Kody C. Jones has directed “Hair,” “Hadestown Teen Edition,” “Carrie the Musical” and “Bulletproof Backpack.” He gravitates toward plays that raise more questions than they answer.
“The Laramie Project” is another.
“We love to put on amazing entertainment in Southwest Florida, but what's more important to us is making sure we're producing shows that challenge our community and give our community subject matter it needs to discuss and work over and talk about,” Jones said. “And we thought it was about time that we revisit the story of Matthew Shepard.”
“Laramie Project” cast member and recent Estero High graduate Jaelynn Lias agrees that the timing, sadly, is exactly right.
“I think hate crimes and violence against marginalized communities have gone down since Matthew and then shot right back up.”
Her suspicions were confirmed by Matthew Shepard’s father, Dennis, who spoke with the cast last week via Zoom.
“We're almost completely back to what it was like in 1998 for discrimination against all the marginalized communities,” said Shepard. “That's race, religion, national origin, gender.”
According to GLAAD’s Anti-LGBTQ Extremism Reporting Tracker, there were 1,042 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents across 47 states and the District of Columbia in 2025, marking a 5% increase from the previous year. Over half specifically targeted transgender and gender non-conforming people.
“That’s why [Shepard] believes and is so glad that ‘The Laramie Project’ is out there and is still being produced to this day, and that’s why I’m glad we’re doing it here,” Lias said.
Neither the crime nor the trials of the killers were the focus of playwright Moises
Kaufman and his Tectonic Theatre Project co-creatives. They came to Laramie a month after the murder to ascertain whether Laramie was different from or identical to the rest of the country.
“There's a famous quote in the show that they basically say, ‘This isn't Laramie,’” Jones noted. “’Laramie is bigger and better than this.’ And they don't want to be defined by that tragedy. In some ways, I think what really humanizes this specific story is it brings together so many different people of contrasting opinion and perspective to really come to find out that they all have something very earnest in common, and that's that we're all human, that we all want the same things, that we all live and breathe and we all bleed the same color.”
Psychologist Dr. Laura Wright has two children who often perform at Arts Bonita. She’s intimately familiar with Jones’ approach to producing shows that contain controversial themes.
“He doesn’t give you the answers at the end,” she said. “He gives you lots of things to talk with maybe the people that you came to the show with or maybe the people that you had dinner with earlier.”
In the aftermath of Shepard’s murder, Laramie rallied together to deal with the tragedy. That, says Jones, raises one crucial question.
“Why does it take tragedy to bring a community together?”
Citing the work of Stanford Psychology Professor Jamil Zaki, Wright offers this possible explanation.
“There's a term for this called catastrophe compassion, and it's this idea that when something really terrible happens, whether it was through an act of men or nature or whatever it is, that people really want to get together and help each other,” said Wright. “And I believe that as a person, that people are just inherently good and would like to kind of lend a hand if they could or if they can.”
Dennis and Judy Shepard experienced this during the five days their son lingered in the hospital before he died of his injuries.
“The internet at the hospital would crash every day from emails around the world because his story had immediately spread around the world,” Shepard told “The Laramie Project” cast during their Zoom call. “There were candlelight vigils all over the world, from Russia, believe it or not, Taiwan, all over Europe, Asia, Saudi Arabia, of all places, and all the Middle East."
Closer to home, independent filmmaker and attorney Laura DeBruce witnessed catastrophe compassion in operation on Sanibel Island in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
“Before the hurricane, I would say there were so many different pockets of people and interests,” DeBruce recounted. “I had so many different groups of people that I associated with, but we really were all in our own pockets. And after the hurricane, that all changed because people lost different degrees of things … Some people lost their entire homes. Other people lost their businesses. Almost everybody lost a car. Almost everybody lost something of sentimental value that they were never going to get back. But what we all lost was our way of life.”
Said Jones, “The Laramie Project” has caused him to really reflect on who and what community is.
“Matthew Shepard really made me reflect on community and when are the times that I felt the nation has come together the most,” he said. “The examples I came up with were Columbine, Parkland, Oklahoma City bombing, 9-11 …. And it does force and beg the question, how can we be bigger and better as a community and find ways to come together on common ground without the tragedy? There's got to be something.”
Said Wright, it can start with the simple act of going to the theater.
“After you have sat in a theater and you've watched a live performance, and you start to have a little bit more understanding of a topic or of a group of people, it really does trigger this idea of like, oh, wait a minute, I know somebody like that,” said Wright. “Or I have more of an understanding of what this is. And so again, can kind of, again, trigger this other idea, like hey, let's all have empathy for each other.”
Performances of “The Laramie Project” are in the Moe Auditorium at the Arts Bonita Performing Arts Center through Sunday afternoon.
MORE INFORMATION:
“The Laramie Project” premiered in February 2000 at The Ricketson Theatre in Denver. That performance was followed by one in New York City’s Union Square Theatre before being produced in Laramie, Wyoming, in 2002. The play has been seen by more than 10 million people in 20 countries. More than 20 million more have watched the HBO film adaptation.
The play was drawn from 200 interviews conducted by Artistic Director Moisés Kaufman and members of his Tectonic Theater Project in the year following Shepard’s murder. Tectonic was not interested in creating a play about Shepard or his killers. They focused instead on capturing the town’s reaction to the murder and the underlying bigotry and hatred that enabled it.
Artists as activists
In the aftermath of Matthew Shepard’s death, the country launched headlong into a national dialogue about the ways we thought and talked about homosexuality, class, violence, privilege and the difference between tolerance and acceptance. Moises Kaufman and his Tectonic Theatre co-creatives felt that as artists, they had an obligation to understand what happened and contribute to this discourse.
So, on November 14, 1998, 10 members of Tectonic Theater Project arrived in Laramie for the first of six trips to interview citizens of the town. Joining Kaufman were Assistant Director and Head Writer Leigh Fondakowski, Stephen Belber, Michael Emerson, Amanda Gronich, Jeffrey LaHoste, Sarah Lambert, Maude Mitchell, Andy Paris and Greg Pierotti. Later trips included Betsy Adams, Robert Brill, Mercedes Herrero, John McAdams, Barbara Pitts, Greg Pierotti and Kelli Simpkins.
Friends and relatives of Shepard and his killers, neighbors, ranchers, professors, clergy, politicians and law enforcement were among the 200 people they interviewed. Along the way, they refined the way that theater is created. While they did not invent interview-based theater (which already included Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues”), they improved, expanded and mainstreamed the art form in their quest to weigh in responsibly on the topics and themes covered in the play.
Kody Jones and Arts Bonita Artistic Director Joseph Brauer were well aware of the show’s origins and performance history. More, they were mindful of the rise in hate crimes since COVID and the loss of hard-won rights by marginalized populations, including women, over the course of the last few sessions of the United States Supreme Court.
“When Joseph and I talked about what type of shows we wanted this season, this one kind of rose to the top very quickly,” said Jones. “’The Laramie Project’ gives us the opportunity to revisit how our community engages with one another on intolerance and communication and how do we connect as a community over tragedy?”
While Jones and Brauer are personally and professionally curious about the reasons communities come together in the wake of tragedy, they don’t pretend to explain the phenomenon.
“Theater should engage and enlighten, but theater doesn't have the answers,” said Jones emphatically. “Theater should be a stimulus for conversation that maybe, hopefully, once upon a prayer, provides an answer. So, from that perspective, we want to choose and produce stories that let people come up to their own conclusions and start their own conversations and engage them in ways that let them decide … to use stories as incubators for social parallels and connections that we need to talk about.”
Often in theater, timing can spell the difference between a play that resonates and one that seems dated. Sadly, “The Laramie Project” remains vital rather than outdated.
In addition to the GLAAD data provided above, new data from the FBI shows discrimination against transgender and nonbinary people in the U.S. is on the rise. Some school boards are banning readings of the play. And two states – Wyoming and South Carolina – have yet to criminalize hate crimes.
Equally alarming is the dramatic increase in incidents taking place during the month of June at Price marches and other events. In 2025, there were 268 incidents, a nearly 400 percent increase from the 54 incidents in June 2022, when GLAAD first began collecting data.
“When marginalized communities see the country taking giant steps of progress, that gives us all hope,” Jones asserted. “That gives us power. That shows the humanity in our community. Now that we're taking steps back, that’s the time when someone with a voice, someone with a theater, someone who has a story to tell should do it. It's our job as theater artists, I think it's our artistic obligation, to make sure that we don't take steps back, that we keep going forward, that we keep evolving as a more positive and human society.”
Coming together as a community
Jones and Brauer also felt that they should bring back “The Laramie Project” on the advent of the 250th anniversary of the country’s birth. Specifically, the ability of communities to come together, to gel in the aftermath of tragedy, whether manmade or natural, is an earmark of the American experiment.
“This play is about coming together as a community, about coming together as a country,” Jones said. “I feel in 2026 that this country is the most divided it's ever been in my lifetime. The story told in ‘The Laramie Project’ reminds us that we are our most powerful and we are our best human selves when we come together as a community.”
The next generation
According to Jones, his young cast (they range in age from 16 to 22) is well aware of the attrition in rights being experienced by marginalized communities, including women.
“This cast is not just amazing physical character actors,” remarked Jones. “They are visceral, cerebral thinkers, and they are researchers. They’ve been trained to approach this type of storytelling not just like a form of entertainment, but as their own artistic obligations as performers to bring honesty and truth to these stories because they're [portraying] real people, and they know what's at stake for this type of storytelling. They know that there is the power of change in their words and in their performances. So, they take it extremely seriously.
The sense of obligation they feel is also fueled by their awareness that the rights of marginalized people and communities are under attack.
“We circle up and have discussions and talk about the themes and sub-themes of the production [following most rehearsals] and make sure we're on the same page,” Jones commented. “We're constantly challenging each other's thoughts and ideas. But what constantly comes up is that they are losing these rights and they're seeing them vanish in front of them, whether it's at school, at their public libraries with book bannings, or with what’s happening to their friends and their friends’ parents. And what becomes apparent is that it's not just affecting one marginalized community. It’s massively affecting our entire community, and all the students talk about that. They have fears. They have worries. It starts with marginalized communities, but they fear that it could expound from that into something more.”
The level of their concerns and the depth of their research into what happened to Matthew Shepard and the Laramie community following his murder was revealed during their Zoom chat with Matthew’s father, Dennis Shepard. He keeps tabs on all the theaters that produce “The Laramie Project,” and Arts Bonita Artistic Director Joseph Brauer arranged for the cast to talk to him as part of their research into the show.
The cast had the opportunity to ask him three questions, and oh what questions they were.
One young man asked him how he felt the first time he saw “The Laramie Project” performed. Another asked him whether the tragedy gave him the opportunity to meet people, including Matthew’s friends and members of the gay community, that he wouldn’t have otherwise known?
Then there was Jaelynn Lias.
She auditioned for the show and went into full bore research mode even before Jones cast her in the show.
“I went and researched it and learned all about it,” she said. “I just got so excited about the possibility of being part of something so important and with such a massive history here in America and across the world.”
She knew nothing of Matthew Shepard before that.
“I don’t think I'm alone in that,” she surmised. “I don’t think many youths know his story. It was horrific to learn and read about, but super-duper important, which is also part of why it's so important to be doing this here and now because I think a lot of young people are going to learn this story. I wish we had known about already.”
As is true of the entire cast, Lias plays multiple characters.
“They're all very different and see things very differently and have different perspectives and different connections to different parts of the case, and that's super interesting and exciting,” Lias said. “One of my characters is close friends with one of the killers, and that's super interesting because she's so close with Aaron McKinney, she can't see the horrific details for what they are because of that relationship. Another of my characters is part of the troupe that's interviewing the town, so she's coming at this from an outside perspective.”
Lias exemplifies Jones’ comment about having visceral, cerebral thinkers in his cast. She noted many people in Laramie were homophobic to varying degrees, and that their bias operated on an insidious level.
“They don't say I dislike or I hate gays,” Lias pointed out. “They say that in Laramie you can do whatever you want. The phrase used a lot is ‘live and let live.’ And they think that by thinking and living that way, that makes them moral, that makes them right. But it's really interesting to see how the people that say that are blind to how that's hate and how hatred and violence comes from that opinion. That's the seed of where Aaron [McKinney] and Russell [Henderson] came from - this blind belief that something's wrong, but they can't even tell you why it's wrong.”
Every member of “The Laramie Project” cast has experienced emotional reactions to the content of the play. For Lias, the most problematic material revolved around Dennis Shepard’s statement to the court during Aaron McKinney’s sentencing hearing. For many, him taking the death penalty off the table is the singularly most indelible moment of the play.
“Mr. McKinney, I am going to grant you life, as hard as it is for me to do so, because of Matthew. Every time you celebrate Christmas, a birthday, the Fourth of July, remember that Matt isn’t. Every time you wake up in your prison cell, remember that you had the opportunity and the ability to stop your actions that night. You robbed me of something very precious, and I will never forgive you for that. Mr. McKinney I give you life in the memory of one who no longer lives. May you have a long life and may you thank Matthew every day for it.”
“That moment in the show struck me so deeply,” Lias said. “I can't imagine how—that's just a level of mercy I can barely comprehend. So, I asked him about that and what was going on in his mind and the fight and then the argument and what it took to get there, and he told us so much. He's clearly thought everything through, and he's very intelligent and very controlled and he has so much to say and so much to share. He told us about his wife. He told us that it was a decision made logically because being on death row means that you can appeal very often, and it can take so long to actually get there, and they didn't want that negativity invading their lives every few years and eventually passed on down to Matthew's younger brother.”
“The Laramie Project” is Lias’ 22nd show with Arts Bonita. She was most recently seen in as Second Officer Lightoller in Arts Bonita’s production of “Titanic: The Musical” and Ralph in Elevate Acting Studio’s outdoor production of “The Lord of the Flies.” She enters UCF in the fall, where she’ll pursue a BFA in theater.
The rest of the cast
The rest of the cast includes:
Izy Sedorchuk (Reporter/Barbara/Trish Steger/Zubaida Ula/Tiffany Edwards). Sedorchuk is a homeschooled junior and a full time student at FSW. She was previously seen as Simon in “Lord of the Flies: The Experience” with Elevate Acting Studio, Andy in “Bulletproof Backpack” with Arts Bonita, and in the ensemble in the “Boy from Block 66” with Arts Bonita.
Kyle Socarras (Phillip DuBois/Stephen Belber/Stephen Mead Johnson/Gov Jim Geringer/Priest). Socarra has been appearing in productions at Arts Bonita for more than two years. His most recent credits include “Titanic: The Musical” (Pittman/Jim Farrel), “Hair” (Walter), “Spring Awakening” (Adult Men) and “The Boy from Block 66” (Inmate #1/Kalina).
Louis Fuelling (Narrator). Fuelling has been in musical theater for 11 years. This is Fuelling’s 27th show. Some of his favorite roles include Arnold in “The Boy from Block 66,” the White Rabbit from “Alice in Wonderland,” and “The Fiddler in Fiddler On the Roof.”
Anthony Sosa (Moises/Jon Peacock/Murdock Cooper/Bailiff). Sosa has previously been seen as John B. Thayer in “Titanic: The Musical,” Simon in “Lord Of The Flies: The Experience” with Elevate. This will be his last show locally for a while since he is heading off to UCF in the fall.
Isabella Fay (April Silva/Minister's Wife/Kristin Price/Newsperson 3/Juror 4). Fay is a senior at Canterbury School. Her stage credits Mollie Ralston in “The Mousetrap,” and Brooke Wyndham in “Legally Blonde the Musical.” “The Laramie Project” marks her Arts Bonita debut.
Connor DeVall (Andy Paris/Jonas Slonaker/Rulon Stacey/Conrad Miller/Juror 6/Cal Rerucha). DeVall is thrilled to make his debut at Arts Bonita in “The Laramie Project.” Recent performances include Quasimodo in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” Willard Hewitt in “Footloose” and Kurt Kelly in “Heathers: The Musical.” Connor plans to attend Florida SouthWestern State College to earn his associate's degree in general studies before pursuing a BFA in musical theater.
Owen Atkins (Matt Mickelson/Dr. Cantway/Judge/Baptist Minister). This is Atkins' second show with Arts Bonita Actors Theatre. Recent credits include “Tartuffe” (Orgon) and “Peter and the Star Catcher” (Lord Aster).
Caitlyn Clark (Zackie Salmon/Catherine Connoly/Marge/Newsperson 1/Shannon/Juror 3). Clark was last seen onstage in the role of Murdoch in “Titanic: The Musical.”
Naomi Hope Muradaz (Rebecca Hillaker/Reggie Fluty/Kerry Drake/Juror 5/Lucy Thompson). Muradaz also makes her Arts Bonita debut with “The Laramie Project.” A senior at Aubrey Rogers High with plans to study performing arts in college, her accolades include a Broadway Stars of the Future Outstanding Lead Performer nomination and Outstanding Featured Performer award, as well as several district and state thespian awards.
Arlan Won (Doc O'Connor/Matt Galloway/Rob Debree/Harry Woods). Won is a 21-year-old student at Florida Gulf Coast University pursuing a career in animation and film.
Caleb Hill (Jedadiah Schultz/Aaron McKinney/Newsperson 4/Anonymous Friend). Hill is a senior at Fort Myers High School and is incredibly honored to be part of sharing the important “Laramie Project” story.
Kamila Sanchez (Leigh Fondakowski/Romaine Patterson/Foreperson/Newsperson 2). “The Laramie Project” is Sanchez’s eighth production at Arts Bonita. Recent credits include Kate McGowan in “Titanic the Musical” and Trina in “Carrie.”
Jack Pustizzi (Greg/Phillip Labrie/Aaron Kreifels/Father Roger/Russell Henderson/Juror 1) Also a senior at Aubrey Rogers High School, some of Pustizzi’s past roles include Peter in “Jesus Christ Superstar” and Harold Bride in “Titanic the Musical” with Arts Bonita, as well as Ralph in “Lord of the Flies: The Experience” with Elevate Acting Studio.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
