Benefit Fundraiser Honors Passengers of Flight 93 At Mountain Playhouse

Benefit Fundraiser Honors Passengers, Crews and First Responders of Flight 93 Jennerstown, Pennsylvania - David Alan Basche who played Todd Beamer in the award-winning movie United 93 and his wife, award-winning actress Alysia Reiner (Sideways, Speed Grieving), believe in theater and its ability to make the world a better place. They are traveling to Jennerstown next week to play Nick and Joan in the upcoming readings of The Guys, written by Anne Nelson, the proceeds from which will benefit the Flight 93 National Memorial. Basche and Reiner believe in theater for a cause and support the mission of the Flight 93 National Memorial which is to provide healing and hope to the public. The Guys will play June 18 and 19 at the Mountain Playhouse and is a mechanism that will accomplish the memorial's goals.

The Guys is set in New York shortly after the September 11th attacks, when Joan, an editor, receives an unexpected phone call from Nick, a fire captain who has lost most of his men in the attack. He is looking for a writer to help him compose the eulogies he must present at their memorial services. Nick and Joan spend a long afternoon together, recalling the fallen men and fashioning their stories into memorials of words. In the process, Nick and Joan discover the possibilities of friendship in each other and their shared love for the unconquerable spirit of the city. The Guys is based on a true story.

The Friends of the Flight 93 National Memorial originally became aware of the The Guys when docents from the Tribute WTC Visitor Center near Ground Zero in Manhattan visited the Flight 93 Temporary Memorial in Shanksville, PA a couple years ago. Since that time the Friends from the Flight 93 Temporary Memorial and the Tribute Center have remained in contact. The Friends collectively agreed that a reading of The Guys would serve their mission and honor the passengers, crews and first responders of that fateful day ten years ago. They hope to make a significant donation to the Flight 93 Memorial which is $15 million shy of its $60 million budget for completion. The first phase of the permanent memorial will open on the 10th Anniversary of September 11th this year.

Basche and Reiner describe The Guys as an intimate piece about the fire captain and writer. "It is not a downer. Instead it is a funny, charming, eloquent, and deeply moving play." They continued, "The Guys is an entertaining exploration of two souls trying to make sense of what has happened."

Basche credits his experience working on United 93 with teaching him everything he knows about September 11th and providing him a tremendous respect for the "ordinary people doing extraordinary things in excruciating conditions" on Flight 93. He will bring to the reading of The Guys a well-developed understanding of what it felt like to experience newly the attacks which changed the world in which we live. Reiner will bring her experience of feeling helpless on that day ten years ago. Though a resident of New York at the time, she was in Los Angeles and helpless to assist the city under attack. Her character, Joan, similarly feels helpless and ultimately uses her professional skill as a writer to connect with Nick and honor the men who were lost.

Guy Stroman is returning to the Mountain Playhouse to direct the script-in-hand benefit and will arrive early in the week to work with Lighting Designer Joshua Beumer and Sound Designer Daniel Sori. The Guys which will occur on June 18 at a 3 pm and 8 pm and on June 19 at 3 pm.
Admission to each reading costs $35 of which all is considered a tax-deductible donation to the Friends of the Flight 93 National Memorial.

Tickets can be reserved by calling the Mountain Playhouse at 814-629-9201, option 1 or by ordering online at www.MountainPlayhouse.org.

From the earliest days after September 11, 2001, residents from the crash site of Flight 93 have been committed to honoring the passengers and crew of Flight 93 and caring for their final resting place. Planning for the permanent Flight 93 memorial has been an open, inclusive, collaborative partnership of the National Park Service, the Families of Flight 93, the Flight 93 Memorial Task Force, the Flight 93 Federal Advisory Commission, and the National Park Foundation. For information about the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial and the Flight 93 National Memorial Project, go to: www.nps.gov/flni. The Mountain Playhouse is Pennsylvania's oldest professional, resident summer theater entering its 72nd anniversary season in 2011. Information about the Friends of Flight 93 benefit readings of The Guys may be found at MountainPlayhouse.org or by calling 814 629 9201, option 1.

The Mountain Playhouse is located on Route 985, one-half mile north of the historic Lincoln Highway (Route 30) adjacent to Green Gables Restaurant.

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