LOS ANGELES – “The Laramie Project,” Moises Kaufman’s searing look at the life and death of hate crime victim Matthew Shepard, debuted 13 years ago to rave reviews and was turned into a HBO movie that earned four Emmy nominations.
The 2009 sequel, “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later,” directed by Kaufman and members of New York’s Tectonic Theater Project, will make its Los Angeles debut at Hollywood’s Gay and Lesbian Center, running from September 13 through November 15.
As with the first play, the script was compiled from interviews with residents of Laramie, Wyoming, the town where Shepard was murdered, including Aaron McKinney who, along with Russell Henderson, was convicted of the crime.
Shepard, a University of Wyoming student, was tortured and killed near Laramie in October 1998. During the trial, it became clear the killers were motivated by homophobia, claiming temporary insanity brought on by Shepard’s alleged sexual advances. The murder made international headlines and Shepard has since become an icon in the fight against homophobia.
“Matthew Shepard needed killing,” convicted murderer Aaron McKinney reportedly told Tectonic company member Greg Pierotti, during his first interview since 2004. “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have any remorse.”
Shepard’s murder resulted in the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act being signed into law by President Obama in 2009. James Byrd, Jr. was an African-American who died at the hands of two white supremacists in Texas.
The measure added to the existing 1969 Federal Hate Crime Law, broadening it to cover crimes motivated by gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability.
“I think there was a very strong political side to Matthew that would have made him proud as hell to have been the namesake of this movement,” Tectonic’s Stephen Belber told the Denver Post. “But I think there would be a bit of bemusement, as well.”