On Tuesday, March 7 at 7:00 pm, Tabor students will perform The Laramie Project in the Fireman Center for the Performing Arts (235 Front Street, Marion). The show is free and open to the public with open seating. Many of the same lead actors who performed to a packed house in the school’s performance of the musical Grease will take the stage again in this drama production.
Set in Laramie, WY, the show represents the true story of Matthew Shepard, who was murdered in 1998 because he was homosexual. The play, written by Moisés Kaufman and directed by Mr. Mark Howland and assistant director Duhita Das ‘17, is made up of interviews of Matthew’s friends, family, and community and is meant to focus on how the murder impacted Laramie. The story reveals that this kind of tragedy could happen anywhere. Mr. Howland shared that the story is told through a powerful script with strong performances, “If we do our job, the show will not be easy to watch, but it will be cathartic.”
Several days after this performance, the Tabor cast and crew will travel to England to perform The Laramie Project in venues around Dublin, Ireland, and at Ellesmere College, an English boarding high school. Later in April, students from Ellesmere will come to Tabor for a week-long stay to share a show of their choosing and enjoy American boarding school life with their new American friends.