Westboro Baptist Church Promises To Protest Granite Bay High Play

GRANITE BAY (CBS13) — A Granite Bay High School play has caught the attention of a group known for protesting various events it deems inappropriate in a bid for attention.

Three seniors at the high school specifically chose "The Laramie Project" to promote a message of acceptance and tolerance.

The play centers around the 1998 hate-crime slaying of Matthew Shepard, a young man killed in Laramie, Wyo., because he was gay.

In what some might call a case of life imitating art, the Westboro Baptist Church announced on its Twitter feed that it plans to picket the play.

The church didn't respond to our request for a comment.

The seniors co-directing the show say the church is inadvertently proving their point.

"This organization is going to come out and do exactly what we're trying to show and prove," said Robert DeLeon.

Kyle Holmes, the school's theater arts director, says the school is standing behind the production and the students who chose to put it on.

"As far as our administration is concerned, we're proud of them and still support them," he said.

Next Thursday's show opening isn't listed on the official Westboro website, so it's unclear how many protesters plan to show up.