WHAT THE MOON SAW OR ‘I ONLY APPEAR TO BE DEAD' Continues Syracuse University Department of Drama 2024/2025 Season

The Syracuse University Department of Drama will continue the 2024/2025 season with the surreal “What the Moon Saw or ‘I Only Appear to Be Dead'” by Stephanie Fleischmann, directed by Danyon Davis.

Fairytales offer a way to understand the unthinkable as Hans Christian Andersen wades through the eerie aftermath of 9/11 in search of meaning, haunted by his own stories “The Little Mermaid, “The Little Matchgirl,” "The Steadfast Tin Soldier” and “The Snow Queen.” Traveling to Shanghai to celebrate his 200th birthday, Andersen encounters mermaids, a street urchin, a supermodel, teenagers in love, a cabdriver, firemen and husks of humans who appear as ghouls in what playwright Stephanie Fleischmann describes as a “kaleidoscopic meditation on how we move through calamity.”

“On its face, ‘What the Moon Saw' is a play that appears to be a theatricalization of Hans Christian Andersen's faerie tales set against the backdrop of the tragic events of 9/11,” writes director Danyon Davis in a program note. “Although the play draws its structure from children's literature and real-world tragedy, in its essence it is truly a play about Andersen himself and the magical gift of humanity that lies within us all.

“Our play references the moment of the attack on the World Trade Center and the fallout over the weeks that followed. However, there are no graphic depictions of the horrors that were experienced. We accompany our hero, HC, as he navigates a challenging landscape in a journey that reveals what is magical in the everyday much like our most beloved stories from childhood.”

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