Oak Park High to present controversial play

STATING THEIR CASE— Oak Park High student director Tyler Hoffman, front, rehearses with the cast of “The Laramie Project.” Actors are, from left, Adam Dehmohseni, Eileen Dorfman, Jordan Stidham, Michelle Wicklas and Ryan Schwartz. The 1998 Wyoming murder of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay college student, shocked the nation and brought gay and lesbian civil right issues to the forefront of American politics.

This weekend, the Oak Park High School Performing Arts Program will present Moises Kaufman’s controversial play, “The Laramie Project,” which chronicles the contentious debate and media frenzy that followed Shepard’s murder.

The student-run production is the school’s annual Spotlight Play.

Directed by senior Tyler Holtman, the play is told from multiple points of view and recounts the aftermath of Shepard’s death.

Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, was lured out of a Laramie, Wyo., bar on Oct. 6, 1998 by Russell Henderson, 21, and Aaron McKinney, 22. Outside of town, Henderson and McKinney tied Shepard to a fencepost and pistol-whipped him and left him to die alongside the road.

A play with a number of controversial themes, drama teacher Alan Hunt said “The Laramie Project” has helped generate inclass discussion on discrimination and hate crimes.

“Usually the Spotlight Play is a rollicking comedy with slamming doors and funny entrances, but the kids are quite passionate about the world around them and they read the play and wanted to do it,” Hunt said.

The play’s cast and crew will visit the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles and tour the Matthew Shepard exhibit. Hunt said the field work is part of the school’s drama program.

The play will run in the OPHS Pavilion from Thurs., Jan. 19 to Sat. Jan. 21. Start time is 7 p.m. for the weekday performances and 2 p.m. for the Saturday matinee.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Refreshments will be available.