‘The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later’

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Monday’s new productions around the country of “The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later” revisit not only the first Tectonic production but also an ambitious experiment of the WPA’s Federal Theatre Project in the 1930s. The Federal Theatre Project ran from 1935 to 1939, created both jobs and low-cost theater, and on Oct. 27, 1936, initiated simultaneous productions of “It Can’t Happen Here,” based on Sinclair Lewis’ novel, in 22 major cities.

“We asked: What if we did that with 100 theaters?” says Tectonic’s executive director, Greg Reiner. “People told me we’d never get 100, and we’re now at 150, including all 50 states and eight foreign countries. We believed in the power and importance of this work, and sure enough, other people were as inspired as we were.”
The initial Laramie Project, about the murder of gay student Matthew Shepard, fueled much of that excitement. “The Laramie Project” has already had more than 2,000 amateur and professional productions. “A couple times a month there is a high school production banned or protested, or somebody is fired for doing it,” says Reiner. “It is still considered controversial, which is another reason we saw the need to tell the story again.”

For Barbara Isenberg’s full look at this week’s project, to be seen at several SoCal venues, read Sunday’s Arts & Books section, or click here.

Photo: Co-writer Moises Kaufman, at New York’s Lincoln Center