The Laramie Project

play

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July 17, 2026

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The Laramie Project is a 2000 play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project. It chronicles the reactions in Laramie, Wyoming, to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay college student. The play is composed of interviews with the residents of Laramie, capturing a wide range of perspectives on the crime and its impact. Kaufman, who is gay, was particularly moved by the event, and the play gained international recognition. Shepard's death highlighted the dangers faced by homosexuals and was instrumental in the passage of federal hate crime legislation. The play was also adapted into a television movie in 2002.12

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Matthew Shepard
…movies—The Matthew Shepard Story and The Laramie Project (both 2002; the latter is a version of the play). Because of concerns that his grave site would be vandalized, Shepard was not buried until 2018, when his ashes were interred in the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
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…movies—The Matthew Shepard Story and The Laramie Project (both 2002; the latter is a version of the play). Because of concerns that his grave site would be vandalized, Shepard was not buried until 2018, when his ashes were interred in the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
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Moisés Kaufman
…troupe then began work on The Laramie Project (performed 2000, published 2001, television movie 2002), interviewing numerous residents of the small Wyoming city in which gay college student Matthew Shepard had been brutally murdered. The play had particular resonance with Kaufman, who was gay, and it proved popular throughout the…
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…troupe then began work on The Laramie Project (performed 2000, published 2001, television movie 2002), interviewing numerous residents of the small Wyoming city in which gay college student Matthew Shepard had been brutally murdered. The play had particular resonance with Kaufman, who was gay, and it proved popular throughout the…
Read More