Come Together
The Guys examines one microcosmic relationship forged by 9/11
On Sept. 26, Vanderbilt’s Great Performances Series kicked off its new season with a one-show-only presentation of The Guys, a touring production of Anne Nelson’s noteworthy play based on the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001. Now this two-character drama gets broader local exposure when Green Room Projects mounts the play for weekend runs (Thurs.-Sat.) Nov. 6-15 in the company’s new home: the 185-seat Shelby Theater located on New Hwy. 96 West at Franklin’s Freedom Middle School.
“This is really a tender, sweet, charming play,” says Green Room artistic director Mark Cabus, who co-stars in the show. Cabus had his issues with the play as presented at Vandy by the Los Angeles-based Actors’ Gang company. “I think we can bring a lot more life and color to the script,” he says.
The Guys is nothing if not simple in conception. A New York City fire captain who lost men in the 9/11 terrorist attack visits a local journalist who attempts to help him write eulogies for his fallen comrades. “All of his friends have been called heroes,” says Cabus, cast as the fireman. “Yet he doesn’t recognize them. Through the course of his discussion with the journalist [played by Jennifer Jewell], he is gently prodded to talk about the men as he knew them.”
The script is based on the real-life relationship between Nelson and an NYC fire captain. According to Cabus, the playwright continues to have regular contact with the fireman, their shared experience having bonded them in somewhat mystical fashion.
“The Guys puts a human face on this enormous tragedy,” Cabus says. “But also we want to capture the humor of the play. Audiences are meant to be laughing through the tears. We have to find those places in the script where it’s about talking and listening, where the characters are trying to make each other laugh. These are two strangers who connect in an intimate way.”
The production is under the direction of Christopher Brown, an actor who now divides his time between Nashville and New York City, where he was on Sept. 11, 2001. Brown witnessed the first airliner hit the World Trade Center.
“We’re trying as hard as we can to capture that feeling of New Yorkers,” Cabus continues. “Everyone felt unmoored by the attacks. In essence, the play captures two different communities and how they somehow help each other piece together the parts of their lives that have fallen apart.”
As part of their research for the production, Cabus and company talked firsthand to firefighters at Fire Station #2 in Franklin. “Those guys may be big and burly,” Cabus says with admiration, “but they’re very gentle men, very warm and friendly. They save people’s lives while risking their own.”
There is strong community outreach attached to this production, with opening-night proceeds earmarked for the Davidson and Williamson county chapters of the 100 Clubs, a national charity that assists families of firefighters and policemen killed in the line of duty. Additional monies will be donated to Explorers’ Post, a local fire safety and prevention program geared for teens.
Finally, says Cabus, “We’ve even worked up a 9/11 curriculum based on the play and the lives of firefighters. It’s a community-service unit for young people, and is now part of the Directed Studies Program at Freedom Middle School.”
For tickets and more information on The Guys, phone 665-3066.
—Martin Brady
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