Diverse Cast Announced for "8"
Posted June 10, 2013 in Press Releases
by Ed Gilchrist, Director of Marketing
CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE ANNOUNCES CASTING OF DUSTIN LANCE BLACK’S “8”
Government, Arts, and Community Leaders Take the Stage in One-Night-Only Reading of Marriage Equality Play
CLEVELAND, OH (June 10, 2013) – Cleveland Play House, with license from the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and Broadway Impact, will produce a one-night-only staged reading of “8,” a play chronicling the historic trial in the federal constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8, written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter and AFER Founding Board Member Dustin Lance Black. “8” is an unprecedented account of the Federal District Court trial in Perry v. Schwarzenegger (nowHollingsworth v. Perry), the case filed by AFER to overturn Proposition 8, which stripped gay and lesbian Californians of the fundamental freedom to marry. The Supreme Court will hand down a decision on the constitutionality of this case in this month. The reading will be held in the Allen Theatre at PlayhouseSquare, Sunday, June 30, 2013 at 5:00 pm. Tickets are on sale now, at two levels: $25 public ticket (includes reading and post-show discussion), and a limited number of $100 premium tickets (includes priority seating for the reading, post-discussion and a private reception with cast and special guests). All net proceeds will be shared equally between the American Foundation for Equal Rights and the Cleveland chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). Call 216-241-6000 or visit clevelandplayhouse.com to purchase tickets. The 21-person cast of the Cleveland Play House production will feature community leaders including Senator Nina Turner, Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman, Cash Mob creatorAndrew Samtoy, and Christopher “Kory” Beale of Cleveland’s New 102 (102.1FM), along with many prominent local actors. Contributing personal video messages will be Senator Sherrod Brown, Chad Griffin - President, Human Rights Campaign, and Rory O’Malley, Lakewood native, Tony Award nominee and co-founder of Broadway Impact.
Complete “8” Cast (In Alphabetical Order): Catherine Albers Heather Anderson Boll Christopher "Kory" Beale, of Cleveland's New 102 Councilman Joe Cimperman Celeste Consentino Jeffrey Grover Joel Hammer David Hansen Charles Kartali Dan Kilbane Sarah Kinsey Peter Lawson Jones Michael Mauldin Cameron McKendry Chris Richards Andrew Samtoy Scott Spence Miles Sternfeld Senator Nina Turner Beth Wood Jimmie Woody
Post-Performance Discussion Moderator: Dan Moulthrop - CEO, The City Club of Cleveland Panelists:
Tim Downing - National Board of Directors, Human Rights Campaign and Aliya Rahman:Field Director, Equality Ohio. (Third panelist TBA)
To purchase tickets, call 216-241-6000 or visit clevelandplayhouse.com. For information on how your local theater can produce “8,” visit: www.8theplay.com
Follow “8”on Twitter: @8theplay or on Facebook.
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ABOUT THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR EQUAL RIGHTS The American Foundation for Equal Rights is the sole sponsor of Hollingsworth v. Perry, the federal constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8. After bringing together Theodore B. Olson and David Boies to lead its legal team, AFER successfully advanced the Perry case through Federal District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Foundation is committed to achieving full federal marriage equality for all Americans.
www.AFER.org
ABOUT BROADWAY IMPACT
Broadway Impact is the only grassroots organization of the theatre community and its fans mobilized in support of marriage equality. Tony Award-nominees Rory O'Malley (The Book of Mormon) and Gavin Creel (HAIR) and Production Coordinator Jenny Kanelos founded the organization in direct response to the passage of California’s Proposition 8 in November 2008. Currently, Broadway Impact, in partnership with AFER, licenses and coordinates readings of Dustin Lance Black's "8" at regional, community and university theaters around the world. Broadway Impact was the recipient of the 2009 Human Rights Campaign Community Award and proudly operates under the fiscal sponsorship of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. www.broadwayimpact.com
ABOUT CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE Founded in 1915, Cleveland Play House is America’s first professional regional theatre. Throughout its rich history, Cleveland Play House has remained dedicated to its mission to inspire, stimulate and entertain diverse audiences in Northeast Ohio by producing plays and theatre education programs of the highest professional standards. It has produced more than 100 world and/or American premieres, and over its long history more than 12 million people have attended over 1,300 CPH productions. Today, Cleveland Play House looks toward its centennial while performing in three state-of-the art venues at PlayhouseSquare in downtown Cleveland.www.clevelandplayhouse.com
