9/11 musical to debut in Austria

VIENNA, Austria -- Sergei Dreznin knows it's risky to debut a musical about Sept. 11 on the anniversary of the attacks. \nHowever, Dreznin, a Moscow-born composer who lives in New York City, says he couldn't resist capturing how the spirit of New York has endured. He felt compelled as an artist, he says, "to tell the most important story that could possibly be told."\n"Vienna-New York Retour," which premieres Wednesday at Vienna's Metropol Theater, chronicles the destruction of the World Trade Center and the aftermath through the eyes of Suzanne, a struggling young singer who lands a dream role on Broadway on the eve of the attacks. \nDirector Jesse Webb, a native of Baton Rouge, La., who now lives in Berlin, said he had to overcome initial misgivings about the piece, which makes its U.S. debut later this year in Washington, D.C. \n"When Sergei first approached me, I told him, 'You can't do this. You can't write a musical about Sept. 11,"' Webb said. \n"Then I realized that a lot of people have never really processed what happened. It just sat there in their subconscious. We've been careful not to wallow in the sentimental aspect of the attack. We just want to offer a means for dealing with it." \nOn the morning of the attacks, Suzanne sets out from Queens for her first rehearsal in Manhattan. She is fretting about being late, when an ominous announcement comes over the subway's public address system: "Service on the L-train to downtown Manhattan will be suspended indefinitely." \nAgainst a backdrop of still photos and video images from the moments before the attack -- investment bankers in wingtips toting attaches, children with book bags heading to school -- the scene moves to Brooklyn Heights, where dot-com worker Gerald Ackerman is at his desk with a breathtaking view of the towers just across the river. \n"A day like every day. Like every other day. A beautiful day," Ackerman muses. Seconds later, his office is engulfed in screams of, "Oh my God!" and, "Oh, Sweet Jesus!" \nTo the searing guitar licks of Austrian rock band Slash, the action moves to free-lance journalist Amy Hendricks, at street level with a video camera and overwhelmed by the snippets of chaos and conversation swirling around her. "Screaming fire engines ... ambulances ... masses of people in the street, just staring." \nThe musical ends with Suzanne struggling to understand a post-attack New York she barely recognizes. "When will we learn?" she asks. "Dresden. Belfast. 'Jews Forbidden.' 'Manifest Destiny.' As from a warm bed into a cold night, we leave the life we had." \nThe opera's plot is largely autobiographical: Suzanne Carey, a Missoula, Mont., native who sings the lead, was supposed to meet with Dreznin on Sept. 11, 2001. \n"Of course, I couldn't get there -- the entire subway system was down," said Carey, who now lives in Austria and has starred in numerous productions, including Roman Polanski's "Dance of the Vampires," which premiered in Vienna. "Vampires," now substantially rewritten and starring Michael Crawford, will open on Broadway in November. \n"I'm drawn to the strength of the human spirit against huge obstacles," Dreznin said.