Check out the new trailer above:

TECTONIC THEATER PROJECT
& THE MATTHEW SHEPARD FOUNDATION
LAUNCH #ERASEHATE CAMPAIGN
WITH THE RELEASE OF
ERASE HATE PSA

DIRECTED AND CONCEIVED BY
SUE KRAMER

STARRING:
HARVEY FIERSTEIN, ZACHARY QUINTO, MATT BOMER,
ANNALEIGH ASHFORD, MARY LOUISE PARKER, BILLY
PORTER, BRIDGET MOYNAHAN, MICHAEL URIE AND MICHAEL
BENJAMIN WASHINGTON

WITH JUDY AND DENNIS SHEPARD
AND MOISÉS KAUFMAN

(New York) Tectonic Theater Project will release a PSA in collaboration with the Matthew Shepard Foundation in honor of the 20th anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death, promoting their message to erase hate around the world.

The ERASE HATE PSA, directed and conceived by Sue Kramer (Gray Matters, YouVote video), will be released the third week of June in honor of LGBTQ+ Pride month, and will be followed by additional videos highlighting the importance of theater and activism, leading up to the LARAMIE: A LEGACY benefit on September 24, 2018 at 7pm at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College in New York City. Tickets for LARAMIE: A LEGACY are on sale now at laramiealegacy.org.

The ERASE HATE PSA features Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song); Emmy Award nominee Zachary Quinto (The Boys in the Band); Golden Globe Winner and Emmy Award nominee Matt Bomer (“The Normal Heart”, The Boys in the Band); Tony Award winner Annaleigh Ashford (Sunday in the Park with George); Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Mary Louise Parker (Proof, “Weeds”); Tony Award winner Billy Porter (Kinky Boots); Bridget Moynahan (“Blue Bloods”); Obie Award winner Michael Urie (Torch Song); and Michael Benjamin Washington (The Boys in the Band) along with Judy and Dennis Shepard and Moisés Kaufman.

The ERASE HATE PSA features an original song written in honor of Matthew Shepard by music veterans Andy Hollander and Dana Parish (Songwriters for Celine Dion, Idina Menzel, and more) and performed by Dana Parish titled “Love is Love.” “Love is Love” will be available on iTunes on June 22nd, with all proceeds benefiting the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

“’Love is Love’ is the most important message we could put out, as songwriters and advocates for human rights and the LBGTQ community,” said Hollander and Parish. “When director Sue Kramer, a great collaborator of ours, asked us to come up with an anthem for the Erase Hate campaign that commemorates Matthew Shephard’s beautiful life, we were honored and inspired. Sometimes songs write themselves, and this was surely one of them. In honor of Matthew’s memory, pride month, and the everyday fight we have against hate in this world, we hope the song inspires people to join the cause. Act up and stand up for love, inclusion & acceptance.”

Laramiealegacy.org also features a call to action to encourage people to join the campaign to #EraseHate, utilizing resources from the Matthew Shepard Foundation. This toolkit will include easily accessible actions people can take to make an impact and join the conversation nationally and in their communities.

Twenty years ago, the eyes of the nation were drawn to Laramie, Wyoming after the hate crime murder of Matthew Shepard. In the following weeks, the Matthew Shepard Foundation was founded and members of Tectonic Theater Project traveled from New York to Laramie to conduct interviews with the people of the town. These interviews formed the basis of The Laramie Project, which has become one of the most performed contemporary plays in the world. On September 24, 2018, the Matthew Shepard Foundation and Tectonic Theater Project will present LARAMIE: A LEGACY, a benefit reading of The Laramie Project to honor the progress made over the last two decades to erase hate.

The Laramie Project was recently named one of the 25 Best Plays Of The Last 25 Years by the New York Times, noting the play’s “extraordinary power, impact, and resilience.”

Performers for the evening include Emmy and Tony Award winner Neil Patrick Harris (Hedwig & The Angry Inch; “How I Met Your Mother”); Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Mary Louise Parker (Proof, “Weeds”); and Tony Award winner Billy Porter (Kinky Boots); joining the original company of The Laramie Project: Stephen Belber, Amanda Gronich, Mercedes Herrero, Andy Paris, Greg Pierotti, Barbara Pitts McAdams and Kelli Simpkins. Tectonic Theater Project founder and Artistic Director Moisés Kaufman directs.

Additional cast members will be announced at a later date.

Proceeds from the ERASE HATE PSA and LARAMIE: A LEGACY will benefit both the Matthew Shepard Foundation and Tectonic Theater Project, and their concurrent missions to educate and erase hate across the country through theater and activism. Company initiatives include Tectonic Theater Project’s Moment Work Institute, which trains over 1,000 students and emerging artists each year in Tectonic’s unique and powerful theater-making technique and The Matthew Shepard Foundation’s continuing programs to foster a more caring and just world, including hate crime trainings for hundreds of police annually.

Tickets are available now by visiting www.laramiealegacy.org.