Next week, the All-Of-Us Express Children’s Theatre in East Lansing will stage a well-known play about a real life hate crime.
WKAR’s Scott Pohl takes us Inside The Arts with a preview of The Laramie Project.
This story includes references to extreme violence.
Director Jen Shaw cried the first time she read The Laramie Project. The decision to choose the play for the All-Of-Us Express Children’s Theatre’s studio project for high schoolers was solidified when that same week in 2024, two Michigan State University students were attacked at the library for being gay. “It just seemed that we absolutely have to tell this story right now,” she explained. "There are too many similarities between Laramie, Wyoming, and East Lansing, Michigan, for us to think all of our work is over. We need to continue good work in making our town as welcoming as possible to everyone.”
In 1998, Matthew Shepard was a gay 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming when two men tied him to a fence, beat him, and left him to die outside the city of Laramie. Later found by a bicyclist who at first mistook him for a scarecrow, Shepard died from his injuries several days later. His assailants are serving life prison sentences for the murder, and the outrage over the case sparked federal hate crimes legislation.
The crime also inspired The Laramie Project, a play by Moisés Kaufman. Its story is drawn from interviews with the residents of Laramie about how they had been affected by the crime.
All-Of-Us artistic director Nina Crumpton went to great lengths to make sure parents knew about the play’s sensitive material. “I was very open in the audition packet about exactly what the show was and what the kids were getting into,” Crumpton said, “and we really haven’t had any pushback from the parents.”
The theatre is issuing a content warning to make sure their audience members don’t expect the usual children’s theatre fare. This is their seventh project for high schoolers taking on more dramatic material.
All-Of-Us has asked that we only identify the young people working on the show by their first names. One of them, Tatum, explained her interest in The Laramie Project. “I had heard about Matthew Shepard and knew a little bit about the story, but I didn’t know a lot about the play and how it had come together,” she stated. “When I heard about the auditions, I read through some of the scripts and looked at videos online and snippets of the play and learned a lot from there, and thought it was a beautiful, powerful story. So, I auditioned.”
Another actor, Liam, says his parents were supportive of his involvement in the show, and he thinks that goes for a lot of the cast. “I think the bigger concern is the community around it, and having the show take place in East Lansing, we are grateful to have a pretty understanding atmosphere,” Liam continued. “I think if we were doing it somewhere else that that probably wouldn’t be the case."
Along with acting in The Laramie Project, Elliott helped choose the play for this season as a youth member of the season selection committee. He said the adults in charge helped the cast prepare with a homework assignment. “We made a timeline of our lives, what’s happening in Laramie at that time, and how it connected back to this theatre,” Elliot explained. “We kind of learned what’s happening around that time instead of it’s like some (random) time at some other place. It’s like it’s happening in this world, it was around these events, and that helped us realize how close it was.”
Jen Shaw has some simple advice for anyone considering seeing the show. “I have told everyone to bring the full box of tissues,” she concluded, “because you’re going to have all the feels.”
The All-Of-Us Express Children’s Theatre production of The Laramie Project will be staged at the East Lansing Hannah Community Center on Thursday and Friday, May 15 and 16, starting at 7 p.m. both nights.
