5 Things You Need to Know Today: Theater Productions Explore Pride and Prejudice

1.) Pride Previews: With coming up this weekend, two local theaters stage productions on gay issues in America. The Laramie Project recounts the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, and will be presented tonight at 7 p.m. at . Admission is $15, $10 for students or seniors. The comedy, , will be presented at 7:30 p.m. at the American Stage Theater. This one-night-only performance is by the Suncoast AIDS Theatre Project. Tickets are $15 in advance, and "pay what you can" at the door.

2.) Drought Conditions: Record heat and lack of rain mean there are drought conditions in Florida. If you use reclaimed water to irrigate your lawn, the city's water department wants to remind you of that lots of people are using this water supply, which can lead to low pressure. So make sure to abide by irrigation rules and share the increasingly precious supply of water. Temps in the 90s will stick around all week, with no more than a 30 percent chance of rain all week.

3.) Blaze and Boondox: Face-painted rappers Blaze and Boondox will play The Local 662 tonight at 7. Openers include Stranger Haze, D-Murder, Haha from Section 8 and others. Admission is $15.

4.) Trivia Night at Ferg's: The Rays head out of town today for a week and the Bucs are locked out of training camp. What's a sports fan to do? Test your sports trivia knowledge tonight at 7 at . Better still, bring some knowledgeable friends and make it a team effort. The winner gets a prize and entered in  a cash drawing.

5.) How to Do Business with the City: If you own a small business in the city, you should check out the "How to do Business with the City of St. Petersburg" workshop at the city's . It starts at 2 p.m. Admission is free.