9/11 play to be performed at Studio Arena
Play stars Williamsville's Wendie Malick
by ELIZABETH TAUFA Reporter

Wendie Malick

When Williamsville native Wendie Malick heard of the troubles of Buffalo's Studio Arena Theatre, she wanted to know how she could help.

The answer? A benefit performance to aid the struggling theater.

Malick, who starred in the television sitcom "Just Shoot Me," will star in four performances of "The Guys," a play chronicling the efforts of Nick, a New York City fire captain, to write the eulogies of eight of his men who were lost in the collapse of the World Trade Center.

The play also stars Dan Lauria, best known for his role as the father in "The Wonder Years." Malick plays Joan, a journalist and editor, whom Nick enlists to help him in his task.

"I started learning my craft in high school," said Malick, who is a graduate of Williamsville High School. "But I've never worked at Studio Arena."

Malick, who previously worked in Buffalo on the 2002 film "Manna From Heaven," is looking forward to reprising the role of Joan on the Buffalo stage.

"It's a wonderful comment on what it is to be human," she said. "It's as much about celebrating life as it is about the deaths of these men."

She went on to note that while she appreciates all forms of acting, provided she can "sink (her) teeth into the role," there is a certain beauty in performing a play, based mostly on the reactions of a live audience. Calling the play cathartic experience, Malick noted that the play helps audiences, as well as the actors, to feel that they have emerged from tragedy together as a family, rather than strangers

spread across a nation.

She also noted that while the play deals with a serious subject, the two characters help each other to cope with their grief by finding humor, while still pertaining to the visceral sympathy felt by all Americans immediately after Sept. 11.

"It's not only miserable," she said. "It really has something for everybody."

The proceeds from the play will go to help not only the theater but also three organizations that are closely connected to Western New York: Mercy Flight, the WNY Stress Reduction Team and the Guardian Foundation.

Kathleen Gaffney, artistic director and CEO at Studio Arena, said that these performances help her to fulfill a goal she has had for the theater since returning to Buffalo, her hometown, a year ago.

"This is a way for Studio Arena to reach out into the community and make a difference," Gaffney said. "I want to connect with a segment of the community that previously would not have come to the theater."

Gaffney, who was in New York City on the day of the terrorist attacks, noted that she is emotionally connected to this play and that it serves several purposes for the masses.

"Art exists for a lot of reasons. It can entertain us and make us laugh, but it can also heal us, and that is what this play does," she said.

Performances for "The Guys" will be at 7 p.m. Monday, May 14; at 2 and 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 15; and at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 16.

Tickets are available by calling the theater box office, 710 Main St., Buffalo, at 856-5650 or 1-800-777-8243.