The Marshall University School of Theatre and Dance will present “The Laramie Project,” a play by Moises Kauffman and participants of the Tectonic Theatre Project. The production will be at 7:30 p.m. nightly from Tuesday-Saturday, Feb. 18-22, with a matinee performance offered as well at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22, in the Francis‐Booth Experimental Theatre in the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center.
The play discusses the death of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, who was beaten, tied to a fence and left to die in October of 1998, and the aftermath. The prevailing view is that he was the victim of a hate crime because of his sexual orientation, and the play is based on over 200 interviews by Kauffman and other participants in the Tectonic Theatre Project, conducted with people of Laramie after Shepard’s death. The result is a moving theatrical experience that explores the bad and good of humanity.
“Mr. Shepard’s story is just as relevant today as it was 22 years ago,” said Samuel Kincaid, project coordinator for the School of Theatre.
Tickets are $20 at the door, $15 for seniors and faculty, and $7 for children age 12 and under. Marshall University students are admitted free with a valid ID.
The production is sponsored by the School of Theatre and Dance in the College of Arts and Media.