Broadway on 9/11 and after- Page 3

[Yankgrl46]

Posted: 2/13/07 at 7:57pm

Wexy, I too remember attending a Yankees game post 9-11. TOne game I went to happened to be during Cal Ripken's final trip to Yankees Stadium. It rained the entire night and the staff was forced to take all umbrellas. Despite bickering and arguing, over 50,000 fans understood that there were worse things than sitting in the rain for a few hours. The Yankees that year made it a little bit easier to get through the days.

My first Broadway trip was Phantom around the 19th? I believe of September. I had received the tickets as a birthday present from my parents for turning 21. The theater was mostly empty, but it certainly did not impact the performers. It felt good just to get out and do something.

I also attended a skating event at Madison Square Garden in early October of that year. What was origianlly to be an ordinary skating event turned into a tribute to NY. By far the most inspiring moment of the night came when a young lady skated in tribute to her brother who died on United 93. There was not a dry eye in the house that night.

A lot has changed.

[gymdudeva]

Posted: 2/13/07 at 8:54pm

Some show (I think it was Bat Boy) gave out free tickets to firefighters and policemen ....or somethign like that...in the weeks after 9/11.

[gertiecummings]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 2:49pm

I'm writing a paper on post 9/11 musical theatre and this board has helped me so much. I may message some of you and ask if I can use direct quotes from you. Thanks.

[BroadwayEnthusiast2]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 3:09pm

"As he reached the climax of the song, there was a bang on the piano; a flash of red light; and the two towers holding the flags toppled over."
What? oh my God, why did that happen? why did he put the flags there and wow, i can't even imagine what it was like...

[theyonk96]

Posted: 6/2/11 at 12:17am

After reading this thread, I got chills because it was so interesting and scary. I was wondering if maybe we could continue with it because although its been a few years, I feel that its important to share our stories and the stories of other shows. Please, please, please take this seriously. I lost somebody very close to me on that day, and the theatre was my only escape. So I think it would be great for all if we kept this thread going.

Thank you very much

[once a month]

Posted: 6/2/11 at 11:53am

Coming into the city following the attacks was a very emotional experience, and not due to the productions I saw. Thou Shalt Not, Puppetry of the Penis, Reefer Madness and Mamma Mia (in that order) weren't quite enough to extinguish the panic I felt inside and none remained memorable to me, most likely dwarfed by the reality at hand. Luckily, I saw a late preview of Urinetown (loved it) so that remains detatched in my mind.

The theatres were nearly empty with only a dozen to see Michele Pawk in Reefer Madness. I felt like they performed the show just for me.

[AnythingGoes2]

Posted: 6/2/11 at 12:10pm

I think the West End suffered too. Witches of Eastwick, Notre Damn closed early to think of. I remember Kiss Me Kate was due to open October 2011 and that was rumoured to be delayed or cancelled at the Victoria Palace - but it went ahead and did very well actually, but sales and audiences were very low Autumn 2011.

I think it also contributed to bringing off Starlight and Cats in London, it just felt like an era was over and new things had to come through.

[AnythingGoes2]

Posted: 6/2/11 at 12:11pm

I think the West End suffered too. Witches of Eastwick, Notre Damn closed early to think of. I remember Kiss Me Kate was due to open October 2011 and that was rumored to be delayed or canceled at the Victoria Palace - but it went ahead and did very well actually, but sales and audiences were very low Autumn 2011.

I think it also contributed to bringing off Starlight and Cats in London, it just felt like an era was over and new things had to come through.

I think the effects of 9/11 brought in more New York/Happy revivals and feel-good musicals. People wanted to feel happy and "leave their troubles behind" - so shows like "Wonderful Town" , "Hairspray" showed that.

[Johnnycantdecide]

Posted: 6/2/11 at 12:27pm

This is one of the most chilling and remarkable threads I have read all the way through on BWW.

I was nine when it happened and living in South Carolina. I remember my teacher leaving the class throughout the day and we did not know why. We later learned that they where being told by the administration what was going on. The first inkling that something was wrong was during the afternoon announcements. That principal told us that something terrible had happened but she would not tell us what. She told us to go home and be with our parents. I thought that the President had been killed. On the bus ride home, our bus driver told us that some "hotel buildings had caught on fire." I remember seeing my mother at the door as I came from the bus stop and I remember her hugging me. We went upstairs and she told me what happened. I remember sobbing because I thought my house was going to be bombed. I remember that fear.

That night I had a performance of The Music Man at the Community Theater in our town. And we went on. One of our cast members, who was in the school board in the show, was a member of either the national guard or the army one. He had to go away to be at the state house. But we went on that night with someone in his place. I remember the audience having like.. 50 people in it. And I remember seeing God Bless America at the end.

I will never forget performing on September 11th.

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 6/2/11 at 5:20pm

I too will never ever forget this day. My 7 year old son just started 2nd grade. All NYC parents were told to pick up their children a school ASAP. Panic ensued. My husband worked on John Street. Witnessed the entire attack. Didn't hear from him for most of the day. He walked on foot up Broadway and over the 59th Street Bridge then up Queens Blvd. He walked in at 10 pm. My mom was in NYC from Boca. She had a 11:00 am flight from LaG back to Florida. No planes, trains or buses. She was stuck here for 6 days and then had to take Amtrack to escape. My neighborhood in Queens lost at least 30 residents, many people I knew.

As for me: I suffer from severe asthma. It took my doctor and me several years to realize the attacks started right after 9/11. I am alive, I am thankful.

The stories go on and on. Theater in pos 9/11 weeks was the last thing on my mind.

[wendilin622]

Posted: 6/2/11 at 7:29pm

This thread brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for your stories everyone.

[chernjam]

Posted: 6/2/11 at 9:26pm

Living right within 15 miles of the WTC site, it was such a bizarre time. I had been to a Yankee game the Friday before 9/11 and because of NY traffic, ended up driving through lower manhattan after the game. It was the clearest night, and I looked at the skyline at the towers and said to my buddy I was driving with "Man that view never gets old." The morning of 9/11 I'll never forget him sobbing on the phone saying he kept remembering me saying that as he watched those pictures over and over again on the news of the devastation.

In terms of Broadway, I had gotten tickets for Andrew LLoyd Webber's By Jeeves which was opening in late September (I think). After 9/11 the producers cancelled the production. But ALW stepped in (again, I think) and they went ahead with the production. The show is a goof in a lot of ways, and while I wasn't a huge fan of the music/story when I had first heard the London Production, when I finally saw it in October, it was really one of the greatest distractions I could have had. Being to too many funerals and all, to get lost in the world of Bertie Wooster and all these silly characters was a relief.

The theatre I'll never forget was meant to feel/look like a school house, and they had decked it out with Red White and Blue Buntings and decorations - it looked like the 4th of July. And I remember the cast being among the audience before the show, in character, and really pouring themselves out to help you feel like you were really in this school house and to forget all the tragedy we were dealing with.

For the respite that it provided, By Jeeves probably holds a greater place in my memory in terms of "theatre" that I think back to then it would have otherwise.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/2/11 at 9:53pm

"That principal told us that something terrible had happened but she would not tell us what."

Jesus Christ. Sounds like that principal was a real genius.

"On the bus ride home, our bus driver told us that some 'hotel buildings had caught on fire.'"

Really. It's okay by me if the South wants to secede.

[ILuv2shop531]

Posted: 6/2/11 at 10:12pm

I was 10 years old and in 5th grade when the attacks happened. I live in NJ, so it was very scary to in close proximity to the city (I am in north jersey so I am about 30 minutes away). Our principal had told us we were not aloud to go outside, as there were killer bees around, later in the afternoon I would find out the truth though.

I have grown up with theater for aslong as I can remember, so it was a shock to my system to not being seeing shows as much as i usually did right away. My town was very theatrical, I credit it with my career as a performer even, and our annual holiday show was turned into a tribute to America called "Celebrate America". I remember it got local attention.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/2/11 at 10:39pm

Dear god. "Mustn't frighten the children, so I shall tell them killer bees are around. That will keep them calm."

These people really shouldn't be allowed near children.

[bluebubbles]

Posted: 6/2/11 at 10:59pm

Namo, please, this is a thread devoted to remembering 9/11 and post 9/11 New York (and the rest of the world for that matter), in a respectable, honorable way. This is not the time or place to bring in any unnecessary criticism or negativity.

[eponine88]

Posted: 6/2/11 at 11:52pm

As someone whose father was an FDNY captain who died on 9/11, reading this thread has been so incredibly powerful. Thank you all for sharing your stories. I remember right after the attacks my mom was fairly wary about going into the city (and being only 12 there was no way my mother would let me go on my own), so I can vividly remember the times I was in Manhattan in the following months.

The first time was October 2nd (my father's birthday)- we drove into the city to visit my dad's firehouse only to have our car break down in midtown. A passing police car (one of the only vehicles on the road at the time) wound up taking us the rest of the way and a fire truck drove us home to Queens afterwards. Riding on the truck, it was incredible to see how many people stopped and saluted or broke out into cheers as the truck passed.

The second time I was in Manhattan post-9/11 was on November 11th. The Big Apple Circus had given a large block of tickets to the FDNY, which were then distributed to the families. My aunt and cousins came with my mom, my sisters, and I, and my sisters wound up going home with my aunt. It was the first time my mom was able to not have all 3 of us sleeping in her room with her. The next morning a plane crashed a few blocks from my house, and the bridges were closed again so we couldn't get to my sisters. Needless to say after that one, my mom was even worse about going far from home... But it was tremendous to see how the neighborhood bonded together and started putting out the fire and looking for survivors even before the emergency vehicles could reach where the plane had crashed.

The third time I was in Manhattan post-9/11 was for the Christmas party sponsored by the Uniformed Fire Officers Association for the widows and children. It had been something they did every year even before 9/11 for line of duty families, but with 343 members of the FDNY killed on 9/11 alone, they didn't have the resources or the space to throw a party for that many kids. Toys R Us Times Square wound up offering to open the store late the Thursday before Thanksgiving and donating the space for the party as well as toys to serve as our (early) Christmas presents. Going in to the party, NYers were lining the streets waving and applauding for us, and more people than I ever would have imagined donated time or money to the party- dressing in costume, doing facepainting, blowing up balloons, or toys for our Christmas presents. As traumatized as I was by what had happened, it really struck me how much NYers bonded together during those months to take care of their own.

The first time I was able to go see a show post-9/11 was on the first Father's Day following the attacks. My mom decided that it would be a good idea to go out and do something rather than spending the day hising out avoiding well-meaning friends and family. Since my dad would always buy my mom tickets for shows for birthdays/holidays we decided a show would be appropriate, and we wound up seeing Aida. Going to a Broadway show on Father's Day is a tradition we have continued every year since :)

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/2/11 at 11:55pm

The fact is that frightening children with lies is disrespecting the truth of what happened as well as insulting to children.

[spike3]

Posted: 6/6/11 at 1:05pm

all shows were closed until Thurs eve. Most of the musicals- if not all- before they started had the orchestra play the national anthem.On alot of shows the cast and crew offered to take pay cuts or deferred payments so they could continue running-Chicago was one of those shows. Also alot of shows were selling heavily discounted tix to get people in the theatres. Dance of Death was in rehearsal that day, it was getting ready to start previews at the Broadhurst the following week. After a short break to see what was going on and to assess the situation, rehearsals continued for the day. The show started previews on the scheduled date. Outside the Plymouth where Thou Shat Not was playing was a candle light vigil, cast and crew were there and anyone who wanted to stop and join could.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 6/6/11 at 1:36pm

I was catually in the city at the time from here in the UK with my little sister, our trip was extended due to not being able to fly back home. It was such a sad time but i remember the people in New York being incredible, really coming together, it was very heart warming. Everyone was so nice to me and my sister as well, she was only 11 or 12 and very scared. Oddly enough i was then in London on the 7/7 attacks.

It impacted the West End as well, Witches of Eastwick, Beautful Game and Closer to Heaven were all hit hard, people just seemed to be staying away from major city's. I was doing a show at the time in London and remember very clearly attendance dropping. I think London was bracing itself for an attack, and they were right.

[wexy]

Posted: 6/6/11 at 3:32pm

A few months later, I remember walking up to the Atlantic Theater Co for a play and passing all the fading "Missing" flyers that people posted on lamp posts and walls with pictures of their loved ones on them.

[nygrl232]

Posted: 6/6/11 at 3:41pm

Mamie, that was really moving. Thank you for sharing that.

[blaxx]

Posted: 6/6/11 at 4:18pm

I remember the commercials to bring people back to NYC and Broadway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p-MjX3yCPk&feature=related

[Wynbish]

Posted: 9/11/12 at 10:04am

Bump, in case anyone else wants to read this

[loliveve]

Posted: 9/11/12 at 11:21am

Thank you for bumping this.

... and many thanks to all of you for sharing your memories.