George Clooney to Star in Prop 8 Play
By: Rick Andreoli
12.14.2011
The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Oscar-winning actor George Clooney will team up with fellow Oscar recipient, openly gay screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, to star in the West Coast premiere of 8. The stage play is directed by Rob Reiner and chronicles the Federal District Court trial in Perry v. Schwarzenegger. This case was filed by the American Foundation for Equal Rights to overturn Proposition 8, which stripped gay and lesbian Californians of the fundamental right to marry. The play ran in New York earlier this year, and featured such names as Morgan Freeman, Ellen Barkin, John Lithgow and Bradley Whitford. A similar star-studded cast should be announced soon for the LA production.
Clooney is known for using his celebrity to help out numerous philanthropic and human rights causes, whether that be hosting events to support tsunami relief in Haiti or assisting AIDs charities. In the article Clooney is adds to that list. He's quoted as saying, “It is astonishing that gay and lesbian Americans are still treated as second-class citizens. I am confident that, very soon, the laws of this nation will reflect the basic truth that gay and lesbian people -- like all human beings -- are born equal in dignity and rights.”
The play will run one night only on March 3 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, and proceeds will benefit the American Foundation for Equal Rights.
Photo: The Hollywood Reporter
