Posted 9/25/01
Words From LTG's Artistic Director On September 11th In the months before September 11th, ironically I had made several trips through the World Trade Center. In fact my wife and I had coffee in one of the down stairs food-shops a week before the incident. She had not seen these glorious buildings for some time and was taken aback by the enormity of the great towers. That day even though we had no business to take care of down there, for some strange reason she and I traveled throughout the Wall Street area. It was a busy weekday and we ended our exploration in Battery Park. Even with the hustle and bustle of the City it was amazingly serene as we sat by the water waiting for the rush hour crowds to subside.
I
had
visited
the
top
of
the
World
Trade
Center
at
least
three
occasions
in
my
life
and
each
time
I
was
in
awe.
So
naturally
when
I
woke
up
on
Tuesday
morning
to
see
the
horrific
sight
of
my
World
Trade
Centers
crumbling
down,
I
was
a
wreck. Two days before the disaster we spent Sunday morning not in church, but rehearsing for our upcoming show, The Printz of Poets.
The
show
was
scheduled
to
perform
September
11th
at
Jimmy's
Uptown.
We
had
made
several
cast
changes
but
happily
ended
up
with
one
of
our
Gang's
best
Actors,
Tawfiq
for
the
lead
role
of
Lamar,
the
Loose
Lipped
Lunatic.
We
had
performed
the
show
earlier
this
year
at
the
New
York
Comedy
Club.
The
Printz
of
Poets
is
a
unique
collaboration
with
all
the
actors
contributing
to
the
writing.
The
audience
attendance
was
slow,
however
we
did
receive
an
extremely
favorable
review
from
the
Village
Voice.
No
longer
was
I
concerned
about
my
own
personal
journey,
I
was
concerned
about
the
safety
of
others.
My
family,
friends
and
their
families,
strangers
and
the
world.
15
minutes
into
the
tragedy
and
after
the
first
tower
collapsed,
I
received
a
phone
call
from
Tawfiq.
He
was
calling
from
his
cell
phone.
He
told
me
that
he
was
summoned
to
work.
He
was
heading
for
the
Trade
Centers.
He
also
expressed
disappointment
about
our
performance
for
that
evening.
We
had
no
backup
for
his
role
but
I
somehow
instinctively
realized
the
magnitude
of
the
situation
and
told
him
to
forget
about
our
show.
"Go
take
care
of
business."
was
the
last
thing
I
said
to
him
before
we
hung
up.
For
those
of
you
who
don't
know
Tawfiq,
he's
a
Fireman
and
at
that
time
pretty
much
all
the
fire
departments
throughout
New
York
were
called
into
action.
After
hanging
up
with
him,
I
thought
of
all
the
questions
I
should've
asked
him.
Most
important,
how
far
are
you
from
the
Trade
Center?
A
few
minutes
later
the
second
tower
was
starting
to
crumble
and
all
I
could
think
about
-
hope
and
pray
was
that
Tawfiq
was
not
there.
I've
always
had
much
respect
for
the
Firefighters.
Their
sole
job
is
to
save
lives
under
the
most
horrendous
circumstances.
If
ever
there
were
a
true
hero
on
this
earth
-
a
Fireman
is
that.
I
found
relief
in
the
fact
that
after
two
days
of
not
knowing,
Tawfiq
was
indeed
safe,
however,
there
still
was
an
emptiness
inside
my
heart
and
the
burning
questions
of
why.
Truthfully,
I
haven't
felt
this
depressed
since
my
mother
passed
in
1993.
But
then
I
thought
back
to
when
she
died
and
how
I
used
her
passing
to
motivate
me
to
live
for
her.
I
don't
profess
to
have
the
answer
to
grief,
or
the
loss
of
loved
ones.
But
I
do
know
that
when
tragedy
strikes
close
to
home
and
after
we
have
mourned
we
must
continue
in
honor
of
those
who
can't.
In
honor
of
all
that
we
have
lost,
the
Live
Theatre
Gang
has
rescheduled
two
performances
of
our
canceled
show
on
September
11th,
"The
Prince
of
Poets".
One
will
be
held
Uptown
in
Manhattan
and
the
other
Downtown.
In
our
small
and
perhaps
insignificant
way,
we
hope
to
pay
tribute
to
this
great
city
we
love
so
much.
Oh
and
yes,
if
the
lord
wills,
Tawfiq
will
be
there. May God bless and protect us all -- in America and the World. |
