"8" the play review

Theatergoers who attended one of the two showings of "8" at Governors State University witnessed an evening of important, thought-provoking theater, highlighted by passionate performances.

"8" centers on two same-sex couples who fought to have Proposition 8 repealed. Proposition 8 was passed in 2008 by California voters to amend the California State Constitution to define marriage as being between only a man and a woman, effectively making same-sex marriage in California illegal. The play is based on court transcripts from the closing argument of trial, interviews with participants in the trial, and author Dustin Lance Black's first hand observations of the trial.

Most of the play is set at the trial, with intermittent scenes giving a more intimate look into the lives of Jeff Zarillo (played by Charlie Lubeck of The Glee Project), Paul Katami (played by Steve Greist), Sandy Steir (played by Meghan Hoyt), and Kris Perry (played by Regina Gadotti), the same-sex couples who filed suit against Proposition 8. The play gave the audience a view into both sides of the marriage equality argument, with testimony from both sides of the argument being presented.

Deborah Brunette-Cairns gave a notable performance as the unlikeable Maggie Gallagher of the National Marriage Organization. The greatest performance of the show, however, was by Warren Sampson, who played Theodore P. Olson, one of the lawyers representing the same-sex couples. His passionate speech about the basic human rights same-sex couples should have was the greatest highlight of a show that featured many.

Christopher Kelley also gave an emotional performance as Ryan Kendall, a young man who testified at the trial about his time spent in "reparative therapy" intended to rid him of his homosexuality.

"8" also featured Aylin Bayramoglu, Dani Shay, and Ali Stroker of season 2 of The Glee Project. The Glee Project is a reality television show on the Oxygen network, on which contestants compete for a role on the Fox Network show Glee.