Publisher Description
First performed in a hit off-off-Broadway production, and soon to be a film starring Sigourney Weaver and Anthony LaPaglia, The Guys is a timeless drama about the surprising truths people can discover in ordinary lives, and the connections we make with others and ourselves in times of tragedy. Paralyzed by grief and unable to put his thoughts into words, Nick, a fire captain, seeks out the help of a writer to compose eulogies for the colleagues and friends he lost in the catastrophic events of September 11, 2001. As Joan, an editor by trade, draws Nick out about “the guys,” powerful profiles emerge, revealing vivid personalities and the substance and meaning that lie beneath the surface of seemingly unremarkable people. As the individual talents and enthusiasms of the people within the small firehouse community are realized, we come to understand the uniqueness and value of what each person has to contribute. And Nick and Joan, two people who under normal circumstances never would have met, jump the well-defined tracks of their own lives, and so learn about themselves, about life, and about the healing power of human connection, through talking about the guys.
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About Anne Nelson
Anne Nelson is an author and
playwright, and she teaches at the School of International and Public Affairs
at Columbia University. She has received numerous awards and grants, including
a 2005 Guggenheim Fellowship and the 1989 Livingston Award for international
reporting. Her books and articles have been published widely, and her play The Guys has been staged throughout the
world. As a war correspondent in El Salvador and Guatemala from 1980 to 1983,
Nelson published reports and photography in the New York Times, Los Angeles
Times, and many other publications.
About the Narrators
Swoosie Kurtz, a multiple Tony, Emmy, Obie, and Drama Desk Award winner, is a Broadway icon whose work also includes big screen blockbusters like Liar, Liar and Dangerous Liaisons, indie favorites like Citizen Ruth, True Stories, and Cruel Intentions and beloved television hits Sisters and Pushing Daisies. She is currently starring in the CBS hit series Mike & Molly. Her distinctive name comes from The Swoose, the famed B-17 bomber flown by her father, Col. Frank Kurtz, the most decorated Air Force pilot of World War II.
Bill
Irwin is an American-born actor, performance artist, and choreographer. He
graduated in theater arts from Oberlin College, Ohio, and from the Ringling
Brothers and Barnun & Bailey Clown College. He is widely known for his
theatrical clown work. His film career began in 1980, and he earned film
credits in more than twenty movies. He is best known for his role in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Across the Universe, The Manchurian Candidate, and Lady in the Water. His numerous roles
television credits include the Elmo’s
World segment of Sesame Street, Northern
Exposure, and, most recently, Monday
Mornings, CSI, and Lights Out. His career on the stage has
covered twenty-five years and includes numerous appearances and tours,
including nine Broadway productions during which he earned a Drama Desk
Award, a Tony Award, and an Obie Award. For his audiobook narrations, he
earned an AudioFile Earphones Award and an Audie Award in 2003 for Best Audio
Drama, as well as garnering finalist status for the 2002 Audie Award for Best
Short Stories/Collections for Stories of
F. Scott Fitzgerald.