Politics & Government

Venice-based L.A. Theatre Works to Broadcast Gay Marriage Legal Dramatization

An all-star cast that includes George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Martin Sheen, Jamie Lee Curtis and John C. Reilly were recorded performing "8," a dramatization of the legal battle over California's Proposition 8.

An all-star cast that includes George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Kevin Bacon, Jamie Lee Curtis and John C. Reilly has been recorded by Venice-based L.A. Theatre Works performing "8," a dramatization of the legal battle in California over gay marriage.

The drama was writen by Dustin Lance Black, an Academy Award-winnng screenwriter for the 2008 film Milk and a gay rights activist, and was directed by Rob Reiner, whose directing credits include The Princess Bride, Stand by Me and This Is Spinal Tap, according to a statement from L.A. Theatre Works.

"8" is based on the legal fight against California's Proposition 8, a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in 2008 by voters that recognized marriage as being only between a man and a woman. The script is based on trial transcripts and observations of the federal trial in Perry v. Schwarzeneggger that challenged Proposition 8. Black has said that he wrote the play to provide a true account of the court proceedings since video recording of the trial was not allowed.

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Pitt portrays U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who ruled that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional after presiding over a 12-day public trial. Clooney, an Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actor for 2005's Syriana, and famed actor Martin Sheen portray lead co-counsel David Boies and Theodore B. Olson.

Bacon plays Charles J. Cooper, the lead attorney for the Proposition 8 supporters and Reilly plays David Blankenhorn, founder and president of the Institute for American Values, who was called to the stand as an expert witness by proponents of Proposition 8, the statement said.

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The dramatization will air on public radio stations across the United States during the week of June 9 as part of Gay Pride month in June via L.A. Theatre Works' nationally syndicted radio theater series. It is scheduled to be heard locally in Southern California on June 10 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on radio station KPFK, 90.7 FM, and will be available for streaming on demand June 9 at www.latw.org. An audiobook and digital download will be made available June 1 on iTunes, Amazon and other major retailers.

L.A. Theatre Works in March recorded the West Coast premiere of "8" at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre as part of a benefit event that raised more than $2 million for proponents of marriage equality on the federal level.

L.A. Theatre Works can be heard on the following stations: 90.7 FM KPFK in Southern California; 89.7 FM WGBH in Boston; 91.5 FM WBEZ in Chicago; 94.9 FM KUOW in Seattle and 91.1 FM KRCB in San Francisco. Check local listings for broadcast times.


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