Romaine Patterson

Essential viewing for lovers of great theatre, and a master class for other actors.

On October 6, 1998, gay student Matthew Shepard was brutally beaten and tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. His 18 hours freezing there and his resulting death shook Laramie to the core, while putting them squarely on the map. Tectonic Theater Project traveled to Laramie shortly after to conduct in-person interviews with the town, and transcribe those interviews into The Laramie Project, a play heard round the world.

A true ensemble piece, beautifully directed by Scott Cooper.

New theatre group Theatre Travels takes on the ambitious task of retelling THE LARAMIE PROJECT and THE LARAMIE PROJECT:10 YEARS LATER two decades on from Matthew Shepard's brutal murder.

This weekend in honor of Matthew Shepard, 20 years after his murder, The Ringwald presents a four-show engagement of The Laramie Project, a landmark play by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project. Performances begin Friday, September 14th and run through Monday, September 17th at The Ringwald in Ferndale. The Laramie Project remains an important piece of work in the political climate of 2018 and is an inspiration for director and Ringwald co-founder, Brandy Joe Plambeck, who is also a Wyoming native. BroadwayWorld Detroit had a chance to speak with the director before the show opens this weekend.

Theatre, at its best, can entertain you so much you forget all your troubles for a blissful two hours before remembering your dental appointment the next day. It can also cause you to delve deeply into questions about life, human nature and the gut-wrenching misery that human beings can visit upon one another. The Laramie Project eloquently, painfully and painstakingly belongs in the latter category. The powerful drama, as the Palo Alto Players' press release tells us, was originally developed by playwright Mois s Kaufman and members of his company, Tectonic Theater Project in the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay student at the University of Wyoming. Twenty years later it is still as powerful as ever.

Writers in Performance is a 12-week writing and performance workshop hosted by BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, culminating in two public presentations.

Writers in Performance is a 12-week writing and performance workshop hosted by BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, culminating in two public presentations.

The power of theatre is not only to entertain, but to heal, honor, and harbor the most pressing themes.

Happy New Year Broadwaysted fans! We're so excited to kick off the year with a podcast crossover explosion as we pour out Makers Mark and Ginger with Podcast Prince Patrick Hinds! Patrick spills about his three brilliant podcasts: the long-running Theater People, the official BroadwayCon Podcast, and the new documentary-style Broadway Backstory in partnership with TodayTix. We chat about eccentric infomercial people, Patrick joins Kevin's side in the ongoing conversation about AMERICAN PSYCHO, and Patrick talks about the time he interviewed Alice Ripley with a sock, #WhatHaveYouSeenThisWeek includes our Broadwaysted trip to Laguardia High School's LES MISERABLES (The School Version) with the best non-professional program bio ever as well as our fun time on the subway seeing IN TRANSIT.

The strategy to block mourners from having to see hate speech signs was used at the trials for the killers of Matthew Shepard.

The Muny presents Hairspray, winner of the 2003 Tony Award for Best Musical, featuring music by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman with a book by Mark O'Donnell & Thomas Meehan. The Muny's production of Hairspray is directed and choreographed by Dan Knechtges and music directed by Charlie Alterman.

The Muny announced today the cast for its production ofHairspray. Winner of the 2003 Tony® Award for Best Musical, it features music by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman with a book by Mark O'Donnell & Thomas Meehan. The Muny's production of Hairspray is directed and choreographed by Dan Knechtges and music directed by Charlie Alterman.

The Classical Theatre Lab and the City of West Hollywood present A Family Affair by Alexander Ostrovsky, adapted from a translation by Geroge R. Noyes, directed by Mel Green. Causing an uproar when published in 1850, this broad and irreverent Russian comedy of manners centers around a greedy merchant, Bolshov, who makes a fraudulent bankruptcy application in order to finance the lavish lifestyle of his bourgeois husband-hunting daughter. When Bolshov's accomplices run off with his assets and his daughter, he descends into professional and psychological ruin and is jailed. Upon his release, Bolshov, a new man ready to walk the straight and narrow, finds that his selfish and cantankerous family has not changed one bit.

For people, like me, who sit in front of a computer for a living, or have long commutes each day, podcasts are an entertaining and educational way to pass the time. Last month I introduced you to the 20 Top Podcasts for theatre fans, and chief among them was the Theater People Podcast, hosted by Patrick Hinds. Recently, I spoke to Patrick about the his incredible Broadway friends, his research process, and why Laura Osnes made him sick to his stomach.

THE LARAMIE PROJECT: TEN YEARS LATER is a play meant to be experienced, not just seen. And you will be fully immersed from the moment you walk inside this intimate theater-in-the-round staging. With the silhouettes of the audience seated across the room against the background of rolling hills, sky and prairie on the theater walls, you will feel as if you are right there in Laramie, literally pulled into the lives of every person represented onstage.

Unflinchingly raw, this show is one to see.

Connecticut's premier outdoor Shakespeare will present As You Like It, tonight, June 13-30, 2013. The show is one of Shakespeare's most beloved and pastoral comedies. Claire Shannon Kelly, currently the Director of Youth Programming for Shakespeare on the Sound and the director of the company's touring educational program, 'Speaking Daggers,' will direct. Kelly previously worked at the Ordway Theater, the Guthrie Theater, the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and the George Street Playhouse. She is a resident of New Canaan.

Connecticut's premier outdoor Shakespeare will present As You Like It, June 13-30, 2013. The show is one of Shakespeare's most beloved and pastoral comedies. Claire Shannon Kelly, currently the Director of Youth Programming for Shakespeare on the Sound and the director of the company's touring educational program, 'Speaking Daggers,' will direct. Kelly previously worked at the Ordway Theater, the Guthrie Theater, the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and the George Street Playhouse. She is a resident of New Canaan.

The Muny announced principal casting for the fifth show of its fantastic 95th season, Les Miserables. Broadway veterans Hugh Panaro and Norm Lewis make their Muny debuts starring as Jean Valjean and Javert, respectively. Also starring is Michael McCormick as Thenardier. The production is directed by Richard Jay-Alexander, who served as the associate director and executive producer of the original Broadway, touring and Canadian companies of Les Miserables.