K-State Theatre presenting reading of the play '8'
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
MANHATTAN -- Kansas State University's K-State Theatre, with license from the American Foundation for Equal Rights and Broadway Impact, will present a reading of the play "8," which is based on the federal appeals court case challenging California's Proposition 8, an anti-gay marriage amendment to the state's constitution.
The reading will be at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 7, in Nichols Theatre. Admission is free and the reading is open to the public. Seating will be on a first-come basis, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. The theatre is in Nichols Hall.
Written by Dustin Lance Black, "8" chronicles the appeals court trial that overturned the controversial amendment. The case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court, with a decision expected by the end of June.
Black is an Academy Award-winning screenwriter and founding board member of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, or AFER. The foundation filed the case to overturn Proposition 8. The case was originally Perry v. Schwarzenegger and is now Hollingsworth v. Perry.
Black, who wrote the Academy Award-winning feature film "Milk" and the film "J. Edgar," based "8" on the actual words of the trial transcripts, firsthand observations of the courtroom drama, and interviews with the plaintiffs and their families.
"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," Black said. "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."
The cast will include Kansas State University students and faculty, as well as members of the Manhattan Community. A talk back will follow the performance.
The play had a much-heralded Broadway world premiere on Sept. 19, 2011, at the sold-out Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York City. A Los Angeles reading featured George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Martin Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Jane Lynch and Jamie Lee Curtis, among other celebrities.
More information about "8" is available at the play's website, http://8theplay.com. More information about the university's reading of the play is available by contacting Marci Maullar at marcima@k-state.edu or Jennifer Vellenga at vellenga@k-state.edu.
