A group of actors from Broadway, film and television have come together to put on a play about racial tension.

Inspiration for the play is taken directly from current events, says Tony Award-winner George Faison, who is directing the performance.

The story of "12 Angry Men" follows a dozen men from different backgrounds around the country as they deal with racism, bigotry and other racially charged issues.

"It's not just the everyday guy on the block that this is happening to," says actor Jason Dirden. "It's happening to lawyers, doctors, politicians, journalists, who are just trying to do their jobs, trying to get home to their families."

Dirden says the play aims to inform people in a way that will change their assumptions and prejudices.

"Now we have an African-American president," says Roscoe Orman, another actor in the cast. "But still we see from the current headlines that there's still this deeply inherent racism that exists particularly in terms of the relationship between law enforcement and young black men."