Image Credit: Erin Strecker
Just as Broadway stars did 10 years ago, theater legends Joel Grey, Bebe Neuwirth and others gathered this afternoon in Times Square to mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and perform once again the Kander and Ebb song, “New York, New York.”
Introduced by Grey, the performance featured the casts of Book of Mormon and Billy Elliott, as well as celebs such as former American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi. Gavin Lodge, a performer with Priscilla: Queen of the Desert said, “It’s an honor to be here today. Singing ‘New York, New York’ in Times Square — it’s iconic.”
Talking to the packed Times Square crowd prior to the performance, Broadway League chairman Paul Libin and Times Square Alliance chairman Bob Wankel spoke about the power of Broadway to make people forget their troubles and have a laugh. David Paine and Jay Winuk, co-founders of My Good Deed, Inc., spoke about their desire to turn 9/11 into a day of service — and it seems to be working. “Over 33 million Americans have pledged to volunteer on Sunday, making it the largest day of service ever,” Winuk said.
Image Credit: Erin Strecker
Laura Moninski, a teacher from Illinois who was watching the performance, was touched. “I visited Ground Zero earlier today,” she told EW. “I had a friend die in one of the planes. It was nice to be out here this weekend.” She said she planned on volunteering at a food pantry on Sunday, but was surprised to learn they were already booked full, a testament to the volume of people wanting to help out.
“It’s like anything,” said Mike Meyers, a FDNY battalion chief who worked 9/11 at Ground Zero. “As the day comes closer, it’s harder. I go through every emotion; anger, sadness. 15 people from our firehouse died that day.”
It wasn’t the most upbeat event, but it was certainly moving. When the nearly 100 Broadway performers started to sing and dance to that classic tune, you could feel the energy change. Ten years later, the spirit of that community is still lifting us up, alive and well.
What will you be doing this Sunday to commemorate 9/11? To find a place that needs volunteers in your area, visit 911day.org.
How about some video of the event or a link to it?
Seconded.
thanks for shared this with us.i found this informative and interesting blog so i think so its very useful and knowledge able.I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article. I am hoping the same best work from you in the future as well. In fact your creative writing abilities has inspired me. Great NEWS!
Great and useful post.Thanks for sharing the initial results of your analysis. For me,this clearly is a heads up on which methods to focus on to maximise my online success. Really I am impressed from this post….the person who create this post it was a great human.. Looking forward to the next chapter!
Thanks for interesting blog post. You guys are always provide information that it makes it impossible not to want to buy your next product ;I cant wait to see what you guys come up with based on all your research and data that you gather.