In the play, Joan, an editor, helps Nick, a
New York Fire Department captain, prepare the eulogies for the eight firefighters who died under his command that day, out of a crew of twelve. The play debuted
off-Broadway at
The Flea Theater on December 4, 2001, directed by
Jim Simpson and starring
Sigourney Weaver and
Bill Murray. Since 2001,
The Guys has been presented in 48 US states and in the Czech Republic, Argentina, Japan, Italy and Poland.
Tim Robbins and
Susan Sarandon presented it at the
Edinburgh Festival. It enjoyed a commemorative rerun at the Flea Theater in 2006 on the 5th anniversary of 9/11. In parts of the theatrical run the two roles were played by
Anthony LaPaglia and Sigourney Weaver. They also star in a 2002 film adaptation, for which Weaver was nominated for a
Golden Satellite Award for best performance by an actress. The play was published by Dramatists Play Service and Random House in 2002. The audible.com recorded version, which featured
Bill Irwin and
Swoosie Kurtz, won an
Audie Award for best recorded play of the year. Weaver and LaPaglia reprised their roles in the film version, which was also directed by Jim Simpson. The film debuted at the
Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2002 and was released in theaters in April 2003. ==References==