HILLSDALE—The award-winning Pascack Valley High School Theatre Company presents The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and members of Tectonic Theater Project, Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 20–22, at 7 p.m., with a 1 p.m. Saturday matinee, in the school’s Lower Cafeteria, 200 Piermont Ave.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students, available at pvhstheatre.org.
Directed by longtime PV Theatre leaders Tom and Merielle Lupfer, the production revisits the powerful documentary drama they last staged at Pascack Valley 14 years ago—a performance that earned the MSU Foxy Award for Best Drama. This time, the Lupfers return to the landmark work with a new generation of students: 33 performers in all, including 13 seniors who have appeared in every PV Theatre production of their high school careers and 17 first-year students making their stage debuts.
Because the school’s auditorium is under renovation, PV Theatre is transforming the Lower Cafeteria into an intimate theatre-in-the-round, immersing audiences in the emotion, urgency, and humanity of The Laramie Project’s true story.
Written in response to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, The Laramie Project chronicles how a community grappled with tragedy, intolerance, and the search for understanding. More than 20 years later, the play remains a cornerstone of contemporary American theatre—inviting audiences to reflect on compassion, justice, and the ongoing work toward equality.
The production continues PV Theatre’s tradition of tackling bold, socially relevant work. Known for high-caliber productions that inspire both artists and audiences, PV Theatre strives to “present work of artistic and thematic significance to our community, in the hopes that students, teachers, and spectators alike will be moved by our work to feel deeply and think deeply.”
Under the leadership of Tom Lupfer—recipient of the 2025 New Jersey Governor’s Award in Arts Education for Outstanding Teacher of Theatre—and Merielle Lupfer, the company has earned statewide acclaim. The Lupfers are also recipients of the Jo-Ann Fox Award for Outstanding Theatre Teacher or Director and the Foxy Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Little Shop of Horrors in 2022.