Gavin Creel, Barrett Foa, et al. to Take Part in College Reading of 8, 11/19

The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and partner Broadway Impact just announced a special college "preview" of Academy Award-winning director Dustin Lance Black's play "8", an unprecedented account of the Federal District Court trial in Perry v. Schwarzenegger (now Perry v. Brown), the case filed by AFER to overturn Proposition 8, which eliminated the right to marry for gay and lesbian couples in California.

Black, who penned the Academy Award-winning feature film Milk, based "8" on the actual words of the trial transcripts, first-hand observations of the courtroom drama and interviews with the plaintiffs and their families. "8" debuted with an all-star cast on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York City on September 19, 2011 to much acclaim.

The play is slated for multicity performances in 2012, but will enjoy a college preview in a special production at the University of Michigan on Saturday November 19th at 7:30pm. "8" will be part of the 40th anniversary celebration of the Spectrum Center. This anniversary is auspicious for the University of Michigan as it will celebrate the school's bold move in 1971 to create the nation's first office to support lesbian and gay individuals on campus. Four decades of action later, the school has effectively ensured full inclusion and affirmation for all students and community members.

The cast features noted University of Michigan alumni along side current students from the University's School of Music, Theatre and Dance. The roles of the two attorneys appointed by AFER to overturn Proposition 8 will be played by Gavin Creel, the two-time Tony-nominated Broadway actor and cofounder of Broadway Impact, portraying Theodore B. Olson and Barrett Foa, star of the CBS hit show NCIS: Los Angeles, playing David Boies. The plaintiff for whom the Perry trial is named, Kris Perry, will be performed by Celia Keenan-Bolger, Tony-nominated Broadway actress from the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Additionally, Daniel Reichard, an original Broadway cast member in Jersey Boys, will be playing the role of attorney Chuck Cooper, who represented the Proposition 8 proponents during the trial. Zach Booth, who can otherwise be seen playing Glenn Close's son on the hit TV show Damages will play Ryan Kendall, a witness who testified at trial. The preview also features University of Michigan alumni Danny Gurwin (Little Women) as Chief Judge Vaughn Walker, Joe Gallagher (Tom Sawyer), Michael Zahler (Spelling Bee National Tour), and Maddy Wyatt.

"People need to witness what happened in the Proposition 8 trial, if for no other reason than to see inequality and discrimination unequivocally rejected in a court of law where truth and facts matter," said AFER founding board member Dustin Lance Black. "The goal of ‘8' is to show the world that marriage equality is a basic constitutional right. The facts are on our side and truth always finds the light. AFER and Broadway Impact are doing all we can to help speed that process along."
Following the New York debut and the University of Michigan special performance, AFER and Broadway Impact will license "8" to schools and community organizations nationwide in order to spur action, dialogue and understanding.

"The reading of ‘8' will be an historic event at the University of Michigan," said Jackie Simpson, Director of the Spectrum Center. "One of the ways individuals in the state of Michigan have been trying to address legislation that could have a negative impact on LGBT youth and on LGBT domestic partner benefits, is through storytelling. We need to capture and show how anti-gay legislation impacts the lives of human beings. '8' does just that; it keeps the stories alive because there is still work to do."

AFER and Broadway Impact will coordinate staged readings of the play across the country, so that "8" will live on for those who were not lucky enough to see the trial with their own eyes. The proponents of Proposition 8 desperately tried to keep the video record of their definitive loss in trial blocked from public view.

The story for "8" is framed by the trial's historic closing arguments in June 2010, but features the best arguments and witness testimony presented by both legal teams. Scenes include reenactments of many of the jaw-dropping moments of trial, such as the admission by the Proposition 8 supporters' star witness David Blankenhorn that "we would be more American on the day we permitted same-sex marriage than we were on the day before."

AFER prevailed in federal district court when Chief Judge Walker concluded that California had no rational basis or vested interest in denying gays and lesbians marriage licenses, and thus found Proposition 8 "unconstitutional" on August 4, 2010, based on the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It is currently under appeal by the anti-marriage proponents and is being expedited through the court system at a relatively rapid pace.

Unfortunately, the American public was not given a chance to witness the historic trial because the proponents of Proposition 8 launched a number of desperate attempts to forever hide the trial videotapes. Although the trial proceedings were open to the public, and all courtroom testimony and events were thoroughly documented, the trial video most vividly compares the weakness of the proponents' arguments to the well-reasoned, valid and constitutionally-based arguments and evidence put forth by AFER's renowned legal team, plaintiffs and expert witnesses.

The trial videotapes have been kept under seal due to a federal protective order, but after AFER attorneys made a strong case, Chief Judge Ware at the U.S. District Court agreed that the trial footage should and will be released to the public. The anti-marriage proponents immediately appealed Judge Ware's decision, so the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will hear oral arguments on December 8 regarding AFER's motion to unseal the trial tapes.

For more information including how to buy tickets, visit: www.afer.org/broadway8
For information on how your local theater can produce "8," visit: www.BROADWAYIMPACT.com
Follow "8"on Twitter: @8theplay or on Facebook.