About the Play:

The Triangle Factory Fire Project is a full-length drama by Christopher Piehler in collaboration with Scott Alan Evans. Borrows from public transcripts, first-person accounts and news reports to tell the story of the deaths of almost 150 women workers trapped in industrial blaze at a Manhattan garment factory in New York City.

The Triangle Factory Fire Project tells the story of the tragic sweatshop fire and its aftermath. Saturday, March 25, 1911. 4:45 P.M. In the Triangle Waist Factory off downtown Manhattan's Washington Square – where 500 immigrant workers from Poland, Russia and Italy toil fourteen-hour days making lady's dresses – a cigarette is tossed into a bin of fabric scraps. Despite desperate efforts, flames sweep through the eighth, ninth and tenth floors. Panic-stricken workers run in all directions. On the ninth floor, some make it to the fire escape, only to have it collapse beneath their weight. Others run to the exit door but find it locked – many, including the soon-to-be-married Margaret Schwartz, die with their hands on the doorknob. Dozens leap from the windows to their deaths, shocking the crowd of onlookers gathered below. And some through bravery or sheer luck make it out alive. In the space of twenty-eight minutes, the fire is under control, but 146 people, mainly young immigrant girls, have died. The Triangle Factory Fire Project uses eyewitness accounts, court transcripts and other archival material to create a dramatic moment-by-moment account of this historic fire and the social upheaval that followed. It culminates in the manslaughter trial of the owners, Isaac Harris and Max Blanck, whose shocking acquittal inspires new outrage across New York and the entire country, the repercussions of which shaped social, political and economic policies for decades to come. By using real words spoken by real people, from Ukrainian seamstresses to millionaire Fifth Avenue socialites, The Triangle Factory Fire Project paints a heartbreakingly clear picture of a disastrous day in American history and explores the human toll such a tragedy takes on us all.

The Triangle Factory Fire Project premiered in 1984 Off-Broadway at The Clurman Theatre within the Theatre Row complex in New York City. The play has become a popular choice for school and community theatre productions.

Cast: 4 women, 5 men (doubling, flexible casting)

What people say:

"Electrically directed by Scott Alan Evans, and dynamically acted by the whole company, it is one of the theatre events of the season. Everyone involved does a brilliant job in this searing play, which reminds us why theatre exists." — New York Post

"A good play is a wonderful distraction. A great play tugs at your emotional core. A truly great play does all that and also affects it audience by triggering memories and influencing one's view of events. The Triangle Factory Fire Project is one of the plays that falls into the last category." — OffOffOnline

"The creative pieces of this puzzle – cast, director, writer and designers – come together beautifully in a collaborative blaze of sadness, energy and poignancy. One can only hope that 100 years from now we might have the same perspective on our own New York tragedy." — Broadway.com

About the Playwright:

Christopher Piehler is is an American playwright and stand-up comedian who has made audiences laugh at the Comedy Store, the Ice House, Flappers, Tao Comedy Studio, and many, many bars and restaurants. He has written and performed two solo fringe shows, and his play, The Triangle Factory Fire Project, is regularly performed around the US. He has an MFA in playwriting from Columbia University.