`The Laramie Project’ stages a special reading in Wyoming on the 25th anniversary of Shepard murder

By MARK KENNEDY
AP Entertainment Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — It has been 25 years since the body of Matthew Shepard was discovered in Laramie, Wyoming. The gay college student had been tied to a fence post, tortured and left to die. The incident drew national attention to violence against gay people. Theater director Moisés Kaufman turned the horror into art with “The Laramie Project.” His Tectonic Theater Project is marking the anniversary by gathering the original cast and creators, and some of the people represented in the piece for a staged reading and conversation this week in Laramie. It’s part of the 2023 Shepard Symposium at the University of Wyoming.