9.12

by Walter Freeman

SUSANNA is determined to follow through with a birthday party for her two-year old daughter even though it is the day after the World Trade Center attacks. She feels that her home in the Boston suburbs is sufficiently removed from the immediacy of the horror and that it is vital to maintain normalcy for her daughter. Her compliant husband DANIEL does not seem to share her enthusiasm and seems deeply affected by...

SUSANNA is determined to follow through with a birthday party for her two-year old daughter even though it is the day after the World Trade Center attacks. She feels that her home in the Boston suburbs is sufficiently removed from the immediacy of the horror and that it is vital to maintain normalcy for her daughter. Her compliant husband DANIEL does not seem to share her enthusiasm and seems deeply affected by the violence. In attendance are their friends CONNIE and JACKSON who are attempting to maintain the structural integrity of their marriage, which is strained due to emotional complications from a recent miscarriage. Tensions mount as guests call in with regrets. They are exacerbated by the arrival of BECKETT, SUSANNA’S wealthy brother who is angered by the attacks which peripherally threatened his own daughter in New York. The tragedy begins to emerge on a more personal level when one guest calls in with regrets due to a family member perishing in the South tower collapse. The mounting turmoil reaches a breaking point when CHARLOTTE, DANIEL’S younger sister, unexpectedly brings her new boyfriend, HAJEET, who happens to be a Sikh, to the party. His arrival divides them in unexpected ways as each is driven to a side by helplessness, rage, paranoia, xenophobia, and fear.

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9.12

Recommended by

  • Eugenie Carabatsos: 9.12

    I love the juxtaposition between the macro (9/11) and the micro (birthday party) in this play. This play explores how we attempt to power through challenging circumstances, how we absorb trauma, and how we communicate with people we don't always agree with.

    I love the juxtaposition between the macro (9/11) and the micro (birthday party) in this play. This play explores how we attempt to power through challenging circumstances, how we absorb trauma, and how we communicate with people we don't always agree with.

  • William Ivers: 9.12

    9.12 is a play that examines the best and worst within the American character whilst showing how deeply fear can poison the human spirit. Our desire to cling to normalcy is often noble, but does it also create illusion, myth? In an increasing polarizing society, are we either for something or against it? Refusing to let the events and aftermath of 9/11 fade into abstraction, Walter Freeman’s play suggests such important questions, but the answers may only lie within you.

    9.12 is a play that examines the best and worst within the American character whilst showing how deeply fear can poison the human spirit. Our desire to cling to normalcy is often noble, but does it also create illusion, myth? In an increasing polarizing society, are we either for something or against it? Refusing to let the events and aftermath of 9/11 fade into abstraction, Walter Freeman’s play suggests such important questions, but the answers may only lie within you.

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization Portsmouth Players Ring Reader's Circle, Year 2020
  • Type Reading, Organization Hatbox Theater, Year 2019

Production History

  • Type Community Theater, Organization Hatbox Theater, Year 2021
  • Type Community Theater, Organization The Players' Ring, Year 2021