OU’s University Theatre productions ensure plenty of quality live theater throughout the semester, but threatening to slip under the radar is an “unofficial” OU production that rivals the best that the university has to offer.

Sponsored by small local production company Under the Umbrella, a group of OU students and grads (and one from Drury University in Springfield, Mo.) presents “The Laramie Project,” and it’s sure to be a highlight of theater on campus this year.

Directed by OU School of Drama alumna Jillian Robertson, “The Laramie Project” is a unique theater piece by Moisés Kaufman and New York-based company The Tectonic Theater Project.

Drawing on transcripts of interviews conducted by members of the company, journal entries and excerpts of official documents, “The Laramie Project” tells the story of the fractured town of Laramie, Wy. after the hate crime murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard in 1998.

Eight cast members play a wide variety of roles as short vignettes paint a picture of a town where almost everyone knows everyone and the acquaintances can be “one degree removed at most.”

After Shepard’s nearly lifeless body is discovered tied to a fence in a remote part of town, the citizens must grapple with the community’s identity. Some are in denial — Laramie isn’t the kind of town where these things happen — and some are reevaluating their opinions — it did happen there, and pretending it didn’t won’t reverse the truth.

Drama alum Nicholas Bartell, drama sophomore Anna Fearheiley, drama senior Alexandra Gonzales, drama junior Ross Johnson, Drury University alum Sarah Fenner King, drama sophomore Madison Niederhauser, drama alum Amy Pastoor and drama senior David Zamudio populate the town with their portrayals of professors, police officers, medical officials, religious leaders, the family, the perpetrators and ordinary citizens.

“The Laramie Project” maintains a raw sense of power throughout, and it’s often due to the unrehearsed and unpolished nature of the dialogue. Culled from real life, the words the actors speak maintain that reality, filled with unnatural phrasing and awkward constructions. After all, what do you say when brutality has invaded your heretofore peaceful community? Eloquence falls by the wayside quickly.

Watching “The Laramie Project” is like experiencing a finely tuned documentary where the camera captured its subjects at their most bare and vulnerable.

The excellent cast creates strong characterizations that define each of their many roles clearly. Particularly moving are Niederhauser as a hospital administrator who must relay Shepard’s condition to the media and the world, and Zamudio as Shepard’s father, Dennis.

The cramped E. Frank Gilson Studio Theatre in Old Science Hall feels a bit constraining even for a tightly knit show like this, but director Robertson makes good use of the space and its every corner. A scene involving various religious leaders encircling the theater and illuminated only by flashlight is a brilliant little piece of stagecraft.

University Theatre’s big-name productions get most of the attention, but “The Laramie Project” is perhaps the strongest piece of theater I’ve seen at OU this year. Don’t let it slip past you.