This week we pause and reflect on the tenth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. While we remember where we were, who were with and most importantly those who gave their lives, I think we should also take a moment to recall how we as a nation coped. So much can be learned from our responses over the last decade but perhaps none more important than we how survived through the darkest of American days. And if there was one prism, one social microcosm that best reflected our emotions as a nation over the last decade, it was the Broadway Theater.
Following the terrorist attacks Broadway, like most of the nation, shut down. When the Great White Way did reopen on September 13th it was unclear who if anybody would show up. Smash hits and long-running shows such as The Producers and The Phantom of the Opera played to half-full houses. That night the audience and cast sang “God Bless America” at the curtain call and for the first time since the attacks, laughter could be heard in New York City.
Over the next decade the most popular Broadway shows all had one consistent theme, escapism. The biggest hits from 2001 – 2011, Mamma Mia, Hairspray, The Producers, Spamalot, Jersey Boys, Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon and the mega-blockbuster Wicked, all featured stories that included the lovable-hummable show tune, happy endings and took audiences to a place that lacked terrorism and the fear that had gripped our everyday lives. There was no mention of war, a color coded terror system or 24/7 cable news channels hyping the perceived terror threats. No, these shows were safe places where audiences could learn to live, laugh and love again.
For New York, and indeed the nation, these shows taught us how to cope. Their stories featured characters that were: searching for a purpose such as Princeton in Avenue Q, looking for love in life like Donna in Mamma Mia!, or how to remain true to oneself in a world filled with complexities as exhibited by Elphaba in Wicked. The theater was providing us with stories about characters anchoring themselves in an ever changing world, something audience members were struggling to do every day. I know this, because I learned firsthand about the power of the American musical in its ability to heal.
In December 2001, I visited Ground Zero for the first time. Words cannot describe the pain, hurt, anger and confusion I felt. Later that day I was scheduled to see Mamma Mia! which had opened merely five weeks after the terrorists attacks. Leaving the ruins, I couldn’t fathom sitting through a Broadway musical, it just didn’t seem right. How, with all the death and destruction in our nation, could people be singing about happier times?
I left Mamma Mia! that night walking on air. The show took me to a world without terrorism, a world filled with love, humor, dancing and yes, even spandex costumes. It reminded me what joy was and showed me how art can help heal the most traumatic wounds. I would go back to see Mamma Mia! 4 more times and till this day I have never forgotten how that show helped move me beyond the grief I was feeling.
Shortly after 9/11, Susan Stroman, the director/choreographer of The Producers, predicted that Broadway’s next decade would be filled with shows that featured escapism. Audiences didn’t want to face the present, they wanted to abandon it. She was right; however in helping audiences to escape, Broadway was also teaching them how to cope with this “new normal.” Even by going to these “escapists” shows, audiences were rehabilitating themselves and learning how to live again.
As a nation 2008 was a watershed year for us because our “new normal” included two ongoing wars and an economic recession. We didn’t have time to escape, now was the time for us to face our challenges head on and the theater was there to counsel us like it always had been. The biggest show of the 2008 – 2009 Broadway season was Billy Elliot. It was about a boy who uses dance to escape the economic and political upheaval facing his family.
The show was extremely relevant for a nation encountering economic uncertainty, and yet it didn’t let us escape. Unlike the other big post-9/11 shows Billy Elliot did something different, it reminded us of the challenges we faced. I remember watching Billy Elliot at the Imperial Theater the same week I found out that my job was being terminated. Unemployment terrified me, much as it did every character in that show, but that wasn’t the lesson I left the theater with that night. Billy Elliot reminded me, and everyone else who saw it, of the strength of the human soul and the importance of remaining true to my family and friends. Like Mamma Mia! seven years earlier, Billy Elliot reminded the audience of the necessity of moving forward. That is the lasting lesson of 9/11.
As we reflect on this the tenth anniversary of 9/11, it’s easy to remember a nation that was scared and from whom at times needed to escape the new reality. However I remember a different story. I remember a nation that summoned the strength of the human soul, who learned to laugh again while never forgetting those didn’t make the next curtain call.
I don’t know what the next decade holds for America. What I am confident about is the American theater’s ability to help us in the grieving and learning process. It has been said that America is a light in a dark world. That is why it was no surprise to me that on September 13, 2001, one of the brightest lights to shine in New York City was that of the marquees of Broadway’s theaters.
Marquee Politics 