On Oct. 12, the 11th anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard, 130 theaters nationwide will present a staged reading of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later, the play that commemorated the murder of the gay man in Wyoming.
Locally, that means the Dallas Theater Center will be enacting this updated epilogue to the Moises Kaufman play, and North Texas stage legend Betty Buckley will join the cast for the one-night only event.
Actually, it’s not completely a “one-night only” production. On Oct. 11, WaterTower Theatre — which staged the regional premiere of The Laramir Project seven years ago — will remount the original production. (DTC’s production will focus on the longterm legacy of Shepard’s murder.)
Among the others in the DTC reading (other than Tony-winner Buckley) are WTT’s artistic director Terry Martin, Matthew Gray, Chirstina Vela, and Good Morning Texas host Robert McCollum. The WTT’s reading features Pam Dougherty ad Bill Jenkins, both of whom appeared in the original WTT staging. Jeffrey Schmidt will appear in both. Tickets are free, but donations are sought to benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
