Central Florida’s professional choir Orlando Sings is presenting “Considering Matthew Shepard” at the Dr Phillips Center for the Performing Arts’ Pugh Theater this weekend.
Orlando Sings Executive and Artistic Director Andrew Minear says the show is an unconventional, theatrical three-part oratorio that mixes musical styles and incorporates visuals, poetry, staging, and a chamber orchestra. It will be performed by the choir’s professional ensemble, Solaria.
The program explores the 1998 death of 21-year-old gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, in a brutal hate crime that shocked the nation and accelerated the fight for LGBTQ civil rights.
On the night of October 6th, 1998, Shepard was beaten, tortured, hung from a post-and-rail fence to resemble a scarecrow, and left for dead. He was discovered and hospitalized the next day, but he died from his injuries.
Two men, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, both approximately the same as age as Shepard, were charged with first-degree murder and eventually sentenced to consecutive life sentences. They are still in correctional facilities.
Despite the tragedy at the heart of “Considering Matthew Shepard,” Minear says the thoughtful piece ends on a hopeful note.
“In this day and age when everything feels so divided, it seems really important that we are bringing art and music that is about reconciliation and seeing ourselves in each other,” says Minear.
This show was composed by Craig Hella Johnson with some words and concepts from poet Leslea Newman’s Matthew Shepard-centered book “October Mourning.” It also incorporates passages from Matthew’s diary, along with thoughts from his parents and excerpts from media coverage. The program was first performed in part to mark 20 years since Shepard’s death. This performance comes on the heels of the 25th year, marked in October 2023.
Minear chose to open on June 1st, 2024, the first day of LGBTQ Pride month.
Minear says the production’s mix of musical styles is “very American,” incorporating “soul, country, Americana, folk, southern gospel, and then there are also references to J.S. Bach.”
Staging for this work was done by Orlando theater community legend Katrina Ploof, and lighting was designed by Aaron Miner. “This is not your typical choir concert where the choir just stands still on risers and sings,” say Minear. There are sets as well…including a representation of the fence that figured so prominently into Matthew’s death.
“Our fence on the stage will move,” Minear explains. “Sometimes it will be embracing us, at another time it will be broken. And then ultimately it will be repaired. And so the fence becomes a metaphor for brokenness in our society…and also, our ability to come back together.”
