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Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams: NYC Mixtape Honoring a Landmark Anniversary

True leadership lives in the trenches, not the title.

As we mark the 25th anniversary of September 11, we’re looking back at oral histories from Off the Rak guests who lived in, worked in, and love New York City. From pursuing dreams in the bright lights of the big city to managing public crises in the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, this episode brings together three short stories of reinvention, resilience, and purpose. Hear from Broadway actor and producer Robert Creighton; film writer, director, producer Elliot V. Kotek; and forensics expert Barbara Butcher. Get inspired by a compilation of leadership moments about finding your priorities, chasing optimism, and staying human while pursuing your passion in the town where dreams are made.

While this year marks an important anniversary, the September 11 Memorial & Museum’s own research says more than 100 million Americans now have no lived memory of that day. This comes even as the upcoming ceremony plans to add a seventh moment of silence, one for people who’ve died from 9/11-related illness in the years since.

If you’d like to learn more about efforts to preserve the Legacy of 9/11 for future generations and help keep the promise of “We Remember,” please visit https://the911legacy.org/.

About the Guests

Robert Creighton is an actor, singer, dancer, composer, writer, and coach. His Broadway credits include: FROZEN (Duke of Weselton), THE LION KING (Timon), THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD (Durdles), ANYTHING GOES (Purser/Moonface), CHICAGO (Amos), THE LITTLE MERMAID (Chef Louis), CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, and JACKIE MASON’S LAUGHING ROOM ONLY. He is a co-author and starred in the hit off-Broadway musical CAGNEY, which ran in 2016-17 for over 500 performances and is headed toward a London production in the 2022-23 season. For that role, he won the Fred Astaire Award for Outstanding Male Dancer and was nominated for the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards as Best Lead Actor in a Musical. He was a recurring guest star on the CBS series The Good Fight as Clarence Kolb. Other guest-starring roles include Elementary (CBS), Law & Order (NBC), The Family (ABC), and Life on Mars (ABC). For his cabaret AIN’T WE GOT FUN! he won NYC’s prestigious Bistro Award for “Outstanding Entertainer.” His debut album Ain’t We Got Fun! was released in 2012 on the LML Music label.

Elliot V. Kotek is an Australian producer, filmmaker, lawyer, photographer, editor, writer and the co-founder and former content chief of Not Impossible Now, and former executive director of the Not Impossible Foundation. He is the founder and CEO of The Nation of Artists. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of Beyond Cinema magazine.

Barbara Butcher spent over 20 years as a death investigator for New York City’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner, investigating more than 5,500 deaths, including 680 homicides and working on the identification of victims after 9/11. Barbara is regarded as a renowned expert in medicolegal death investigation and has worked internationally, consulting for the World Health Organization. Her book “What the Dead Know” covering some of her most interesting cases, was published in 2023 by Simon and Schuster. She is also featured in the Netflix series “Homicide New York.” Watch Barbara on Oxygen’s new true-crime series “The Death Investigator with Barbara Butcher”.