Matthew Shepard News

Broadway heartthrob Aaron Lazar, currently starring in the smash hit musical Dear Evan Hansen at the Ahmanson Theatre, will make his Los Angeles concert debut in his show Broadway to Hollywood for one performance only at Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood on Monday, November 19, at 8:30pm, it was announced today by Chris Isaacson Presents.

The Players Club of Swarthmore presents The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, by Moises Kaufmann, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris, and Stephen Belber, directed by Tim Oskin of Swarthmore.  Performances are Friday through Sunday November 9-11 and Thursday through Saturday November 15-17.

Award-winning Aussie cabaret star Catherine Alcorn will be performing her widely acclaimed show The Divine Miss Bette at Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood on Thursday, November 8, at 8:30pm, it was announced today by Chris Isaacson Presents. 

Acclaimed actress and cabaret artist Joan Ryan will be performing her show An Evening with Joan Ryan at Upstairs at Vitello's in Studio City on Saturday, November 3, it was announced today by Chris Isaacson Presents.

Under the leadership of "one of the most influential voices in choral music in the U.S. today" (Broadway World), Music Director Craig Hella Johnson, Cincinnati's Vocal Arts Ensemble (VAE) returns for its 39th season. This will be the VAE's second season at its home at the recently revitalized Memorial Hall in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.

The Laramie Project is a documentary-styled play that analyzes the death of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay college student who was brutally murdered because of his sexual identity. The play was created by playwright/director Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project.

The producer of The Laramie Project and The Laramie Project:10 Years Later, Theatre Travels, announced today that the upcoming productions will support ACON's Red Ribbon Appeal through a collection at each performance.

In conjunction with the 20th anniversary production of The Laramie Project at the Provincetown Theater (running thru Oct 28th at 238 Bradford St. in Provincetown, MA), our free post-show series of "Community Conversations" concludes on Sunday, Oct 28st at 4:30pm, immediately following the 2pm matinee.

The Laramie Project is a documentary-styled play that analyzes the death of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay college student who was brutally murdered because of his sexual identity. The play was created by playwright/director Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project.

The Cincinnati May Festival announces the program details for the 2019 Festival with seven unique concert programs taking place between May 15 and 25, 2019, and an additional performance on April 14, 2019. Joining the Festival's artistic leadership team of Principal Conductor Juanjo Mena, now in his second season, and Director of Choruses Robert Porco are Creative Partners Roomful of Teeth, a celebrated vocal ensemble, and acclaimed composer Sir James MacMillan for the 2019 Festival. Music Director Laureate James Conlon also returns to the May Festival for the first time since 2016, and Craig Hella Johnson makes his May Festival debut leading the Vocal Arts Ensemble. The annual May Festival features the May Festival Chorus and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and is programmed to inspire audiences with fresh collaborations while also drawing on its rich tradition as Cincinnati's longest running arts organization. Cincinnati's Music Hall was originally built for the May Festival in 1878.

Opening on the day the ashes of Matthew Shepard will be interred at the Washington National Cathedral, the Utah/Idaho Performing Arts will stage the Utah premiere of CONSIDERING MATTHEW SHEPARD.

Random Acts, About Face Youth Theatre and Pride Films & Plays have announced a special 20th Anniversary Reading of THE LARAMIE PROJECT by Moises Kaufman, directed by Jason Gerace. The event, set to feature some of Chicago's best talent, will take place on Sunday, November 4 at 7:30pm at Pride Films and Plays' Broadway space. Tickets are tiered from $5-20 and can be purchased at www.RandomActsChicago.com. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

In conjunction with the 20th anniversary production of The Laramie Project at the Provincetown Theater (running now thru Oct 28th at 238 Bradford St. in Provincetown, MA), our free series of "Community Conversations" continues on Sunday, Oct 21st at 4:30pm, immediately following the 2pm matinee. As the series pertains to socially relevant themes which course through the veins of this modern American classic - revealing a community's response to the brutal murder of the openly gay college student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998 -- the "Community Conversations" topic on Oct 21st will focus on creating and maintaining "Safe Spaces" for LGBTQ people.

For anyone not familiar, The Laramie Project is a play from 2000 originally created by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project. This play is about the reaction to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay student from them University of Wyoming in Laramie. Moises and other members conducted hundreds of hours of interviews to create the production.

ABC News' “Nightline” ranked No. 1 in Total Viewers (1.371 million), Adults 25-54 (484,000), and Adults 18-49 (374,000), during the week of Oct. 8, 2018, based on Live + Same Day Data from Nielsen Media Research. 

I think I speak for the majority of liberal America when I say that the times we live in are exhausting. More than that, they are disheartening in a way that embitters us to the victories and further dampens the tragedies of our nation's storied past. It is difficult to believe that there will ever be a time when compassion, honesty, and simple kindness will become ubiquitous virtues again. One blip in this bleak outlook, however, is the promise of youth, the eternal hope that the next generation will finally get it right. Emma Gonzalez and the other survivors of the Parkdale shooting are testaments to that fact, and this cast of high school students' presenting The Laramie Project ties into that same spirit.

The Laramie Project is a documentary-styled play that analyzes the death of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay college student who was brutally murdered because of his sexual identity. The play was created by playwright/director Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project.

Plays at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts through October 14th, 2018.

On October 6, 1998, Matthew Shepherd was tied to a fence post and beaten to an inch of his life. On October 12, 1998, Matthew Shepherd died. A tragedy that was felt around the world, the horrific event planted new seeds for equality and birthed new anti-hate laws in America.

This staged reading is in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard, the young man who, in October 1998, was savagely beaten and left to die in Laramie, Wyoming. THE LARAMIE PROJECT is a breathtaking collage that explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights of compassion of which we are capable. One performance only - Friday, October 12, 2018 at 7:30pm. Performance is at King Avenue United Methodist Church, 299 King Ave., Columbus, OH. PLEASE NOTE: This show is not suitable for young audiences as it contains strong adult language, adult situations, and adult subject matter including descriptions of violence in a brutal hate crime. Admission is free, but donations are gratefully accepted. All profits will be donated to Kaleidoscope Youth Center and Equitas Health.