Rory O'Malley to Record Personal Video for '8' at Cleveland Play House; Full Cast Announced!

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 (now Hollingsworth 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 creator Andrew 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.