I was a member of the National Council of Actors Equity during the aftermath of 9/11. When the curtains went back up two days later, I attended a preview of Urinetown. The first few jokes were met with forced laughter. We knew we needed to laugh, and we wanted to let the performers know that we were there with them, but it didnt come naturally at first. As the show went on, the laughter came more easily. The audience and the cast were in this together, and the camaraderie was palpable. Certain moments took on a different meaning than expected. For one, when Little Sally says They can punish our bodies, but theyll never punish our spirit, it is supposed to be comically melodramatic. Yet it was met with quite a bit of applause, with some hearing it as a rallying call in the wake of the attacks. Another moment came near the end of the show, when a brilliant sight gag is executed. Bobby Strong is thrown off the roof of a building, and a brick wall rushes towards him until he splats onto the pavement of the street below (as if were watching from above). We had all spent days watching people jumping helplessly from the 110 floors of the World Trade Center, and the comedy of the moment suddenly stood for something completely different. There were two or three quick bursts of laughter, but the rest of us were silent. Chilling. I spoke with the cast after the show, letting them know that the Council was there for them if they needed anything. They told me that they had discussed cutting some things from the show, but the ultimate decision was that changing the show would be giving in to the fear and letting the terrorists win. In the following days, I attended performances of The Spitfire Grill and The Rocky Horror Show. Following curtain call at all of the shows (as they did after Urinetown), the casts led the audience in singing God Bless America or The Star-Spangled Banner. New Yorkers and tourists came together as one, grieving and commiserating. The whole city took on a different vibe, as people met each others eyes more, held the subway door for people running to catch a train. We were all in this together. It was a horrible time, but it was also an amazing time.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 13:41:26 +0000
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