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'Triangle Factory Fire Project' Gets Feb. 7 Benefit Concert Reading in Centennial Year of NYC Tragedy

The Triangle Factory Fire Project, the 2004 Off-Broadway theatrical event that used public documents to tell the true story of an American workplace tragedy, gets a benefit concert reading on Feb. 7.

Written by Christopher Piehler and Scott Alan Evans, the piece was produced to acclaim by TACT/The Actors Company Theatre, which is reviving it as a benefit for TACT and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Memorial Fund. TACT co-artistic director Evans directs.

Evans told Playbill.com, "This version of the play will be a bit pared down — but the strength of the piece is in the text and the incredible stories of the people who survived.We have a very strong cast — including many of the original cast members from our 2004 Off-Broadway production and I am really looking forward to revisiting this material with them."

The script is published by Dramatist Play Service, and has "enjoyed productions all over the country already," Evans said.

The performance, according to TACT, is "the kickoff event leading up to the city-wide commemoration of the centenary of the tragic fire at The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory," which happened March 25, 1911, near Washington Square.

The 7:30 PM performance at Theatre 80 on St. Mark's Place will feature TACT co-artistic director Cynthia Harris and original cast members from the 2004 Off-Broadway production, including Jamie Bennett, Nora Chester, Francesca Di Mauro, Timothy McCracken, James Murtaugh and Scott Schafer, as well as guest artists Victoria Mack and Jeff Talbott. A reception with the cast will follow the performance.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Company, located one block east of Washington Square Park in New York City, was ravaged by fire on March 25, 1911. There were more than 500 employees working that day — most of them were recent immigrants, many of them young women. In the end, 146 people died. The fire became a rallying cry for the international labor movement, women's rights, the suffrage movement, workers' rights, workplace safety, fire safety laws, and a symbol of corporate neglect and injustice.

According to TACT, 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."

Company designers Mary Louise Geiger (lights), Daryl Bornstein (sound) and David Toser (costumes) will also be represented, with original music composed by Colin McGrath. Company member Meredith Dixon will stage manage the evening with assistance from Megan E. Coutts. 

Tickets are $100 ($70 tax-deductible) and may be purchased by visiting www.theater80.net or by calling (212) 388-0388.

For more information, please visit www.tactnyc.org.