A crowd gathered on the campus of King's College in downtown Wilkes-Barre Monday afternoon, chatting with excitement between bouts of catching a glimpse of the solar eclipse through the clouds. But the sun wasn't the only star on campus this week. Longtime actor, filmmaker, and celebrity activist Martin Sheen is visiting Kings to connect with the community and hold a play reading.
By the end of the eclipse’s totality, Sheen – known for his roles in Apocalypse Now, Wall Street, and The West Wing - was spotted across the quad shaking hands, smiling, and obliging a barrage of cell phone photos.
Not long after, Sheen made his way to George P. Maffei Theatre with nearly two dozen members of the Kings Theatre community, mostly students, to begin their first rehearsal together. The play, entitled “8”, is written by Dustin Lance Black. It recounts the closing arguments of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the federal trial that led to the overturn of Proposition 8, California’s anti-gay marriage amendment. Black wrote the piece using courtroom transcripts when video of the proceedings would not be released.
Sheen is reading the role of Judge Vaughn Walker, and student actors and others from around campus filled in as the trial’s lawyers, witnesses, and talking-heads.
King's Theatre’s Jahmeel Powers is one of the actors taking to the witness stand. He plays the role of David Blankenhorn, an expert witness and notable figurehead in efforts to ban gay marriage, whose testimony and position change by the end of the trial.
Powers took a moment to reflect on building his character by turning depositions into drama.
“He kind of takes the side of, like, y’know, marriage is traditionally scribed in one way. It’s really funny - kind of a comedic take on that, like, y’know, what is the definition of an 'expert witness’," Powers said.
"It was really great to be able to kind of look this guy up – not only look up who he is and what he represents, and what he does for a living, but I was actually able to see footage of like, the trial when he was giving the original testimony."
After rehearsal, director David Reynolds recounted how Sheen’s visit to campus was born out of a surprise meeting with the actor. Reynolds, who is also the Theatre department chair, recalls that Sheen was in town during the fall semester to visit his attorney and friend, Joe Cosgrove.
“And so he came, and we did the picture. But honestly before we even did the
picture, he (Martin) just kind of sat down by the Virgin Mary statue, and the kids all sat at his feet… and then he, just, it was two hours of addressing each one of them, by name …’What’s a favorite role of yours?’ and then just sharing stories about his time in the theatre and his time in – y’know it was an amazing experience for us, " Reynolds remembers.
"It was the night of our readthrough for Antony & Cleopatra, so that kicked off our Shakespeare production season. And then somewhere, I think, right before Christmas, actually Joe Cosgrove said this was something Martin wanted to do."
At a Tuesday press conference for the reading, Sheen sat in the play’s witness chair, and student-actors flanked him onstage. He and Cosgrove held court with the ensemble, one of whom shared how the actor came to that Sunday’s mass, and they sang his favorite him hymn “How can I keep from singing?” Sheen was quick to lead the troupe in an impromptu recital - a moment of faith intersecting with his work. After the singing ended, Sheen offered a final reminder that the original trial was initially withheld in judicial procedure.
“Yeah, the plaintiffs moved to have it broadcast and the defendants said ‘no’”, Sheen said of the transcripts, adding “– because they realized that it would be ludicrous … their testimony was so ludicrous and prejudice. And they lost.”
Both performances of “8” scheduled for Wednesday sold out within minutes of the
announcement going live on the King’s social media accounts, but anyone still interested can stream them live by visiting the Kings College Facebook page.