Jane Lynch, Matthew Morrison to Join George Clooney in Dustin Lance Black Play ‘8’

Rob Reiner and Martin Sheen also will appear in the one-night-only play about the anti-gay marriage Proposition 8

It was a pretty big deal when George Clooney agreed to perform in Dustin Lance Black's play "8."

It just got bigger.

Jane Lynch, Matthew Morrison, Rob Reiner, Martin Sheen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Campbell Brown, Matt Bomer, Cleve Jones, Christine Lahti, Rory O'Malley, Yeardley Smith and George Takei also will star, the producers said Thursday.

"8" is about the trial in a San Francisco federal court that overturned California's Proposition 8, which banned gays and lesbians from marrying.

Also read: George Clooney Starring in Prop 8 Play From Dustin Lance Black

Black wrote the play based on transcripts of the trail, interviews with plaintiffs and their families, and what he witnessed in the courtroom during the proceedings. Black won an Academy Award for his screenplay to "Milk," about gay-rights activist Harvey Milk, and narrated the 2010 documentary "8: The Mormon Proposition."

Clooney and Sheen will play renowned lawyers David Boies and Theodore B. Olsen, respectively. Boies and Olsen were rivals in the Bush v. Gore case but joined forced to try to defeat Proposition 8.

Curtis and Lahti will play Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, a lesbian couple who sue to overturn the measure. Morrison and Bomer will play Paul Katami and Jeff Zarillo, a gay couple who also sued.

Lynch, an out-of-the-closet lesbian, will play Maggie Gallagher, an opponent of marriage equality. Reiner, known for his progressive views, will play David Blankenhorn, founder and president of the Institute for American Values.

The American Foundation for Equal Rights and Broadway Impact are licensing "8" at no charge to colleges and community theaters nationwide later this year.

The all-star West Coast premiere is scheduled for March 3 at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles.

Comments