PORTSMOUTH — What began as a proposed show of force against an expected protest to a Seacoast Repertory Theatre production ended with an overflowing street of support for the small theater.

PORTSMOUTH — What began as a proposed show of force against an expected protest to a Seacoast Repertory Theatre production ended with an overflowing street of support for the small theater.



The Westboro Baptist Church had scheduled on its website, www.godhatesfags.com, a protest of the Seacoast Repertory Theater's presentation of "The Laramie Project" on Wednesday night from 6:15 to 7 p.m., prior to the evening's show.



The Westboro Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals of servicemen and women killed in action.



Instead, hundreds of supporters of the theater flooded Bow Street Wednesday night, causing city police to close the roadway, as the group gathered holding signs of their own bearing messages such as "Hate Free Zone," "The Arts = The Voice of the People," and "Love Free or Die."



Julie Krzanowski, of Lee, was among the crowd of supporters standing outside the theater.



"My friends are in the Laramie Project and I'm here to show my support," she said.



When asked about the lack of showing from the Kansas-based church, Krzanowski said she was not surprised.



"I kind of figured they wouldn't (show)," she said. "This is Portsmouth and Portsmouth is pretty liberal."



As of 6:15 p.m., no representatives from the group were visible among the crowd of hundreds gathered at the theater's location.



"Even if they showed I don't think they have any idea of the love and support in this community," said Seacoast Repertory Theatre's art director Craig Faulkner. "What they did is pull us all together to remind us how important we are to each other."



"The Laramie Project" is a play about the reaction to the 1998 murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard. The murder was denounced as a hate crime motivated by homophobia and brought attention to the lack of hate crime laws in several states, including Wyoming.



The play draws on hundreds of interviews conducted by the Tectonic Theater Project with inhabitants of the town, theater company members' own journal entries and published news reports.



The play is divided into three acts, with eight actors portraying more than 60 characters in a series of short scenes.











