Los Angeles (dpa) – Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt and George Clooney are joining a star-studded play about the gay marriage controversy in California, producers announced Thursday. The play, called 8, was written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Lance Black and focuses on the legal battle to introduce gay marriage in the state. According to the announcement, Pitt will play a judge in the case who came out as gay after issuing a ruling in favor of gay marriage, while Clooney will play a high-profile lawyer who argued in favor of allowing same-sex unions. The title refers to Proposition 8, which the state passed in November 2008, outlawing same-sex marriages in California, where they had been allowed since a ruling in June that year. Other stars set to appear in the Saturday premiere of the play include Martin Sheen (as the plaintiff's lead co-counsel), Christine Lahti and Jamie Lee Curtis (as a lesbian couple), Matthew Morrison and Matt Bomer (as a gay couple), as well as Kevin Bacon, Jane Lynch and John C Reilly. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/6Nhui Tags: Brad Pitt, California, Gay, George Clooney, LGBT Section: Culture, Entertainment