THE LARAMIE PROJECT: TEN YEARS LATER Makes LA Premiere at L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, Now thru 11/16

The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center is set to present the Los Angeles premiere of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later at the Davidson/Valenti Theatre with preview performances tonight and tomorrow, September 11 and 12, and the official opening set for Friday, September 13 at 8pm. Written by Moisés Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris and Stephen Belber, and directed by Ken Sawyer, the production will run through November 16.

The cast of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later will feature (in alphabetical order) Paul Haitkin, Michael Hanson, Elizabeth Herron, Carl J. Johnson, Che Landon, Ed F. Martin, Ann Noble, Dylan Seaton, Christine Sloane, and Paul Witten. The set design is by Robert Selander, lighting design is by Luke Moyer, and costume design is by Paula Higgins. Shaunessy Quinn is the assistant director and stage manager, and The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later is produced by Jon Imparato, artistic director of the Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center.

In 2008, with the tenth anniversary of Matthew Shepard's murder approaching, Moisés Kaufman [Tectonic Theater Project] started thinking about legacy, transformation and about what had come out of Matthew's murder. How had Laramie ultimately been affected by the crime and the media frenzy that followed? Several members of the Tectonic Project returned to Laramie to ask many of their original interviewees how the town had changed, and also interviewed people they hadn't talked to the first time, including the perpetrators of the murder as well as Matthew's mother, Judy Shepard. The Laramie Project: Ten Years Lateris the result of those interviews.

Said Jon Imparato, artistic director of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center, "When The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later was unveiled with staged readings around the world on October 11, 2009, we were honored to co-produce the Los Angeles reading. We are thrilled to be producing the Los Angeles premiere of this great play about such an important and relevant part of our history."

There will be two preview performances of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later on Wednesday, September 11 and Thursday, September 12 at 8pm, and opening is set for Friday, September 13 at 8pm. The engagement will run through November 16 with performances on Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 7pm. General admission is $25 on Friday and Saturday, and $20 on Sunday. Tickets are available online at www.lagaycenter.org/theatre, or by calling (323) 860-7300.

For more than 40 years, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has been building the health, advocating for the rights and enriching the lives of LGBT people. The Center serves more LGBT people than any other organization in the world with services ranging from LGBT specialty care to cultural arts programs; from housing homeless youth to hosting life-enriching programs for seniors. For more info, visit www.lagaycenter.org.

The Davidson/Valentini Theatre is located at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N. McCadden Place (one block east of Highland, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard), in Hollywood. Free parking is available.

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