Acting Against Hate In Kingwood, Laramie Project actors defy Fred Phelps

At Matthew Shepard's funeral in 1998, mourners faced Fred Phelps and his snarling Westboro Baptist Church followers. On March 7 and 8, Kingwood College presents the final performances of The Laramie Project, which examines the aftermath of Shepard's murder, and Phelps and his Topeka minions will again be on the scene. The play, written by Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project (and directed by Ron Jones), imparts a message of tolerance lost on Phelps, whose only gift is for hating.

Once Phelps and his gang depart the small northern Harris County campus (www.kingwoodcollege.com), they will protest on March 9 at four Kingwood churches, then at NASA, where they will impugn the memories of the Columbia astronauts.

While Phelps is in town, the Houston GLBT Community Center will use his presence for a creative fundraiser inspired by anti-Fred money-raising efforts in Ann Arbor and other cities. For every minute Phelps agitates in the Houston area, individuals can pledge the sum of their choice (at www.houstonglbtcenter.org). Against his will, Phelps may do some good here after all. -Tim Brookover

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