Many great works of literature began as a reaction to the time in which they were written. And in the arena of theatre, history is full of examples where the play unfolds in exciting ways and in a variety of devices.
Arthur Miller's The Crucible chose to illustrate the witch hunts of the ‘50s McCarthy era with a real witch hunt set in the early days of American settlers in Salem. When Dustin Lance Black's (Milk, Big Love, Virginia) latest piece of literature, 8, arrives in Grand Rapids, it will be celebrating a page of our recent history, and often with the very words as they were said and in their proper context.
Why would Black simply cut and paste these transcripts from the still current trial, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, about California's Proposition 8 going before the U.S. Supreme Court this spring?
The simple answer is because when this trial was in the California court system, the videotapes from the trial were banned from being released. In the capable hands of Dustin Lance Black, 8 is born not for the movie screen, but for the stage by using actual testimony to frame this historical trial.
Now after 400 dramatic readings of Black's new play, it arrives to Grand Rapids' community-focused Wealthy Theatre, produced by Actors' Theatre and Fubble Entertainment and under the direction of Fred Sebulske (founding director of Actors' Theatre). (A second performance, according to the producers, had been planned for Holland, but due to very low ticket sales, sadly, the production location of Holland's Park Theater had to be cancelled.)
The cast, made up of veteran actors as well as local personalities, provides an opportunity for the community to see and hear this powerful trial sure to be a part of our dinner conversation and bar room talk as it moves to the highest court in the land.
"With the Supreme Court readying to review the case, the timing couldn't be more perfect. People need to understand what Prop 8 is and why this trial came to be," says Sebulske. "This play is an opportunity to educate ourselves and our communities about this issue."
Even I will have a small role in this play as Evan Wolfson of Freedom To Marry, a marriage equality activist. The role of Wolfson has been previously performed by two very impressive activists: Cleve Jones (creator, AIDS Quilt Project) and Larry Kramer (playwright, The Normal Heart). This role and the opportunities this play offers our community are not something I take lightly.
Admission: $25
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