In 2000, New York's Tectonic Theater Project presented writer/director Moises Kaufman's The Laramie Project, compiled from interviews with residents of Laramie, Wyo., where gay student Matthew Shepard was murdered in what is believed to be a homophobia-inspired hate crime.

A decade after Shepard's death, members of the theater returned to Laramie to gauge the impact of what happened there, and turned their findings into a new play that, on Monday, will be read simultaneously at theaters around the country, including Manalapan's Florida Stage.

``It's very easy to feel disconnected from other theaters in the world, and lose sight of the impact that theater can have. This is one of those moments where you get to feel connected to people all over the world who want to have some positive impact on these issues,'' Florida Stage spokesman Michael Gepner said. ``This is global. We're thrilled to have been asked to participate in it.''

In the new play, called The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, theater project members interviewed Shepard's mother, Judy, and Aaron McKinney, who is serving two life sentences in prison for Shepard's murder. It will be presented live at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, with a 20-minute introduction from host Glenn Close and including remarks by Judy Shepard that will be webcast to the more than 150 theaters that are participating.

Then, Gepner said, the ``screen will go black'' and each theater will do its own live reading. He said that Florida Stage was chosen as one of 100 theaters around the country to participate because of its past association with the Tectonic Theater Project, and will present its reading along with Compass, Palm Beach County's support group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered residents, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council and the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

``The Laramie Project was one of those deep-breath, `Wow' pieces of theater that had an enormous effect around the world,'' Gepner said. ``Florida, like every other place in the country, has had its own issues to deal with, in regards to hate crimes and violence, and we're hoping that presenting this piece will assist in the process of sparking a dialogue.''

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