Broadway on 9/11 and after- Page 4

[ACL2006]

Posted: 9/11/12 at 12:26pm

yes, thanks for bumping this.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 9/11/12 at 12:43pm

You're welcome

[jv92]

Posted: 9/11/12 at 1:30pm

"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."

Namo is right to criticize, and it is indeed necessary criticism. Killer Bees? Come on. This was a time to be honest and direct with children. Telling children that "something terrible had happened", but not saying what is not foolish, but stupid.

In any event, all I wanted to do after 9/11 was NOT watch CNN. It was too horrific to relive and re-watch those awful moments. I had (forgive my bluntness) idiot, right-wing relatives from nowheresville come into town a few years later and upon asking what they wanted to see in NYC (This was '03 or '04, after things had started to clear up, and before construction began on the new buildings) the first thing they said was "Ground Zero."

It was a hole then. A depressing hole with too many very painful memories for all New Yorkers. They wanted to see this hole? That made them feel more "patriotic?" I didn't lose anyone (Thank goodness!), and I didn't witness the attacks up close (As many friends and relatives did), but it's still too painful, even today, just thinking of the destruction, and the lives lost.

Today I'm looking at a few of these over-zealous patriotic Facebook statuses, and shiver. It's the statues and memories of those who LOST people or knew someone who HELPED that mean more to me. All I could write were the last lines of "New York, New York" in tribute of those lost...

...and the guy who wrote those words, who died, unrelated to 9/11, three years later.

[DEClarke]

Posted: 9/12/12 at 10:27am

One of my dear friends was a relief worker with the Red Cross in NYC during that time period. For their efforts, they were given tickets to RENT when it foirst opened after 9/11. (I don't know the date.) Her stories of how impactful lyrics to "Will I?" and other songs were during that performance are amazing. She talks of seeing tears throughout the whole show on the stage and in the audience. I can only imagine how emotioanlly raw that experience must have been.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/25/15 at 11:13pm

I know this thread is so old, but I'm doing a research paper and I just want to ask a quick question. How long did it take for the Broadway community to recover in economical terms. When did shows start making what they made beforehand is basically my question.

 

[CapnHook]

Posted: 8/26/15 at 12:05am

http://www.playbillvault.com/Grosses/Week/2001-09-16

Broadway shows made $9.6 million the week prior to 9/11. The grosses dropped to $3.4 million the week of 9/11. You can use the grosses reported by the League to track the economical impact of each show. Certain shows closed sooner than they would have. Musical comedies had better luck. People wanted to laugh.

[aj88]

Posted: 8/26/15 at 9:43am

I was visiting NYC during 9/11. I would have been 12 just about to turn 13 and it was an experience that is impossible to forget. I still cannot fathom it and the atmosphere in this city was so tense and terrifying. It was also disturbing for me on another level because I was actually on the observation deck of the World Trade Center a few days before. 

Since moving here, I still find it very hard to go down to that area but I love the memorial that they created and think it should be seen by everybody.

As for the Broadway aspect, I only saw shows prior but not after the attack. I do recall going to Times Square and finding it to be more deserted than I had ever seen it before or since. I think the first show I saw after the attack would have been Urinetown, but that wasn't until a couple of months later when I visited the city again.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 8/26/15 at 9:53am

From a Broadway standpoint, several shows -- including URINETOWN and the planned ASSASSINS revival -- were also delayed from opening or cancelled all together.

[LMcC95]

Posted: 8/26/15 at 10:48pm

On September 11 2001, I was 7 and in Kindergarten in San Francisco. But that is not the story I want to tell. On September 9, 2001, my mom, godmother, and myself flow down to Los Angeles to see The Lion King at the former Kodak Theatre. It was such a wonderful show and my first show in a theater. But before we left the gate in San Francisco, the captain of the plane let me go into the cockpit and take photos. After 9/11, that was not allowed. I wish that little kids could have this wonderful experience like me, but I understand why. 

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 8/27/15 at 2:35am

This thread prompted me to do some research on the planned (and, thankfully, eventually completed) revival of Assassins. It seems like most of the announced cast was able to continue with the project with the exception of Douglas Sills as Booth, John Dosset as Czolgoz and Raul Esparza (as the Proprieter? Zangara? Anyone got info on what role he was to have played?)  

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 8/27/15 at 8:44am

But before we left the gate in San Francisco, the captain of the plane let me go into the cockpit and take photos. After 9/11, that was not allowed. I wish that little kids could have this wonderful experience like me, but I understand why. 

 

I guess you do not fly with children very often because this is simply not true. I have been on several flights over the last few years that allow children to visit the cockpit, sit in the seat, and press the controls. You are correct in that they halted this practice for a few years after 9/11 but it eventually returned. It's possible you might be confusing the procedures related to this: prior to 9/11, cockpit visits could take place before take-off & departure. They now only permit the cockpit visits after arrival & landing. 

[veronicamae]

Posted: 8/27/15 at 10:48am

In 2011, the Bio network did a special on the entertainment industry during and after 9/11. Idina, Kristin, and many others were interviewed for it - 9/11/01 was meant to be her debut in Aida. I filmed it off my TV so it's not great, but you can watch it: click

(It's mostly just Idina's segments since I was filming it for her appearance, but much of the Broadway-related stuff was together.)

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 8/27/15 at 11:30am

I honestly feel that when shows started to resume both after 9/11 and after Sandy, the theatre community (at least gave me this impression) that they realized that what they do is important, that theatre can be a therapy and that people are there because they need that bit of an escape for various reasons. 

Elizabeth A Davis, who played Reza in Once, wrote a beautiful blog about this, reflecting on the show's first performance post Sandy. She was talking about how even though they could barely string a cast together for the show and though the house was less than half full, there was still something important in what she was doing. She wrote about how she saw things in the audience that would normally get to her, however, she never did let that happen during that particular performance. She talked about how a woman started to cry during a particular point in the show that no one really cried at. Her reaction was that maybe it hit home for her in some way after what happened during Sandy and who is she to judge? There was even someone on their cell phone and rather than get angry about that, perhaps maybe the guy wanted to be at the show to escape but was also worried about whether his house was okay of if a loved one is okay etc. Instead of being upset, she was more thankful that someone was trying to come to the theatre and since she had no clue what they were personally going through given the circumstances, who was she to judge was her attitude. The point is is that the theatre is something that helps people escape for a little during times of hardship, and that the actors realize it and realize that they have an extremely important job. I am thankful for them for doing that in both good times and bad. 

[Broadwaywest]

Posted: 8/27/15 at 11:43am

I was in NY at the time and Times Square was dead for weeks after.

I do remember Kate Burton opening in Hedda Gabler that November, and this ad was pulled.

Image won't show, but you can go to the link

http://broadwayposters.com/triton/posters/heddagabler.htm