[NEohioPAL]You will be touched and perhaps moved to tears - Review of 'Guys' at Actors' Sum

[Thackaberr at aol.com]

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Small play with big heart lights Summit stage 
By: FRAN HELLER Contributing Writer
Cleveland Jewish News
The stage is bare save for a kitchen table, chairs and a coffee pot perking 
on the stove.

The reporter, rising from the table, walks toward the audience, almost within 
touching distance and says, "New York. My beautiful, gleaming, wounded city." 
Thus begins "The Guys" by Anne Nelson, a small play with a big heart that 
pays tribute to the fallen in the devastating wake of 9/11. For the next 75 
minutes, this quiet chamber piece will hold you captive to a true story that puts a 
face to four brave firemen out of the almost 350 who perished in the World 
Trade Center. "The Guys" is at Actors' Summit in Hudson, Ohio, through Oct. 3.

Directed by Alex Cikra and starring husband and wife team, A. Neil 
Thackaberry and MaryJo Alexander, "The Guys" is a stirring piece of theatre and a 
tangible means of connecting all of humanity to 9/11 and each other.

Nick is a fire captain who has lost almost his entire company in the cauldron 
of the Twin Towers. Asked to write eulogies for eight of his men, Nick seeks 
the help of Joan, a reporter, to put his feelings into words. What emerges is 
a real portrait of ordinary human beings doing their jobs who were also 
fathers, sons, husbands, friends and colleagues.

You will be touched and perhaps moved to tears, but one thing is certain, you 
will never look upon a firehouse or its firefighters in quite the same way 
again.

The play is based on a true story about a New York fire captain who lost most 
of his men at the World Trade Center and sought the help of writer and 
journalist, Anne Nelson. The artistic director of a small off-Broadway theater near 
Ground Zero, whose business was all but destroyed by the cataclysmic events, 
commissioned Nelson to write a play based on the eulogies she wrote for the 
captain.

A teacher at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Nelson had never 
written a play before. "The Guys," which took only nine days to create, opened 
just 12 weeks after 9/11 and helped a city in deep mourning come to grips with 
the unfathomable.

Alternating between dialogue and monologue, the two-character play is not so 
much a drama as an experience, a living memorial to ordinary people lionized 
by extraordinary events. It is, as its author states, first and foremost an 
homage to New York's firefighters.

The monologues serve as windows into the reporter's own private thoughts and 
emotions. Joan, the playwright's alterego, has traveled and written 
extensively about Latin American countries. Unnerving is her description of South 
American reactions to 9/11, which casts America in a very negative light.

Speaking in a dull monotone, as if in a state of shock, his face, a roadmap 
of barely contained grief, A. Neil Thackaberry becomes the beefy fire chief, 
Nick. He's at a loss for the words he needs to pay tribute to his men. Visibly 
upset by the suffering fire captain, a sensitive yet tenacious Joan (MaryJo 
Alexander) probes gently for the keys that will unlock the fire chief's pent-up 
feelings.

Thackaberry's realistic and gripping performance reveals a captain who loved 
his job with a passion and his men like sons.

The most senior man, Bill, is a 16-year veteran who was always looking after 
his men, especially the younger ones. "An ordinary guy, a schmo, but you can't 
say that in a eulogy," muses Nick.

Then there was the new guy, Jimmy, still on probation. How do you describe 
someone you didn't even know and can't even remember his face, asks Nick. Joan 
helps him find a way. The planes crashing into the World Trade Center was 
Jimmy's first real fire. Nick chokes up when he recalls Jimmy's age, 26.

Patrick, Nick's best friend, who was within six weeks of getting his 
captain's stripes, was the hardest to eulogize. Then there was the wild man, Barney, 
who wasn't even supposed to work that day, but followed his buddy when the 
alarm sounded.

This is a brotherhood of men who do not think of themselves as heroes, but 
they do what Nick describes as "the best job in the world."

"The Guys" is laced with humor and remarkably free of maudlin sentiment. 
There are touching moments, such as when Nick, a dance buff, describes what 
dancing means to him, and Joan imagines them doing the tango together. The 
description of Barney, who could work wonders with metal but had no luck with women, 
evokes laughter. "If I could only meet a woman welder," Nick recalls Barney 
saying.

Although the unwavering format makes the play drag at times, the intimacy of 
the Actors' Summit stage serves the action well. In each of her monologues, 
Joan looks at the audience, hooking you with her direct, almost intimate 
approach. It's extremely effective.

Of the almost 3,000 people whose lives were lost on 9/11, one in eight (12%) 
were World Trade Center firefighters, writes Nelson in the play's afterward. 
The reason is self-evident. While everyone was struggling to get out, they were 
still going in ... and saving lives of an indeterminate number.

The Greeks saw the value of theatre as catharsis, a means of relieving 
repressed emotions by expressing the inexpressible. Like those plays, movies and 
canvases that have addressed the Holocaust, "The Guys" helps us deal with the 
horror of Sept. 11. 

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<P class=3Dsection style=3D"MARGIN: auto 0in"><STRONG><FONT size=3D3><SPAN c=
lass=3Dheadline1>Small play with big heart lights </SPAN><st1:City><st1:plac=
e><SPAN class=3Dheadline1>Summit</SPAN></st1:place></st1:City><SPAN class=
=3Dheadline1> stage </SPAN></SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P class=3Dbyline style=3D"MARGIN: auto 0in"><EM><FONT size=3D3>By: FRAN HEL=
LER Contributing Writer</FONT></EM></P>
<P class=3Dbyline style=3D"MARGIN: auto 0in"><EM><FONT size=3D3>Cleveland Je=
wish News<o:p></o:p></FONT></EM></P>
<P class=3Dcontent style=3D"MARGIN: auto 0in"><FONT size=3D3>The stage is ba=
re save for a kitchen table, chairs and a coffee pot perking on the stove.<B=
R><BR>The reporter, rising from the table, walks toward the audience, almost=
 within touching distance and says, "<st1:State><st1:place>New York</st1:pla=
ce></st1:State>. My beautiful, gleaming, wounded city." <o:p></o:p></FONT></=
P>
<P><FONT size=3D3><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>Thus begins "The Guys" by Anne Nels=
on, a small play with a big heart that pays tribute to the fallen in the dev=
astating wake of 9/11. For the next 75 minutes, this quiet chamber piece wil=
l hold you captive to a true story that puts a face to four brave firemen ou=
t of the almost 350 who perished in the </SPAN><st1:place><st1:PlaceName><SP=
AN class=3Dcontent1>World</SPAN></st1:PlaceName><SPAN class=3Dcontent1> </SP=
AN><st1:PlaceName><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>Trade</SPAN></st1:PlaceName><SPAN c=
lass=3Dcontent1> </SPAN><st1:PlaceType><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>Center</SPAN><=
/st1:PlaceType></st1:place><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>. "The Guys" is at Actors'=
 </SPAN><st1:City><st1:place><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>Summit</SPAN></st1:place=
></st1:City><SPAN class=3Dcontent1> in </SPAN><st1:place><st1:City><SPAN cla=
ss=3Dcontent1>Hudson</SPAN></st1:City><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>, </SPAN><st1:S=
tate><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>Ohio</SPAN></st1:State></st1:place><SPAN class=
=3Dcontent1>, through Oct. 3.</SPAN></FONT><SPAN style=3D"COLOR: black; FONT=
-FAMILY: Arial"><BR><BR><FONT size=3D3><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>Directed by Al=
ex Cikra and starring husband and wife team, A. Neil Thackaberry and MaryJo=20=
Alexander, "The Guys" is a stirring piece of theatre and a tangible means of=
 connecting all of humanity to 9/11 and each other.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN clas=
s=3Dcontent1>Nick is a fire captain who has lost almost his entire company i=
n the cauldron of the </SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT size=3D3><st1:place><st1:Pl=
aceName><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>Twin</SPAN></st1:PlaceName><SPAN class=3Dcont=
ent1> </SPAN><st1:PlaceType><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>Towers</SPAN></st1:PlaceT=
ype></st1:place><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>. Asked to write eulogies for eight o=
f his men, Nick seeks the help of Joan, a reporter, to put his feelings into=
 words. What emerges is a real portrait of ordinary human beings doing their=
 jobs who were also fathers, sons, husbands, friends and colleagues.</SPAN><=
/FONT><SPAN style=3D"COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><BR><BR><FONT size=
=3D3><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>You will be touched and perhaps moved to tears,=20=
but one thing is certain, you will never look upon a firehouse or its firefi=
ghters in quite the same way again.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>The=
 play is based on a true story about a </SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT size=3D3><=
st1:State><st1:place><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>New York</SPAN></st1:place></st1=
:State><SPAN class=3Dcontent1> fire captain who lost most of his men at the=20=
</SPAN><st1:place><st1:PlaceName><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>World</SPAN></st1:Pl=
aceName><SPAN class=3Dcontent1> </SPAN><st1:PlaceName><SPAN class=3Dcontent1=
>Trade</SPAN></st1:PlaceName><SPAN class=3Dcontent1> </SPAN><st1:PlaceType><=
SPAN class=3Dcontent1>Center</SPAN></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><SPAN class=
=3Dcontent1> and sought the help of writer and journalist, Anne Nelson. The=20=
artistic director of a small off-Broadway theater near Ground Zero, whose bu=
siness was all but destroyed by the cataclysmic events, commissioned Nelson=20=
to write a play based on the eulogies she wrote for the captain.</SPAN></FON=
T><SPAN style=3D"COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><BR><BR><FONT size=3D3><S=
PAN class=3Dcontent1>A teacher at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism=
, Nelson had never written a play before. "The Guys," which took only nine d=
ays to create, opened just 12 weeks after 9/11 and helped a city in deep mou=
rning come to grips with the unfathomable.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=3Dconte=
nt1>Alternating between dialogue and monologue, the two-character play is no=
t so much a drama as an experience, a living memorial to ordinary people lio=
nized by extraordinary events. It is, as its author states, first and foremo=
st an homage to </SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT size=3D3><st1:State><st1:place><S=
PAN class=3Dcontent1>New York</SPAN></st1:place></st1:State><SPAN class=3Dco=
ntent1>'s firefighters.</SPAN></FONT><SPAN style=3D"COLOR: black; FONT-FAMIL=
Y: Arial"><BR><BR><SPAN class=3Dcontent1><FONT size=3D3>The monologues serve=
 as windows into the reporter's own private thoughts and emotions. Joan, the=
 playwright's alterego, has traveled and written extensively about Latin Ame=
rican countries. Unnerving is her description of South American reactions to=
 9/11, which casts </FONT></SPAN></SPAN><FONT size=3D3><st1:country-region><=
st1:place><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>America</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-reg=
ion><SPAN class=3Dcontent1> in a very negative light.</SPAN></FONT><SPAN sty=
le=3D"COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><BR><BR><FONT size=3D3><SPAN class=
=3Dcontent1>Speaking in a dull monotone, as if in a state of shock, his face=
, a roadmap of barely contained grief, A. Neil Thackaberry becomes the beefy=
 fire chief, Nick. He's at a loss for the words he needs to pay tribute to h=
is men. Visibly upset by the suffering fire captain, a sensitive yet tenacio=
us Joan (MaryJo Alexander) probes gently for the keys that will unlock the f=
ire chief's pent-up feelings.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>Thackaber=
ry's realistic and gripping performance reveals a captain who loved his job=20=
with a passion and his men like sons.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>T=
he most senior man, Bill, is a 16-year veteran who was always looking after=20=
his men, especially the younger ones. "An ordinary guy, a schmo, but you can=
't say that in a eulogy," muses Nick.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>T=
hen there was the new guy, Jimmy, still on probation. How do you describe so=
meone you didn't even know and can't even remember his face, asks Nick. Joan=
 helps him find a way. The planes crashing into the </SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FO=
NT size=3D3><st1:place><st1:PlaceName><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>World</SPAN></s=
t1:PlaceName><SPAN class=3Dcontent1> </SPAN><st1:PlaceName><SPAN class=3Dcon=
tent1>Trade</SPAN></st1:PlaceName><SPAN class=3Dcontent1> </SPAN><st1:PlaceT=
ype><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>Center</SPAN></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><SPAN cl=
ass=3Dcontent1> was Jimmy's first real fire. Nick chokes up when he recalls=20=
Jimmy's age, 26.</SPAN></FONT><SPAN style=3D"COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Aria=
l"><BR><BR><FONT size=3D3><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>Patrick, Nick's best friend=
, who was within six weeks of getting his captain's stripes, was the hardest=
 to eulogize. Then there was the wild man, Barney, who wasn't even supposed=20=
to work that day, but followed his buddy when the alarm sounded.</SPAN><BR><=
BR><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>This is a brotherhood of men who do not think of t=
hemselves as heroes, but they do what Nick describes as "the best job in the=
 world."</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>"The Guys" is laced with humor=
 and remarkably free of maudlin sentiment. There are touching moments, such=20=
as when Nick, a dance buff, describes what dancing means to him, and Joan im=
agines them doing the tango together. The description of Barney, who could w=
ork wonders with metal but had no luck with women, evokes laughter. "If I co=
uld only meet a woman welder," Nick recalls Barney saying.</SPAN><BR><BR><SP=
AN class=3Dcontent1>Although the unwavering format makes the play drag at ti=
mes, the intimacy of the Actors' </SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT size=3D3><st1:Ci=
ty><st1:place><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>Summit</SPAN></st1:place></st1:City><SP=
AN class=3Dcontent1> stage serves the action well. In each of her monologues=
, Joan looks at the audience, hooking you with her direct, almost intimate a=
pproach. It's extremely effective.</SPAN></FONT><SPAN style=3D"COLOR: black;=
 FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><BR><BR><SPAN class=3Dcontent1><FONT size=3D3>Of the al=
most 3,000 people whose lives were lost on 9/11, one in eight (12%) were </F=
ONT></SPAN></SPAN><FONT size=3D3><st1:place><st1:PlaceName><SPAN class=3Dcon=
tent1>World</SPAN></st1:PlaceName><SPAN class=3Dcontent1> </SPAN><st1:PlaceN=
ame><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>Trade</SPAN></st1:PlaceName><SPAN class=3Dcontent=
1> </SPAN><st1:PlaceType><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>Center</SPAN></st1:PlaceType=
></st1:place><SPAN class=3Dcontent1> firefighters, writes Nelson in the play=
's afterward. The reason is self-evident. While everyone was struggling to g=
et out, they were still going in ... and saving lives of an indeterminate nu=
mber.</SPAN></FONT><SPAN style=3D"COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><BR><BR>=
<FONT size=3D3><SPAN class=3Dcontent1>The Greeks saw the value of theatre as=
 catharsis, a means of relieving repressed emotions by expressing the inexpr=
essible. Like those plays, movies and canvases that have addressed the Holoc=
aust, "The Guys" helps us deal with the horror of Sept. 11.</SPAN> <o:p></o:=
p></FONT></SPAN></P></BODY></HTML>

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