An Arizona school district shut down a high school’s planned performance of The Laramie Project, a play about the 1998 murder of gay 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, merely a few hours before it was set to premiere. The play has since been rescheduled, but students fear district officials may try and censor the play’s central message.
“The themes and language in the play need additional acknowledgments and disclaimers for families and students in attendance,” the district wrote in a statement published by KSAZ. The news outlet added that the cast had worked on the play since August, school administrators had approved it months ago, and each cast member had submitted permission slips signed by their parents.
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The district didn’t specify which specific themes or language it objected to. The play — which involves eight actors depicting over 60 real-life residents of the Wyoming town where Shepard was murdered — doesn’t depict Shepard or his murder. However, the play does include some anti-gay slurs and profanity as well as descriptions of violence, discussions of sexuality, and criticisms of Christian homophobia.
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“Many of our students have younger siblings, and we must properly inform families about the content they are going to see so they can make informed decisions about whether younger family members attend,” the district wrote. “In addition, we want to ensure proper mental health support is in place for those in the audience who may have strong feelings about the play’s contents.”
The district also said that it and the high school “recognize and support our LGBTQ+ students, staff, and community members and recognize the importance of The Laramie Project telling the accurate history of the incredible injustices this community has faced.”
The district has since rescheduled the performance to take place this Friday at 6:30 p.m. local time, but members of the high school drama club worry that the performance may be conditional.
“I’m definitely on my toes,” Podolak said. “Are they going to shut us down again? Are they going to tell us we have to change our language the day of the show? … If you change all the language that was said, is it really even a hate crime anymore? You’re censoring it,” said the school’s Drama Club President Ella Podolak.
Anaya Connors, a senior at the high school said, “A lot of the members of our cast are exactly who Matthew Shepard was. It’s a chance to get our voices heard and be like, ‘We’re this way. This is who we are.’”
This isn’t the first time the play has been shut down by a school district. In February, Timber Creek High School officials in Fort Worth, Texas shut down a student performance of the play without any explanation. The performance was allowed to proceed after an outcry by Keller Independent School District community members.
Matthew Shepard Foundation president—and Shepard’s mother—Judy Shepard said she has recently seen an increase in attempts to cancel productions of The Laramie Project.
“My heart is broken when people still refuse to see how important this work is,” Shepard said. The play, she added, “might scare some kids. And it might wake some kids up. And it might make kids want to make change — all of those things. And they have the power to do it.”
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