Last night, over 200,000 viewers tuned into the live stream of the play “8”; a staged reading documenting the trial of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, a result of the infamous Proposition 8 ballot initiative which barred gay and lesbian couples from being legally wed. The LA premiere showcased a dynamic and talent-filled cast including George Clooney, Martin Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Jane Lynch, John C. Reilly, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Chris Colfer just to name a few. The play pieces together the key, integral elements of the trial while splicing in commercials, news pieces, and various other propaganda pieces from the defendants of Proposition 8. The juxtaposition of the two highlights the defendants’ use of fear and discrimination as sound and legal arguments as to why same-sex couples should be denied the right to marriage. The fear, that if same-sex couples were to marry it would surely lead to the degradation of American morality; thought they couldn’t prove this nor felt it was their obligation to do so. Instead, they rested on their laurels, planning on playing off the discriminatory views of some narrow-minded Americans. Their primary argument was that same-sex marriage would lead to marriage’s deinstitutionalization and invariably harm children, both within the same-sex household and in heterosexual relationships. It reminded me of the one Miss Lovejoy from the The Simpsons, with her insistent whining of “won’t someone please think of the children!”

I was able to view the entire play on Youtube and highly recommend it to anyone. It is a heart-felt reminder of the emotional, psychological, and sometimes legal ramifications that these senseless displays of political prejudice has on people. Two of my favorite moments of the play reinforce that fact. One involves plaintiff Kris Perry, played by the exquisite Christine Lahti, convincing her sons, as well as the audience, that despite what the defendants said, they were not a reproductive mistake. The other was in the closing argument from lawyer Theodore B. Olsen, played by Martin Sheen, who gives an impassioned speech, relating that they have put fear and discrimination on trial today. This 90-minute play is not one to be missed; click her to watch the production in full.