BEHIND THE LINES

A 9/11 STORY

Featuring

9/11 World Trade Center Firefighter Bill Spade

US Military Veteran Jaymes Poling

9/11 drew a nation together and linked the lives of two men from different generations. Set against the tragedy of the attacks and the war that followed, World Trade Center firefighter Bill Spade and U.S. military veteran Jaymes Poling reflect on their experiences, revealing an unexpected bond in strength, meaning, and the weight of what they continue to carry after service.

The powerful musical score is composed and arranged by internationally acclaimed trumpeter and show creator Dominick Farinacci, who leads a full live ensemble in reimagined music by Leonard Cohen, Gnarls Barkley, Tom Waits, and others. Spanning jazz, R&B, blues, and original compositions, the music serves as an internal voice for the storytellers, deepening the narrative and allowing audiences to feel the weight and humanity behind each story. Multimedia, lighting, and staging create a cinematic environment that supports the storytelling and live music.

Story, music, and theatre come together to create a deeply moving performance that fosters connection and hope, bringing audiences into an intimate world civilians rarely get to see.

Featured Storytellers

Jaymes Poling brings to Modern Warrior LIVE the fully immersed experience of a three-tour warrior with the 82nd Airborne in Afghanistan. Dealing with the memories of war, the loss of friends, and the isolation a combat veteran finds when leaving the military, Jaymes began to find through narrative arts and dynamic public speaking that the potential for growth can indeed follow adversity.
Through education, writing, and public speaking, and now with the added layer of music, Jaymes came to recognize the universality of his journey which has evolved into a mission to bring to other veterans. He has engaged and interacted with military communities more than 120 times with Modern Warrior Live performances in schools, performing art centers, universities and even in a renowned prison, and now in a one-hour cinematic version. He’s also spoken about mental health challenges at home and at the front with thousands of active-duty soldiers in Afghanistan, through visits there with the Troops First Foundation.
He says he wants – needs - to share his journey from isolation to healing, whether one-on-one, in a cohort of five veterans or in a concert hall seating 4,000.
Jaymes grew up in Warren, Ohio, and enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 17. He was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina as an infantryman. During his eight years with the division, he spent three years fighting in Afghanistan as a Machine Gunner and Squad Leader. He earned a finance degree at John Carroll University in May 2018; he draws upon that knowledge and his armed forces experience in managing Modern Warrior’s nonprofit operations and business planning.
His focus now: sharing his journey with members of the military community and partnering with organizations to help veterans find their own peace after war.
Item description

Created by Dominick Farinacci

“...a trumpeter of abundant poise,” who “plays beautifully, with expressive control” and “brings true musicality.”
- The New York Times
Dominick Farinacci ranks among the most acclaimed trumpeters and educators of his generation, with a list of career achievements that push beyond the conventional notions of recognition for a jazz musician. Born and raised in Cleveland, he was just 17 when one of his most important mentors, Wynton Marsalis, chose him to perform in a special program for PBS. While still a student in Juilliard’s inaugural class of jazz-studies majors, he hit the ground running as a recording artist and bandleader — first in Japan, where he released eight albums in short order, and later globally.
At Marsalis’ request, Farinacci spearheaded an outpost of Jazz at Lincoln Center in Doha, Qatar, from 2012 to 2016. His star-filled 2016 album, Short Stories, was developed with music-industry legend and producer Tommy LiPuma. Six years later, Farinacci received the Cleveland Arts Prize, arguably his hometown’s most prestigious honor.
But for the New York-based trumpeter, achievement isn’t the point, and his most powerful works underscore a profound compassion for humanity. In 2011, in response to his mother’s cancer diagnosis, he crafted a serene melody called “A Prayer for You,” which inspired a lauded TED Talk that Farinacci gave at the Kennedy Center in 2014. A decade later, he was finally able to record his composition for the debut project by his group TRIAD.

Farinacci’s interest in addressing trauma through art also informed Modern Warrior LIVE, a multidisciplinary touring work that combines first-person storytelling with film and the trumpeter’s innovative musical direction. Developed with U.S. Army veteran Jaymes Poling, who provides original narration, Modern Warrior LIVE chronicles the journey of the contemporary American veteran through multiple deployments and the complex process of readjusting to civilian life. General Jim Mattis called the project a “necessary and worthy mission paying our respects to all veterans and, by extension, to the Gold Star families.”

Farinacci also continues to serve as the director of the Tri-C JazzFest Academy in Cleveland. There, he strives to honor jazz history while also breaking new ground through teachings that address the realities of the music business — part of his honest, earnest wish to help young artists find happiness and good health in music. As with all his endeavors, Farinacci’s efforts as an educator are rooted in empathy.

About Modern Warrior Director Emmett Murphy

Emmett Murphy

Creative Director

Emmett Murphy has a love for synthesizing theatrical experiences that integrate storytelling, music, multimedia, and live performance. Emmett has directed, designed and produced entertainment, performing arts and special events throughout Europe, Asia, and North America.
RECENT PROJECTS include directing The Three Divas at the New Generation Festival in Florence, Italy in August 2020. Emmett also directed Modern Warrior Live, which debuted in New York City and toured performing arts centers across the U.S. Emmett also directed a film adaptation of the production which debuted at the National Veterans Film Festival in September 2021. Emmett is the director, dramaturg, and co-librettist for the new operas Lycidas and The Faultless Painter composed by Robert Balaguer. He has an ongoing creative collaboration with internationally-acclaimed jazz trumpeter Dominick Farinacci, together presenting more than 20 live-stream concerts on the Songbook Watch Party platform which provided a monetized performance outlet for musical artists around the globe during the pandemic shutdown.
Mr. Murphy has worked for Cirque du Soleil® in conjunction with The Beatles LOVE at Mirage Las Vegas, Clint Homes Between the Lines, and directed Sin City Comedy at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. He created and directed 18 original productions for Princess Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines, Oceania Cruise Lines, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. He was the producer for the spectacular theatrical production of Illusions at Joyland Theme Park in Shanghai, China. Mr. Murphy is the founder of showHive, a creative collaborative that develops large-scale entertainment projects.
Mr. Murphy has a performance background in music, theater, and dance. He harnesses this experience to drive the narratives of his work. He is known for his innovative creative development process which results in truly unique theatrical works that captivate audiences.
He is an alumnus of Directors Lab West and has studied directing and dramaturgy at Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA) and Roundabout Theater Lab. Emmett is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC,) Actors Equity Association (AEA,) American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA,) Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP,) and is an avid collector of modern and contemporary art.
A native of Montana, he divides his time between New York and Los Angeles.

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Audience Testimonials

“One of the most moving, touching experiences regarding war that I’ve felt since returning from Vietnam 46 years ago!”

— Attendee

“Having lost my son to suicide, this performance brought me peace.”

— Attendee

“The show is like nothing else I've ever experienced; it is a genre unto its own. I was so entirely captivated by the interplay of the story with the music that I did not breathe for large sections of this performance.”

— Attendee

“Modern Warrior reminds veterans they are not victims and that they can use their experiences to grow and make significant contributions to society.”

— Anthony Principi, Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2001 - 2005)