The Laramie Project, the docudrama about a theatre company exploring the aftermath of the murder of Matthew Shepard, begins a new summer schedule July 10.

The acclaimed new work by Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project will nix its Sunday performances and add a Tuesday evening show and a Wednesday matinee. The new schedule is 8 PM Monday-Saturday, with 3 PM matinees Wednesdays and Saturdays at Off-Broadway's Union Square Theatre, 100 E. 17th Street, in Manhattan.

The play opened May 18 following previews and a February tryout at the Denver Center Theatre Company.

Kaufman directs the staging, which features Stephen Belber, Amanda Gronich, Mercedes Herrero Andy Paris, John McAdams, Greg Pierotti, Barbara Pitts and Kelli Simpkins.

The company performs multiple roles, including members of the troupe itself, and explores feelings of anger, pain and confusion in the aftermath of the 1998 slaying of gay college student Shepard. In the months after the crime, Tectonic members traveled to Laramie, WY, and Colorado to interview townspeople and others impacted, and take a cultural pulse taking. Video, lighting, projections, rain and music accentuate the stark, bare bones staging, which stresses character and ensemble.

Producers are Roy Gabay and the Tectonic Theater Project in association with Gayle Francis, and The Araca Group. Associate producers are Mara Isaacs and Hart Sharp Entertainment, Inc.

Tickets are $40-$55. Discounted rush seat are available. For information, call (212) 505-0700 or TicketMaster at (212) 307-4100. Try the web site at www.TheLaramieProject.com.

-- By Kenneth Jones