wardrobe and props team made sure that enough was given to each actor to portray their different characters distinctly without detracting from the story. I particularly liked the use of folded umbrellas as microphones which later opened to shelter their carriers, and the angel costumes also need to be mentioned. These stood out from all the other costumes in their extravagance which therefore helped this powerful scene stand out even more, as Romaine Patterson hoped her protest would stand out enough to block the hate speak from Fred Phelps from Matthew Shepard's family members. The set was simple yet clever, using different sized crates and staging blocks to help the audience imagine all the different settings described.