'The Triangle Factory Fire Project'
Aidan Fritz as Charles Bostwick, lawyer for the prosecution, and Joel Stewart as Samuel Bernstein, the foreman, at the Triangle Factory on March 25, 1911. (Courtesy photo)
Kenzie White as Mary Alter, a secretary, and Jez Schussler as Dinah Lifschitz, a bookkeeper, at the Triangle Factory on March 25, 1911. (Courtesy photo)
The Wolfpack Theatre Co. at Glacier High School will open the 2017-2018 season with the dramatic documentary theater experience “The Triangle Factory Fire Project,” at 6:33 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, and Saturday, Sept. 23, in the Wolfpack Theatre at Glacier High School in Kalispell. This show was rescheduled due to the recent school closures in the area.
Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for children, students and senior citizens. Tickets for the new show dates will be available at the door each night. Pre-purchased tickets for original show dates will be honored at the door either night.
With 146 deaths of primarily female immigrant workers, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City in 1911 was one of the deadliest industrial disasters in U.S. history. In a moment of carelessness, a cigarette is tossed into a bin of fabric scraps. Despite desperate efforts, flames rapidly sweep through three floors of the building. More than 500 terrified workers run in all directions. On the ninth floor, some make it to the fire escape, only to have it collapse beneath their weight. On the eighth floor, 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.
“The story is tragic and is a reminder of what we have overcome in the United States. We can learn much from our own history,” said director Greg Adkins. “I love historical plays and the story of the Triangle Factory fire has always intrigued me. I was moved by last season’s production of ‘The Laramie Project’ and that really inspired me to look at the play. ?When I read it, I knew within the first couple of pages, that this was a play we needed to do at Glacier High School.”
Scott Alan Evans, in collaboration with Christopher Piehler, researched and compiled eyewitness accounts, court transcripts and other archival material to create a dramatic moment-by-moment account of this historic fire. “The Triangle Factory Fire Project” explores the time period leading up to the fire, the desperate moments of the factory fire as described by people both in and outside the building, and the trial following the fire and the social upheaval that followed.
“These are the real words of those who survived the fire,” said Adkins. “With these words in mind, we hope the audience appreciates the magnitude of these events.”
The acting company of “The Triangle Factory Fire Project” includes Nick Brester, Aidan Fritz, Kedryn McElderry, Ammon Hill, Joel Stewart, Sierra Riley, Jezalyn Schussler, Brooklyn Lamers, Caitlyn Goeman, Millie Espeseth, Ty Espeseth and Kenzie Berner.
Behind the scenes Jenna McCrorie, Trevor Woodward, Jaden Woeppel, Sydney Fletcher, Robert Hurly, Kimberly Liles, Asher Robinson, Isaac Schroeder and Emma Trunkle make up the music, stage, lighting, music and sound crew.