America,” said Patterson, who lives in New Jersey now. “Matthew wanted to live his life helping others. We must all learn from Matthew's story, and strive to be more kind to one another. I am honored to be a part of 'Not In My Town' because the fine arts serve as a strong and beautiful tool for education.” The first two shows of the world premiere will be presented on Saturday, Sept. 24, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, at 3 p.m., at Florida Atlantic University's University Theatre on the Boca Raton campus at 777 Glades Road, in Boca Raton, Fla. These performances, sponsored by FAU's Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, will be the culmination of FAU's celebration of International Peace Week 2016. Peace Week is organized by FAU's Peace, Justice and Human Rights Initiative and will include a series of peace-related lectures and events starting on the United Nations Day of Peace on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016. Tickets are $20 for either show at FAU; to order, visit FAUEvents.com. The following weekend, the world premiere continues with two shows at the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort
Lauderdale, Fla. The performances are at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016. Tickets start at $35, and can be ordered via the Opera Fusion website, OperaFusion.org. All the Opera Fusion singers are professionals from South Florida. Patterson's role will be sung by soprano Robyn Marie Lamp, of Royal Palm Beach, Fla. Shepard's role will be sung by tenor Ryan Townsend, of Coral Gables, Fla. “Not In My Town” director and production designer is bass-baritone Ardean Landhuis, of West Palm Beach, Fla., who also sings the part of Dennis Shepard, Matthew Shepard's father. The production's composer and librettist is Michael W. Ross of Fort Lauderdale who has
held positions at New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera and The Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse, and also has sung with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, New York City Opera, DiCapo Opera and Opera Orchestra of New York. As part of its campaign to mount “Not In My Town,” Opera Fusion is using the hashtag #IAmMatthew on social media.
For more information, visit FAUEvents.com or OperaFusion.org photos by F.S. Hindle