Dustin Lance Black's Proposition 8 Play Will Be A Star-Studded Affair

Last month, we got the news that a play about Proposition 8, directed by Dustin Lance Blank, was headed to Broadway as a benefit show for the American Foundation for Equal Rights.

We now have a few more details about "8" that will make you wish this staged reading was running longer than a day. It involves Morgan Freeman, and when you put staged reading and Freeman's voice together, you know something incredible is going to happen.

Aside from Freeman, other members of the initial cast include Rob Reiner, Anthony Edwards, Marisa Tomei, Cheyenne Jackson, Christine Lahti and Yeardley Smith.

The show will follow the trial of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the case AFER filed with the federal district court to overturn Prop.8, the gay marriage bill that struck down the right for gay and lesbian couples to marry in California.

Black -- who writes for "Big Love" and won an Academy Award for "Milk" for Best Original Screenplay -- researched for "8" by going through trial transcripts, firsthand accounts from the courtroom, and interviews with the plaintiffs and their families.

Video from the trial has never been viewed before, due to a federal protective order, which is a reason why Black wrote "8" in the first place.

According to the press release, this show will live on in a different form beyond its performance on Broadway:

AFER and Broadway Impact will license “8” to schools and community organizations nationwide in order to spur action, dialogue and understanding. AFER and Broadway Impact will help produce these staged readings across the country, so that “8” will live on beyond its September premiere.

The reading will be performed Sept. 19 at the Eugene O’Neill Theater in New York.