Eight people stand on a stage and look out at the audience. Behind them a jumbled pile of television screens all show images from a candlelight vigil.

The cast of the Ford’s Theatre production of The Laramie Project, directed by Matthew Gardiner. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

The Laramie Project

September 27, 2013 — October 27, 2013

The Laramie Project presents a deeply complex portrait of a community’s response to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man living in Laramie, Wyoming. In a series of poignant reflections, the residents of Laramie react to the hate crime and surrounding media storm with anger, bewilderment and sorrow. The play portrays the seismic and deeply personal impact Matthew’s death had on this small town while also demonstrating the power of the human spirit to triumph over bigotry and violence.

Fifteen years later, Matthew Shepard’s story still reverberates, urging us on with its clarion call to confront the destructive power of bullying and hate, in all forms.

The Laramie Project is the third offering in the multi-year Lincoln Legacy Project—an effort to generate dialogue around issues of tolerance, equality and acceptance.

Artistic Team

Written by Moisés Kaufman and Members of the Tectonic Theater Project

Director Matthew Gardiner

Scenic Design Beowulf Boritt

Costume Design Helen Huang

Lighting Design Rui Rita

Original Music and Sound Design John Gromada

Projection Design Clint Allen

Dialects Lynn Watson

Production Stage Manager Brandon Prendergast

Assistant Stage Manager Kate Kilbane

Cast

Kimberly Gilbert

Mitchell Hébert

Paul Scanlan

Kimberly Schraf

Chris Stezin

Katherine Renee Turner

Holly Twyford

Craig Wallace

Amy McWilliams

Understudy

Eric M. Messner

Understudy

From the Gallery

A woman sits in a chair on a sparse stage and speaks. Three men and one woman stand or sit behind her and listen.

Holly Twyford (with background left to right: Craig Wallace, Kimberly Gilbert, Chris Stezin and Mitchell Hébert) in the Ford’s Theatre production of The Laramie Project, directed by Matthew Gardiner. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

Two women, one younger and one older, set on plain wooden chars and look across a table at a man also sitting down.

Kimberly Gilbert , Kimberly Schraf and Chris Stezin in the Ford’s Theatre production of The Laramie Project, directed by Matthew Gardiner. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

A woman in a leather jacket sits on a wooden floor looking perplexed.

Kimberly Gilbert in the Ford’s Theatre production The Laramie Project, directed by Matthew Gardiner. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

A woman in a suit jacked and wearing glasses gestures with her hand while speaking to the audience.

Katherine Renee Turner in the Ford’s Theatre production of The Laramie Project, directed by Matthew Gardiner. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

Two women sit in chairs some distance apart on an empty stage. One, who wears a police uniform, raises a hand and speaks to the other. In the background is a jumbled pile of staticky television screens.

Holly Twyford and Kimberly Schraf in the Ford’s Theatre production of The Laramie Project, directed by Matthew Gardiner. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

A man wearing a police jacket stands in front of a jumbled pile of television screens, all displaying blurred pictures.

Chris Stezin in the Ford’s Theatre production of The Laramie Project, directed by Matthew Gardiner. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

The cast of the Ford’s Theatre production of The Laramie Project, directed by Matthew Gardiner. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

Two men, one dressed in a police uniform, the other in an orange prisoner's jumpsuit, sit far apart on a stage. Behind them other people sit or stand in shadow.

Paul Scanlan and Chris Stezin in the Ford’s Theatre production of The Laramie Project, directed by Matthew Gardiner. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

A man wearing a baseball cap and holding a dishrag stands and speaks to the audience. Three people behind him all listen.

Chris Stezin (with background left to right: Craig Wallace, Katherine Renee Turner and Mitchell Hébert) in the Ford’s Theatre production of The Laramie Project, directed by Matthew Gardiner. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

A man stands and speaks to a gaggle of reporters. Behind him a series of television screens are all showing different images.

Craig Wallace and the cast of the Ford’s Theatre production of The Laramie Project, directed by Matthew Gardiner. Photo by Carol Rosegg.