8 is a 2011 American play that portrays the closing arguments of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, a federal trial that led to the overturn of Proposition 8, an amendment banning same-sex marriages in California. It was created by Dustin Lance Black in light of the court's denial of a motion to release a video recording of the trial and to give the public a true account of what transpired in the courtroom.
| 8 | |
|---|---|
 Official Poster | |
| Written by | Dustin Lance Black Kate Sullivan Gibbens |
| Date premiered | September 19, 2011 (Broadway) March 3, 2012 (worldwide broadcast) |
| Place premiered | Eugene O'Neill Theatre Ebell of Los Angeles broadcast live on YouTube |
| Subject | Perry v. Schwarzenegger trial reenactment using original court transcripts and first-hand interviews of the people involved |
| Genre | verbatim theatre documentary theatre |
| Official site | |
The play is written in the style of verbatim theatre reenactment, using transcripts from the trial, journalist records, and media interviews from the plaintiffs, defendants and proponents involved. 8 first premiered on September 19, 2011 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York City, and later broadcast worldwide from the Ebell of Los Angeles on March 3, 2012.[1][2] Black brought the play to San Francisco, the home of the court case on which the play was based, on October 7, 2012 for a one-night-only reading at the ACT Theater.[3] A cast reception following the reading included an appearance by the trial judge, Vaughn Walker. On October 22, 2012, another one-night-only reading was performed at the downtown Crest Theater in Sacramento, California, U.S.[4]
The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and Broadway Impact, sponsors of the play, have licensed the play for readings nationwide on college campuses and in community theaters free of charge, as an educational tool.[5]
A radio adaptation was broadcast on JOY 94.9, an LGBTIQ community radio station in Melbourne, Australia, on March 27, 2014.
Context
editIn May 2009, AFER filed a lawsuit, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of plaintiffs, two same-sex couples, to challenge a voter-approved constitutional amendment, known as Proposition 8, that eliminated same-sex couples' right to marry in the state.[6][7] The same-sex couples were represented by David Boies and former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson, two high-profile attorneys who opposed each other in the U.S. Supreme Court case, Bush v. Gore.[8]
Cast and characters
editThe following is a list of the cast of characters, along with the actors that portrayed them in the play's premieres.
| Character | Description | Broadway (2011) | Los Angeles broadcast (2012) | Sacramento (2012) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Court | ||||
| Vaughn Walker | Judge[9] | Bob Balaban | Brad Pitt | Christopher Cabaldon |
| Theodore Olson | Lawyer for Plaintiffs[9] | John Lithgow | Martin Sheen | Ben Patrick Johnson |
| David Boies | Lawyer for Plaintiffs[9] | Morgan Freeman | George Clooney | Kurt Johnson |
| Charles J. Cooper | Lawyer for Defense[9] | Bradley Whitford | Kevin Bacon | Matt K Miller |
| Court Clerk[9] | Kate Shindle | Vanessa García | Jessica Goldman | |
| The Plaintiffs | ||||
| Kris Perry[9] | Christine Lahti | Unknown | ||
| Sandy Stier[9] | Ellen Barkin | Jamie Lee Curtis | ||
| Spencer Perry | Son of Plaintiff[9] | Jay Armstrong Johnson | Bridger Zadina | Austin Laut |
| Elliot Perry | Son of Plaintiff[9] | Ben Rosenfield | Jansen Panettiere | Grant Laut |
| Jeff Zarrillo[9] | Matt Bomer | Thai Rivera | ||
| Paul Katami[9] | Cheyenne Jackson | Matthew Morrison | Evan Brienza | |
| Witnesses for Plaintiffs | ||||
| Nancy F. Cott, Ph.D. | Testified on the history of marriage[9] | Yeardley Smith | Robin Hushbeck | |
| Gregory M. Herek, Ph.D. | Testified on the nature of homosexuality; sexual orientation[9] | K. Todd Freeman | Rory O'Malley | Michael RJ Campbell |
| Ilan Meyer, Ph.D. | Testified on minority stress; stigma impacts; discrimination[9] | Anthony Edwards | Jesse Tyler Ferguson | Eason Donner |
| Gary Segura | Testified on the vulnerability of gays and lesbians in the nation's political process[9] | Stephen Spinella | James Pickens, Jr. | Nanci Zoppi |
| Ryan Kendall | Testified on being forced by parents to undergo "conversion therapy" as a youth[9] | Rory O'Malley | Chris Colfer | Patrick Burns |
| Witnesses for Defense | ||||
| David Blankenhorn | Testified on marriage being a socially-approved, sexual relationship between man and woman[9] | Rob Reiner | John C. Reilly | Steve Minnow |
| William Tam | Testified on same-sex marriage leading to polygamy, pedophilia, and incest[9] | Ken Leung | George Takei | Ben Phillips |
| Other characters | ||||
| Evan Wolfson | Founder of Freedom to Marry[9] | Larry Kramer | Cleve Jones | George Raya |
| Maggie Gallagher | NOM President (opponent of same-sex marriage)[9] | Jayne Houdyshell | Jane Lynch | Janis Stevens |
| Broadcast Journalist[9] | Campbell Brown | Unknown | ||
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Ng, David (March 4, 2012). "George Clooney, Brad Pitt lead all-star Prop. 8 play reading". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
- ^ "Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Martin Sheen headline West Coast premiere of marriage-rights play". Associated Press. March 5, 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
- ^ "Holland Taylor, Luke Macfarlane, and More Set for '8' Reading at ACT Tonight, 10/7". Broadway World. October 7, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
- ^ "Dustin Lance Black's "8" Comes to Sacramento - Sacramento Press". Sacramento Press. October 13, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
- ^ See
- "8: Stage A Reading". 8theplay.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
- Riel, Elizabeth; Hersh, Brandon (February 15, 2012). "Complete All-Star Cast for West Coast Premiere of Dustin Lance Black's "8" Announced" (Press release). American Foundation for Equal Rights. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
- Kennedy, Mark (January 17, 2012). "'8,' Dustin Lance Black Gay Marriage Play, Goes National During 2012". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
- Hernandez, Greg. "Dustin Lance Black's Prop. 8 play set for U.S. colleges: At least 40 schools will put on productions of 8 this year". gaystarnews.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
- Long Beach, CA: "'8' The Play Brings Marriage Equality To Long Beach". lbpost.com. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
- Sacramento, CA: "Dustin Lance Black's "8" Comes to Sacramento". The Sacramento Press. sacramentopress.com. Archived from the original on 2013-03-22. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
- Sacramento, CA: Becker, John M. "Prop 8 Play Comes to Northern California". Truth Wins Out. Archived from the original on September 18, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
- ^ McKinley, Jesse (May 27, 2009). "Bush v. Gore Foes Join to Fight Gay Marriage Ban". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
- ^ "Complaint, Perry v. Schwarzenegger" (PDF). American Foundation for Equal Rights. May 22, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
- ^ Brown, Willie (May 31, 2009). "Bush–Gore legal pair push gay marriage suit". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "The Characters". American Foundation for Equal Rights. afer.org. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
External links
edit- Premiere Video – 8: A Play about the Fight for Marriage Equality on YouTube
- 8, the play Archived 2014-02-11 at the Wayback Machine - Official website
- American Foundation for Equal Rights
- Transcripts from Perry Trial