George Clooney and Brad Pitt starring in Prop 8 play

The stars gathered in Hollywood last Saturday and it wasn’t not for another awards show or party, it was for a fundraising play in support of equal rights and gay marriage.

Brad Pitt signed on to join George Clooney and a star-studded cast for a performance of a play that depicts the legal process behind overturning Proposition 8, which attempted to ban gay marriage.  “8” already ran on Broadway last September and is now getting ready to make a tour of the United States for 2012.  Different actors will be taking on roles as the tour carries on and for a one-night showing only L.A. has promised a cast of big names to appear in the show.

On Saturday March 3rd the show also included:  Martin Sheen, Christine Lahti, Jamie Lee Curtis, Matthew Morrison, Matt Bomer, Kevin Bacon, Jane Lynch, John C. Reilly, Campbell Brown, Chris Colfer, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Cleve Jones, Rory O’Malley, George Takei, Yeardley Smith, Vanessa Garcia, Jansen Panetierre, James Pickens Jr. and Bridger Zadina as well as George Clooney and Brad Pitt.  Pitt played Vaughn R. Walker, the U.S. District judge who ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional and Clooney played David Boies an attorney in the highly publicized trail.

Written by Dustin Lance Black (Milk) and directed by Rob Reiner this performance  highlighted one of the most recognizable trials in recent years, the Federal District court trial of Perry v. Schwarzenegger (now referred to as Perry v. Brown).   Based on the transcripts of the trial, in-depth interviews with the people involved, and first hand accounts of these historic events “8” re-enact the trail that fought for equal marriage rights in California.  The supporters of marriage equality who fought against Prop 8 have welcomed the play as hugely significant because the footage from the trail has not been able to be broadcasted because of legal actions made by those who support the ban on gay marriage.  Presented by the American Foundation for Equal Rights and Broadway Impact, the play was read in the same style as The Laramie Project and The Vagina Monologues do, bringing to life the trial and real life accounts.

The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) has an involved history with this case.  As the sole sponsor of the Perry case the AFER was the force that brought Theodore B. Olson and David Boies together to head the legal team that was against Prop 8.  It’s co-presenter Broadway Impact, as stated on the American Foundation for Equal Rights website, is “a non-profit organization of theatre artists and fans mobilized in support of marriage equality.   BROADWAY IMPACT works to educate and inspire the theatre community into action. ”  Now they have come together to bring there fight to Los Angeles.

Here’s a trailer for the play with some of the stars that participated in its Broadway appearance:

For more information about “8” visit the American Foundation for Equal Rights website http://www.afer.org/