12 years ago I was living in New York City. That was my address. But at the moment the towers went down, I was on tour with Kiss Me Kate. I sat watching TV as everyone else did, feeling incredibly helpless. At that moment I wanted nothing more than to be back “home” in NY….to count the heads of all my friends. What actor hasn’t “tempted” inside the Towers at some point in their career? Not being able to get through the bogged down phone lines was torture. The show was cancelled that night and rightfully so. When we finally got back in the theater the next night, it felt wrong to me. How could we possibly put on a happy show? Sing happy songs in such a time of sorrow? I felt like my job was, quite frankly, dumb. But we did it. We put on a show. We pasted smiles on our faces and performed for a crowd of about 300 in a theater that sat 2,000. I even thought, “Who are these people? Who would come and see a show at a time like this?” At the end of the show Rex Smith, our lead, asked everyone to sing God Bless America. The backstage crew came out, and we all held hands and sang. I looked around and saw the pain in everyones eyes. The cast was crying, the crew was crying and the audience was crying. We were all hurting… together. At that moment I felt such a bond with this group of complete strangers in the audience. With tears streaming down their face, they stood and applauded us for what felt like 10 minutes. I realized then, that what we do as actors is not stupid. We provide a gift. These people had showed up to forget. To take their minds off the horrible things that were happening in the world. To have a respite, if only for a few hours. After that show, letters came to the stage door thanking us for helping them get through those tough days. I saved many of them, to remind myself that we ALL, no matter how big or small, make a difference. God Bless America.