First responder stars in free performance of ‘The Guys’ at CAST

Early on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, New York City firefighter Kevin Shea was off-duty and had just completed a 24-hour shift with Ladder 35 on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. After the alarm sounded, Mr. Shea quickly mobilized and headed south to the World Trade Center, where he was gravely injured and blown from the building by an explosion. He was pulled from the rubble minutes before the North Tower fell. 

Mr. Shea later learned that he was the only member of his 13-member firehouse to survive.

On Dec. 4, 2001, playwright Anne Nelson and The Flea Theater in Manhattan premiered “The Guys,” a stirring drama about a fire captain who is tasked with writing eulogies for eight of his firefighters who died during the World Trade Center attacks on September 11 and a writer who helps him carry out the challenging assignment. The play — released barely three months after the terrorist incident that claimed the lives of 2,977 victims, including 343 members of the New York City Fire Department — has since been produced all over the world and in 2002 was made into a film starring Sigourney Weaver and Anthony LaPaglia.

This Sept. 11 — 23 years after the deadly events of 2001 — the Corchaug Repertory Theater and CAST will present a free production of “The Guys” to commemorate the tragedy. The performance features Mr. Shea and actress Eileen Trilli. Mr. Shea, who now lives in Baiting Hollow, had been shopping the script around to local theater groups, including North Fork Community Theatre, with producer Stephen Ness, who eventually brought it to Corchaug.

“I’ve been very fortunate. I don’t think I could have picked two better people to carry this forward,” said director Christian Lepore. “Kevin has a very personal attachment to the material and Eileen is just a phenomenal actress and it’s been great collaborating with them on this project.”

The rehearsal process has been challenging, said Mr. Lepore, noting that the subject matter is very heavy and that Mr. Shea has lived experience for the role.

Interestingly, Mr. Shea’s journey with the play begins many years ago. Ms. Nelson, who is a journalist as well as a playwright, interviewed Mr. Shea, and his story — of a firefighter being blown from the building — ended up in her script for “The Guys.”

“I also knew the [Ms. Nelson], because she wanted to know the inside story of firefighters for research [for the play],” said Mr. Shea. 

On the day of the performance, Mr. Shea will first travel to the city for a commemoration at Ladder 35, Engine 40, at 66th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, for an annual ceremony in remembrance of those lost that day. He will then head back to Southold for the performances. 

Mr. Shea also commends his co-star, Ms. Trilli, who he said has taken the role very seriously and done an incredible job in rehearsals.

Mr. Lepore is proud of his cast, and notes that everyone in the audience has a bit of lived experience, too.

“What’s going to be interesting is that this is a situation where every single person — whether they’re on stage, whether they’re watching it — every single person has sense memory of this day. It’s going to be very affecting for a lot of people,” he said.

For Corchaug Rep artistic director Colin Palmer, “The Guys” is a compelling way of exploring 9/11.

“[This play] is also boiling it down to its purest essentials,” he said. “Most of the time, when people talk about [9/11] through art, it’s about the lead-up to it, or about the aftermath years later. For this play, there’s an extreme immediacy. It premiered three months after the event. And there’s also the immediacy of the story. When people die, there are the first stages of grief involving funerals and eulogies. That doesn’t get brought up a lot.”

Mr. Lepore said that the play is ultimately about healing, something that is an ongoing process for Mr. Shea.

“How do we heal from a traumatic event?” Mr. Lepore said. “Whether it’s a personal tragedy or a mass historical event like 9/11, that’s really where people who are shattered come together, and they lean on each other to heal.”

Mr. Shea is asking the audience at the show to donate to the Ray Pfeifer Foundation, a group that assists 9/11 first responders.

“Emotionally, it will never be done,” said Mr. Shea. “For the rest of my life, it will never be done. There are a lot of firefighters that are still alive today who are not doing well and will die. I feel like I’ve done nothing for them. So this is my part of doing something and hopefully later on I can help out in other ways.”

See the free production of “The Guys” at CAST (53930 Main Road, Southold) on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 2 p.m. A talkback follows the production. Visit castnorthfork.org to reserve your free spot.