Phelps clan to protest HS play; The Laramie Project
Karen Bouffard / The Detroit News GROSSE POINTE FARMS -- The controversial play, The Laramie Project, is an account of the torture and beating death of gay college student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyo., in 1998. Grosse Pointe South Principal D. Allan Diver said Monday the students will get a real-life lesson in the need for tolerance. "If a hate group shows up, it would concern me a lot. But no, I would not cancel the play," Diver said, noting he received just one parent complaint about the play, which was selected by a committee that included teachers and parents. "That would be exactly what they want. I would use the protest as a teachable moment, because it is." The Westboro Baptist Church has staged loud protests against the play nationwide, including at about 20 high schools, church-member Shirley Phelps-Roper told The Detroit News on Monday.