| Frank and Sue Brown, Rob and Susie Koltun, Mark and Peter Singer, Amar Srivastava, Anuj Srivastava, David and Ledee Wakefield | ||
| present | ||
44 Lights |
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| a musical journey to healing after 9/11 | ||
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| book, music, and lyrics by | ||
| Tim Tuttle | ||
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Marcus Lorenzo Rich Orlow |
Erin Morris Amar Srivastava |
Ben Mowrer Lindsay Wheeler |
| and Tim Tuttle | ||
| Directed by | ||
| Nancy Robillard | ||
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Welcome to the premier developmental production of 44 Lights.
44 LIGHTS is a labor of love that has taken over two decades to create. The journey began on the morning of September 11th, 2001, the most beautiful day of the year. It started with cloudless blue skies and intense sunshine, and ended as the most tragic day in modern American history. Tim Tuttle knew over thirty friends, neighbors, and former co workers, who didn’t come home.
The play deals with the darkness of that day and the light and hope that we found in the aftermath.
Tim wrote his first song the night of 9/11 in an effort to communicate his pain and loss through music. Two weeks later, he recorded it with Jeremy Slansky in a New York studio. One song turned into many more and then a memorial concert on the first anniversary. Music From Ground Zero came to life from the ashes outside their office window in downtown Manhattan. The concerts became an annual act of remembrance at local venues.
Three CDs, twenty concerts, and a documentary about the road they travelled to healing after such immense devastation, ultimately led Tim to writing a musical in 2023.
Casting eleven actors and six musicians, he has created an experience for audiences to follow his personal story and find their own journey. Thousands saw and felt the same thing at Ground Zero as he did that morning and for the first time it’s coming to the stage.
Love always conquers death. Our friends and family are never gone, they walk beside us, they live on in our hearts and mind. Forever.
We need to honor the fallen not just by remembering them, but by living a life that makes them proud. They are frozen in time. We must do something positive with our extra moments, the time granted to us.
44 LIGHTS is a combination of beautiful songs and story that takes the audience to an incredibly special place. The feedback has been overwhelming. Everyone who has seen it has said the same thing “I want to share this with friends”. It’s a collective musical experience.
This is the first play that has attempted to deal with the day of 9/11 at Ground Zero in New York City. In Act Two, the audience witnesses friends coming together to find strength in each other. In the end, they find that friendship and love carries them through.
It’s written by someone who was there, who lost many friends, who spent twenty years creating and performing songs to honor them. For more information visit www.musicfromgroundzero.org
Song List
Soldiers Son
Lucky
Twenty Years
Nasty Banker
Narration #1
You Can See Forever
Mary's Blues
Narration #2
Narration #3
He Said
Goodbye
See How They Run
Higher Ground
Narration #4
I Never Knew
- ACT TWO -
Narration #5
Smile
Another Night
Nothing for Certain
Narration #6
Change Your Mind
Sail Away
Running Back to New York
I Will Carry You
By Your Side
Narration #7
44 Lights
Cast
Creative Team
Tim Tuttle
Nancy Robillard**
Stephen Reed**
Rich Lamb
Denise Savas*
Becky Abramowitz*
Richard Lear**
Elisabeth Weidner
Dana Weintraub
John Burkland
Alyssa Korol
Tom and Michael D'Angora
Richard Hillman
Don Kelly
Rich Lamb
Matt Scharfglass
Ted Stafford
Ryan Marsh
Brenn Whiting
Meet the Company
Erin Morris
Erin Morris (Mary) is excited to make her off-broadway debut in 44 Lights. Favorite credits include Dance Nation (Ashley) at The Neighborhood Playhouse, operas Dido and Aneas and sequel premier & Eterna (Witch 1) with Narnia Vocal Arts, Bye Bye Birdie (Kim) and Beauty and the Beast (Belle) in her hometown of St. Louis. After graduating at The Neighborhood Playhouse, Erin spent a summer studying opera at Narnia Vocal Arts Festival in Narni, Italy. Erin has also recently acted in a series of student films at CUNY. In her free time, Erin enjoys songwriting and playing guitar. instagram: @erinrosemorris
Carol Jacobanis*
Carol Jacobanis (Susan) is delighted to be part of the remarkable team bringing 44 Lights to life! New York theater: Caroline Conway, Heads (Lew Gould director); Arkadina, The Seagull (Wandering Bark); Angel, Surface: The Absurdist Biography of Uncle Phil (Fringe NYC award winner); Joyce, Flashback (Ensemble Studio Theater). TV/Film: Mindy Cermak, “The Calling”; Jane Siddons, “Law & Order SVU”; “King of Hearts” (pilot with Pedro Pascal); Hannah Jefferson, Europe for President (ARTE France & ORF Germany). Carol is an Audie Award winning audiobook narrator and the voice of many, many anime characters. Love and gratitude always to Wynn Handman.
Lindsay Wheeler
Lindsay Wheeler (Nellie) is thrilled to have been able to continue working with the company of 44 Lights and finally bring it to stage as her off-Broadway debut. She is originally from the Midwest from Ottawa, IL, and recently graduated from the Neighborhood Playhouse in 2023. She has been involved in various theatre performances such as POTUS (Red Tent Collective), Waiting for Godot (Reading Playhouse), Collective Scene Festival (Equity Library), and Men On Boats (NPH). She has also worked on Power Book II: Ghost and Law and Order SVU, and other short film projects and play readings. She wants to greatly thank her family and friends for their never ending love and support, and all of her teachers and fellow artists who have worked along side her.
Benjamin Mowrer
Benjamin Mowrer is a 2023 Graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre and a 2020 graduate of Youngstown State University, where he received his BFA in Musical Theatre with a minor in Dance. Born in Cleveland Ohio, he moved to NYC to continue his career in the arts as an actor, singer, voice actor, and writer. Recent acting credits include Waiting for Lefty (Reading Playhouse), The Imaginary Invalid (Neighborhood Playhouse), Stoop Songs (Neighborhood Playhouse), Cabaret (YSU), The Addams Family Musical (YSU), and Spring Awakening (YSU). He hopes you continue to enjoy and support the arts.
Rich Orlow*
Rich Orlow (Sully) Rich is an Emmy nominated and Golden Earphone Award winning actor and voice over artist. He’s appeared Off-Broadway and regionally including; Joe Clay in Day of Wine and Roses, Mr. Lockhart in The Seafarer, Gus in The Dumb Waiter, Eddie in Hurly Burly and many others. He currently tours the country performing a one man interpretation of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 for The American Place Theatre’s Literature to Life program. Rich has also voiced countless commercials, narration, animation, video games and recorded books. Recent appearances in “Law and Order”, “Red Dead Redemption 2”, “Inspector Sun and The Curse of the Black Widow”. Love to his daughter Sedona.
Tim Tuttle
Without realizing it Tim began writing 44 LIGHTS twenty two years ago on the night of September 11th, 2001. He started with one song and created Music From Ground Zero, a musical memorial concert, to honor all the victims from 9/11. He performed shows with incredibly talented musicians in NYC for over two decades at Mercury Lounge, The Knitting Factory, Tribeca Blues, The Cutting Room, and in Woodstock at the Bearsville Theater. After completing a documentary on his story, he turned to the stage. 44 Lights is now becoming a reality. Tim is a product of Wynn Handman’s acting class and is married to Barbara Blackburn, actor, playwright, and author.
Constance Hastie
Constance Hastie (Donna) is proud to be making her off-broadway debut with 44 Lights. Originally from the United Kingdom, her journey led her to NYC, where she pursued formal training at The Neighborhood Playhouse. Since graduating in 2023 she has appeared in various short films and theater productions including The Imaginary Invalid (Rita Morgenthau Theater), Stoopsongs (Rita Morgenthau Theater), Daydreamers (ATA) and Waiting for Lefty (The Tank.) Some of her favorites include Little Shop of Horrors (The Palace Theatre, UK) and Sweeney Todd (Mike Fry Studio.) She is also a passionate singer- songwriter and would like to thank her family and newly wedded husband for their unwavering love and support.
To learn more about Constance please visit her website at: constancehastie.com
Alison Delaney
Alison is thrilled to be making her Off-Broadway debut with such a wonderful group of people! Alison is a graduate of The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater. Since graduating, Alison returns to the Playhouse each year as the Assistant Director and Assistant Choreographer for their musicals. Some of her acting credits include Hello Dolly!, Love and Information, The Nerd, and At the Ends. Alison wants to thank her family, friends, and Sandy Faison for their love, trust, and support! Let's make art!
Amar Srivastava
Amar Srivastava is thrilled to be working ont he first musical honoring 9/11. You can catch him starring in the Independent Feature Film “HUNGRY” which will be released later this year. His Film/TV credits include Daredevil, The Blacklist, Blindspot, Nous York, & 8:46.
Theatre credits include Disgraced, Rabbit Hole, A Disappearing Number, Ritu Comes Home, A Little Betrayal Among Friends, Antony & Cleopatra, Chaos Theory, Romeo & Juliet, Speaking In Tongues, A View From The Bridge, Hamlet, Deathwatch, Tooth & Claw, Olly’s Prison, Homebody/Kabul, & As You Like It.
A graduate of Carnegie-Mellon University. He has studied with Wynn Handman & Robert McCaskill.
Marcus Lorenzo
Marcus is honored to be performing in Tim Tuttle's 44 Lights, and bringing such an important moment in American history to life on the New York City stage. Marcus proudly represents the Wynn Handman Studio lineage, along with many members of 44 Lights. Wynn, thank you for creating a space for us to become a better version of ourselves. Some of Marcus's favorite credits include - TV: "Blue Bloods" and "Person of Interest" on CBS. "Law & Order" on NBC. Theater: The Cherry Orchard as Trofimov and Taming of the Shrew as Gremio.
Tim Tuttle
Nancy Robillard**
Stephen Reed**
Rich Lamb
Denise Savas*
Becky Abramowitz*
Richard Lear**
Elisabeth Weidner
Dana Weintraub
John Burkland
Alyssa Korol
Tom and Michael D'Angora
Richard Hillman
Don Kelly
Rich Lamb
Matt Scharfglass
Ted Stafford
Ryan Marsh
Brenn Whiting
Special Thanks:
Audio Load In Crew: Brenn Whiting, Chiara Pizzirusso, Ryan Marsh
Scenic Crew:
Legal Counsel:
Production Assistance:
* These actors and stage managers are appearing through an Agreement between AMT Theater, Amar Srivastava, and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
** The Director and Choreographer are members of The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theater labor union