Feature: Kenn McLaughlin Highlights Morality in THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE at Stages Repertory Theatre

Stages Repertory Theatre opened their production of Jethro Compton's stage version of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance on May 24, and will continue to enthrall Houston audiences with their riveting tale of good versus evil, love, and revenge in the Wild West through June 25.

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The stage version is based on Dorothy M. Johnson's short story and the 1962 film of the same name, starring James Stewart and John Wayne. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance first premiered in London at Park Theatre in 2014, and has only been produced in the U.S. a handful of times. Stages' production, directed by interviewee Kenn McLaughlin, will tell a powerful and entertaining Wild West love story while also touching on themes of the struggle between good and evil. According to McLaughlin, this production aims to illustrate that this moral struggle is not always black and white. Lead characters Ransome Foster and Liberty Valance will be alternatively played by David Matranga and Adam Noble in an effort to show that the moral character of common literary archetypes of "hero" and "villain" are not always definite, but rather, often interchangeable and fluid. These characters, one a scholar from New York and one a brutal western outlaw, can appear worlds apart in terms of morality, but this show hopes to depict that morality can be a blurry social construction, as McLaughlin articulates below.

Firstly, I learned that Stages is among one of the first theatres in the U.S to produce The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Could you tell me about the choice to bring this show to Stages?

I fell in love with the show the instant I read it. It has the feeling of both a classic and contemporary play at once. It captures the soul of the American Western to perfection. I was looking for something that felt both epic and "of the moment" and this play really did that. It also is the kind of show our audiences really respond to--something that speaks to the Texas spirit of the wildcat personality, a vivid imagination, and deep compassion for your neighbor. And finally, it [is an] examination of the intersection of the political and the personal--how a politician rises and how the community responds--these are issues that are very much what we are dealing with as a nation and the play brings these issues to us without judgment. There are no easy answers and there are no real " sides", if you will, as opposed to the polarizing nature of the national dialogue, the play is balanced and asks bold questions about power and truth. On every level, I feel like this is the perfect play for our time.

What about the theatrical content of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance compelled you to produce this show?

As I said above, the writing is exceptional--funny, bold, clear and very, very theatrical. The good guy and the bad guy are headed toward a confrontation, but it is in the fallout of that confrontation that the real story sits. [There are] two very opposite forces with very different agendas, but the truth about who is moral and who is not is much more grey and complicated. At the center of the whole play are questions of love and honor--how far do you go for the one love of your life? So many universal, powerful questions stacked together and explored in a very tense two hours--it is great theatre through and through.

Tell me about the choice you made as a director to have the hero (Ransome Foster) and the villain (Liberty Valance) alternate between lead actors David Matranga and Adam Noble.

There are two reasons, really. One, they are both amazing actors and I wanted to challenge them--and myself--to do something I had never done before artistically. But more importantly, the nature of good and evil is not as black and white as it is often portrayed, and this play certainly explores that idea. The idea that one person is all good and one person is all bad is simply incorrect--we are all capable of both good and evil. It seems [that] a great way to look at this idea [would be] to have both the hero and the villain be the same person. If you only see the play once, that's great, but if you elect to really think about what happens when the hero plays the villain or vice-versa, what it means to be both at the same time, perhaps we can gain more compassion by considering all angles of the situation. I hope this casting can spark some deeper thought about what we are all capable of and what we can all do better. In the end, it was crazy fun to explore for the actors and I hope the audience as well.

Do you believe this choice functions advantageously in the performance for both the actors and the audiences?

I think so. The actors are very different and they approach each role in different ways, so the performances are very unique and, I think, special. Last night was the first public performance when we switched the actors and I heard an audience member say that they had come back for a second time just to see what it was all about. They remarked how fascinating it was to see what was essentially a "very different" take on the story. And I also heard them say they loved it both ways. That was the goal! I think either casting you view is fantastic and serves the play very well, and to get to see actors reach and stretch and change is always a joy for our audiences.

Why should Houston audiences come to see this show? What can they expect to experience and take away from it?

People have remarked to me how powerful the whole experience is-that it travels from comedy to tragedy in a heartbeat, and that the pain and beauty of the love story is really moving. I think in the end, it churns up a lot of questions about our myths and our stories of the American west and it asks us what it means to be an American in the modern age. It is a very full evening in the theatre and a very rewarding one, too. I think people feel the theatre very inspired to think about America and the west in a new way and that's a great thing. I love the Western and I love having been able to revisit it for the stage.

Photos courtesy of Stages Repertory Theatre.

Kenn McLaughlin has guided Stages Repertory as their artistic leader for over ten theatrical seasons, after being the theatre's Managing Director for five successful years. Kenn has produced more than 100 productions in his time at Stages, including The Marvelous Wonderettes, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, five original Panto-style musicals, among many others. Kenn has directed over 25 shows for Stages, and made his Stages acting debut in Wittenberg. Kenn's work also extends beyond the walls of Stages, as he has taught classes at both Rice University and Sam Houston State University and holds a BFA in Acting from The Theatre School, DePaul University.

Performances are Wednesdays & Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 2:30pm and 8:00pm, and Sundays at 2:30pm. Regular tickets start at $21 with savings for groups of 6 or more. To purchase tickets, please call the Stages Box Office at 713.527.0123 or reserve tickets online by visiting www.stagestheatre.com

The lead roles of Ransome Foster and Liberty Valance will alternate on the following schedule:

May 24 - 28 David Matranga as RANSOME FOSTER, Adam Noble as LIBERTY VALANCE

May 31 - June 4 Adam Noble as RANSOME FOSTER, David Matranga as LIBERTY VALANCE

June 7 - 11 David Matranga as RANSOME FOSTER, Adam Noble as LIBERTY VALANCE

June 14 - 18 Adam Noble as RANSOME FOSTER, David Matranga as LIBERTY VALANCE

June 21 - David Matranga as RANSOME FOSTER, Adam Noble as LIBERTY VALANCE

June 22 - Adam Noble as RANSOME FOSTER, David Matranga as LIBERTY VALANCE

June 23 - David Matranga as RANSOME FOSTER, Adam Noble as LIBERTY VALANCE

June 24 matinee - Adam Noble as RANSOME FOSTER, David Matranga as LIBERTY VALANCE

June 24 evening - David Matranga as RANSOME FOSTER, Adam Noble as LIBERTY VALANCE

June 25 - Adam Noble as RANSOME FOSTER, David Matranga as LIBERTY VALANCE