By Town Crier Staff Report

The Bus Barn Stage Company of Los Altos this week launches its eighth season with Moises Kaufmann’s “The Laramie Project.”

The production previews Thursday, opens Friday and runs through Oct. 19 at the Bus Barn Theatre, 97 Hillview Ave.

Bus Barn director Barbara J. Cannon helms what is described as “a sensitive exploration of the attitudes and culture of a particular time in American history.”

The play is based on true events, centering on the 1998 murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard. The victim of a hate crime, Shepard was found brutally beaten and left on a fence to die outside of Laramie, Wyo.

Playwright Kaufmann said, “‘The Laramie Project’ tries to put us in touch with our common humanity. Past the issues, past the ideas.”

A cast of 15 actors will play 65 characters in an effort to simulate the feeling of a large cross section of the Laramie population.

Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m., Thursdays through Saturdays, Sept. 12 to Oct. 19; and 3 p.m. Sundays , Sept. 22 and 29.

Tickets are $15 for Thursday’s preview; $24 for Friday’s opening night performance and champagne reception; $20 Thursdays through Saturdays; and $17 Sundays.

For reservations and more information, call the box office at 941-0551 or logon to www.busbarn.org.