Operatic melodies and comedic banter had the audience of University Theatre laughing and crying as the cast of “Not In My Town” portrayed the story of Matthew Shepard — a young college student who inspired composer Michael Ross to share the story of his untimely death.

The musical took place on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. and Sunday Sept. 25 at 3 p.m. in the University Theatre as a part of Florida Atlantic’s Peace, Justice and Human Rights Initiative.

Opera Fusion — a nonprofit, artist-driven start-up company located in South Florida — put on the show over the two days in the theater.

Ross, the composer, librettist and writer of “Not In My Town” resides 17 miles away from FAU in Wilton Manors.

“I wanted to tell his story,”  he said. “It was a turning point. A lot of people got involved with gay rights.”

Shepard was killed after being attacked in his hometown in Laramie, Wyoming on Oct. 7, 1998. Shepard’s attackers were found and arrested 24 hours after the incident.

Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act — a bill protecting victims of crimes against their sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, race and religion — on Oct. 22, 2009 and it was signed into a law by President Barack Obama on Oct. 28, 2009.

Romaine Patterson knew Shepard and his struggles while he was alive and received national attention for her activism at his funeral.

Patterson and Shepard met at the University of Wyoming. They instantly became best friends. Patterson, an LGBTQA activist and radio personality, attended the show on Saturday and enjoyed the portrayals.

“Matthew was a small guy with a big personality,” Patterson said. “The cast of ‘Not In My Town’ captured the joy in who Matthew was, and portrayed some of his struggles.”

The show acted out the real-life events that transpired before, during and after Shepard’s murder. It included Patterson’s experience with the Westboro Baptist Church protesting at his funeral and her protests against them.   

After the show, the audience, including FAU students, continued the conversation about the production and Shepard’s story.

“I cried for three-fourths of the show,” said Laurel Ardner, a sophomore commercial music major. “I had friends that were at the Pulse nightclub shooting that night and it reminded me of that.”

Senior Associate Director Denise Campbell of human resources information systems at FAU said that she thought the show was very heartfelt and that it was a reminder of how far we’ve come after that terrible event.

With this being the world premiere, cast members were pleased with how things turned out.

“It’s difficult to bring to life, but I think it came together,” said Andrew Rex Levie, a tenor who played Matthew Shepard.

“I was focused on getting the story across and sending the message of how important it is in our society,” Stephanie Newman, the mezzo-soprano who played Romaine Patterson, said. “It’s important that people are thinking about how we can change.”

Next showtime will be at the Broward Performing Arts Center Amaturo Theater located at 201 Southwest 5th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Fl. 33312 on Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 1 at 8 p.m.

Connor Ball is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @connortball.