It’ll be one of the most star-studded plays in history! On March 3rd at LA’s Wilshire Ebell Theatre, a special gala reading is taking place of Dustin Lance Black’s play, 8. The cast has now been completed with Chris Colfer (Glee), Kevin Bacon, and John C. Reilly signing on to join the already starry ensemble, all supporting the fight to have Prop 8 – which banned gay marriage in California – repealed.
Colfer, Bacon and Reilly join George Clooney, Jane Lynch, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Matt Bomer, Jamie Lee Curtis, George Takei, Matthew Morrison, Yeardley Smith, Campbell Brown, Rory O’Malley, and activist Cleve Jones in the production, which will be the West Coast premiere of the play. 8 is based on the transcript of the court case that overturned Proposition 8 (a decision that is currently working its ways through the appeals court), as well as interviews with the plaintiffs and their families.
Chris Colfer will play Ryan Kendall, a young man who testified about his experience being sent by his parents to so-called “reparative therapy” as a teenager. John C. Reilly will play United States District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who found Proposition 8 unconstitutional after presiding over the historic 12-day public trial. Kevin Bacon will play Charles J. Cooper, the lead attorney for the anti-marriage proponents of Proposition 8
It’ll certainly be an interesting evening, although if you want to go, you’re out of luck as tickets for the charity event have long sold out. The one-night-only event is expected to raise $2 million for the American Foundation for Equal Rights.