When officials at University of Maryland, College Park sought to inspire a dialogue about prejudice, they found themselves embroiled in a controversy.

“The Laramie Project,” a play about the murder of college student Matthew Shepard, sparked that controversy this fall, nearly four years after the event.

Shepard, 21, was beaten to death in 1998 in Laramie, Wyo. because he was gay.

“We thought that especially with the events of Sept. 11, when issues come out about hate, we need to learn how to respond to it,” said Lisa Kiely, associate dean of undergraduate studies at Maryland.

Groups such as the Virginia-based Family Policy Network have protested the inclusion of the “The Laramie Project” as an assignment on the university’s campus.

The play is required reading for all Maryland freshmen and some honors classes, to be supplemented with workshops with the play’s writers, Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theatre Company, and a performance of the play on the College Park campus.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Ky., are planning a protest for November.

But Kiely said complaints about the assignment end there.

“We’ve had no complaints from parents or students that I know of,” she said.

The play was based on more than 200 interviews of Laramie residents in the span of two years.

“The play is about a community,” Kiely said. “It’s about sexual orientation, but it’s also about class, education, race - a number of things.

“The one thing ‘The Laramie Project’ does that’s wonderful is that people can’t say, ‘Oh, that won’t happen in our community.’”

When assistant artistic director of the Flint Youth Theatre Walter Hill saw the play in San Diego, he was struck by the personal aspects of the play.

“I was really moved not just by the story, but also by the way the story is told,” Hill said.

“The play is about the town of Laramie and how they deal with the situation from the time it happens to the trial.”

Hill will direct a staged reading of “The Laramie Project” on Sunday at the Elgood Theater, 1220 E. Kearsley St. in Flint.

“The Laramie Project” is the start of the Flint Youth Theatre’s Off the Press series, which has featured plays like “Wit” and “The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told.”

Hill said being able to produce “The Laramie Project” inspired him.

“It’s an amazing piece of work,” he said. “The play is about all the self-examination that goes on - way more than sexuality. It bothers me when someone zeroes in on that one aspect of it.”

The show isn’t the only controversial production of its kind to grace the state.

In January, the Lansing Catholic Diocese asked the Lansing Civic Players to leave Lansing Catholic Central High School’s auditorium, 501 Marshall St. and find a new home for the play “Breaking the Code.”

Officials claimed the play contained themes that went against the church’s teachings.

After being asked to leave the high school, “Breaking the Code” moved to the Hill Auditorium, 5815 Wise Road in Lansing.

But members of the theater group were not in agreement about the decision.

“At the time, I said I would take my 14-year-old son and 80-year-old mother to see that play and not have a problem with either one of them being in the audience,” Lansing Civic Players board member Susan DeRosa said.

“We’ve done plays that feature murder, adultery and abuse and those were not a problem,” she said. “I think there are topics that some people are sensitive to.”

The play, by Hugh Whitemore, details the life of British war hero Alan Turing, who worked against the Nazis during World War II.

After the war, his sexuality was discovered when police were investigating a burglary in his home.

Turing was convicted of gross indecency. Two years later he committed suicide.

“Our audience was probably a little less than average for that type of show,” DeRosa said. “The story was about a war hero, and the publicity kind of obliterated that.”

And misunderstandings abound when theater collides with sensitive opinions, especially when, as many theater companies insist, those doing the objecting have never read the play, DeRosa said.

Marcus Olson, associate professor and head of acting in the MSU Department of Theatre, faced a similar dilemma last fall when “SubUrbia” was forced to close after one night.

“I didn’t agree with it, but the department made a compromise,” he said.

“I think with censorship there are some aspects that are necessary to protect children and victims. This was a case where Sept. 11 had just happened and the whole world was stunned by that.”

The play, by Eric Bogosian, featured a Pakistani character and dealt with issues of racism and possible anti-American sentiment.

“I was glad the play had a chance to speak for itself,” Olson said.

“Everyone wanted to be very careful and protect people, but I think you need to know what it is you’re condemning before you condemn it.”

Psychology senior Trisha Nylund saw “SubUrbia” and said she didn’t think it would’ve offended anyone.

“I think if something’s controversial, you can learn a lot from it,” she said.

“You can open people’s minds if they’re narrow minded about an issue.”

Nylund said that in the case of controversial material, the audience should be warned ahead of time.

“I think if you have something to say, you should be able to say it,” she said.

Olson said theater has been upsetting people for decades.

“Theater is supposed to reflect life,” she said.

“Sometimes clashing views or morals will be portrayed on stage, and then somebody is bound to be upset or offended.”