This emotionally-charged piece, created in 2000 by Moises Kaufman and directed by WPU's Amy White, examines the reactions of the townspeople in Laramie, Wyoming, to Matthew Shepard’s brutal murder in 1998. Shepard, a college student at the University of Wyoming, was robbed, beaten, tied to a fence, and left for dead by two perpetrators in an apparent hate crime because he was gay.
The assault and murder brought attention to the lack of hate crime laws in Wyoming and across the nation, and has become a catalyst that has helped turn the tide against homophobia and rallied support for gay rights in the two decades since.