Based on the brutal 1998 murder of twenty-two year old Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student, the play explores the circumstances around the crime, and the varied - and often shocking - reactions of the people of Laramie. The play becomes the portrait of a town in a soul-searching moment, as it explores issues of morality, religion, and humanity itself.

More about the show: Part of the power of this production is its simplicity. It involves no set, just ten actors in chairs on stage, with their costumes/props near them to aid in bringing to life the 60+ characters in the play—all of whom were real people in Laramie. Without the distraction of a complex set, attention is focused on the words—all of which were actually spoken by the townspeople of Laramie; the script is made up of direct quotes from interviews conducted by the Tectonic Theatre Project with residents of the area in the year after the crime occurred.

While a play about a brutal hate crime may seem too sad to endure, the story is also about Laramie, Wyoming. It would be easy to dismiss this Western town as one populated by redneck, Trump-y red-staters with whom we enlightened Eastern elites have nothing in common. But you will be surprised by the folks you meet there. The Laramie Project offers a glimpse into a community that was rocked by events both within and out of their own control. And, this story is not just Laramie’s story. Our nation is one which struggles to embrace compassion and tolerance, and so, in a very real way, Laramie is every town.