Wichita Community Theatre drama ‘New York’ remembers 20th anniversary of 9/11

Many of the cast of Wichita Community Theatre’s drama “New York” remember watching the events of Sept. 11, 2001, on their televisions.

For others, it’s relegated to history books.

“I only really know the aftermath of what happened that day,” said 13-year-old Clementine Bond, a student at Robinson Middle School, who’s part of the cast. “I grew up being scared of airport security and stuff like that, so hearing about how it started was really interesting.”

“New York,” by playwright David Rimmer, depicts the reactions of those who experienced 9/11 as they talk with a psychiatrist, played by Vonda Newby-Schuster. The script came from interviews Rimmer had conducted with survivors of the attack on the World Trade Center.

“He based it on things he had heard from people and then kind of made the play up from those experiences,” director Steve Landes said.

Landes had previously directed the play at Blue Valley Northwest High School in suburban Kansas City and wanted to bring it to Wichita Community Theatre for the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

“It’s kind of the humanity that happens,” Landes said. “People go through traumas after they have these shocking events, and this play was really written as a way to fund people in New York City to get to a psychiatrist and get over their traumas.”

Terri Ingram, who plays one of the patients, said having young cast members is a reminder of how much has changed in 20 years.

“They don’t have the same reaction as those of us who were older and remember felt, even being removed from New York,” she said. “Collectively, it’s something we’ve all been through, and to them it’s just a story. It’s been interesting to realize that they have no idea about a lot of it.”

Newby-Schuster said the fact that “New York” is based on real experiences magnifies the depth of the drama.

“You see new perspectives, and it’s based on the realities of (the playwright’s) interviews. These people were right there when it happened,” she said. “We saw it, but we were removed from it.”

Despite its subject matter, Newby-Schuster said, there are glimmers of hope in the drama.

“There’s a couple of moments I think are really beautiful – thoughts and reflections on how people coped and got through this time,” she said. “One strength of this show is that there’s so many different perspectives of people who witnessed the same event in so many different ways.”

Landes said that several attitudes are changed among the characters that get represented, and they get the mental health aid that they need to keep living after the attack and its aftermath.

“At 20 years, it’s not just those days, but the days that followed it,” he said. “You can’t just throw it away. You’ve got to respect what happened that day and what people did.”

‘NEW YORK’ BY WICHITA COMMUNITY THEATRE

When: Thursday- Sept. 19; 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays

Where: Wichita Community Theatre, 258 N. Fountain

Tickets: $11 for opening night; $15 adults, $13 for military/seniors/students, by calling 316-686-1282