Madison Square Productions’ presentation of Bikeman, the 9/11 theatrical experience opened to an enthusiastic, full house in the Leman Manhattan Broad Street Ballroom in the financial district last night.

The production, based on the acclaimed book, Bikeman: An Epic Poem by veteran journalist Thomas F. Flynn, recounts the experience of the former CBS News writer who was the first nationally televised eyewitness journalist to the tower’s fall at Ground Zero on the morning of September 11, 2001.

The Show is a unique staging, presented by a talented cast of seven actors, and opens with a personal video statement by Dan Rather, Tom Flynn’s friend and anchor at The CBS Evening News. The simplicity of riveting voices reciting segments of Flynn’s poem stirs the imagination and carries the audience through a vivid account of one man’s harrowing journey on September 11. And with the telling transforms one man’s very personal, life-altering experience into a universal statement about fear, struggle, survival and the changed perspective triggered by what has come to be known as that forever September morning.

Tom Flynn was outside his home in New York City’s Greenwich Village on 9/11 when the first plane flew directly over his head. An award-winning writer and producer for The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, Tom immediately called into the news desk and was told that the plane had struck One World Trade Center. Unable to find a taxi, he jumped on his bicycle and began to ride the mile and a half down to the towers to report on what he believed at that time to be a terrible accident. Tom had no idea that this day was truly like no other, nor that his perspective on life would be changed forever. Struggling to perform his journalistic duty as others fled, the shock of what his eyes witnessed seared his soul. Suddenly, as the towers fell, Tom found himself running for his life as the world collapsed around him. Trapped underground by debris and surrounded by choking dust with a handful of strangers near the base of the once mighty towers, he would begin a true fight for survival in the chaos and utter darkness that consumed the plaza of the World Trade Center.

Director William Brown notes, “While a staged reading of an epic poem may be unique to theater goers today, it returns to the very origins of theater as it existed in the days of the ancient Greeks. The tradition of oral recitation has the power to inform, move, and transfix listeners. It is our goal to engage the audience — New Yorkers, visitors, even those too young to recall the events of September — with moving theatrical experience that is personal, meaningful, and memorable.”

The production, which has a one hour running time, was originally staged at a special presentation on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 in New York City to a standing ovation from hundreds of audience members. The subject is inherently challenging but is clearly of significant interest, demonstrated by the fact that more than one in ten of the 52 million tourists who visited New York City made their way to Ground Zero in 2012. Presently, about 15,000 people a day visit the 9/11 Memorial, which continues to become an increasingly important destination for visitors from the New York metropolitan area, the country, and the world, people who seek to pay tribute to those lives who were lost in the events of 9/11 and try to better understand the events of that fateful day.

About the Production

Bikeman: The 9/11 Experience is scheduled to run from March 19 through March 29, 2013 at Léman Manhattan’s Broad Street Ballroom located at 41 Broad Street with matinee and evening performances 2013. Tickets are $39 and $49, student tickets $25. Online ticket sales through TicketFly at www.Bikeman911.com. Or call 877.987.6487.
Tickets are sold at the door one hour before performances times. ‘)}