BY KAREN BOSSICK
In 1911 fire raced through the 10-story Asch Building in Manhattan, killing 146 garment workers who died from burns, smoke inhalation or jumping to their deaths.
Most were Italian and Jewish immigrants ages 14 to 23, and they were unable to escape since the doors to the stairwells and exits were locked as was the custom of that time to prevent thievery among workers.
Playwright Matt Thompson created a 45-minute play inspired by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire that he titled “The 146-Point Flame.” It gives words to four young women involved: an Italian immigrant, who shares her last night with romance and dancing; another who tells a story about her brother and mother, and sisters who meditate about the parallels of moving from life to the afterlife with their earlier move from Russia to America.
And the Wood River High School Drama Department has chosen to do it as part of its 2019 Spring One-Acts showcase.
Students will perform it at 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday at the Wood River High School Performing Arts Theater.
They will combine it with two other one-act plays:
Marla Crowe’s 10-minute “Number 223,” about the agony one endures waiting for their name to come up on the transplant list, will be performed by Sarah Feltman.
And Jerry Seinfeld’s 20-minute “The Jacket,” about a man who learns clothes don’t always make the man, will be directed by students Joseph Ziesing and Justice Petzoldt. That play will feature Will Pullin as Jerry Seinfeld, along with Samantha White, Ellie Anderson, Celeste Cortum, Taylor Telford, Sean Sheehan and Koii Lauritsen.
Students in “The 146 Point Flame” are Alaylia Norton, Juliette Rollins, Jessica Timmons, Brenann O’Leary, Madeline Biggers, Ramsey Marquis, Koii Lauritsen, Max Gardenswartz, Sarah Feltman, Joseph Ziesing, Justice Petzoldt, Will Pullin, Samantha White, Ellie Anderson, Celeste Cortum, Taylor Telford and Sean Sheehan.
The students will host the 6th annual WRHS One-Act Festival with students from the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind in Gooding and Shoshone and Richfield schools on Thursday, April 25. Performances will run throughout the school day beginning in third period. Those performances will be free to students from Wood River High School and Silver Creek High School.
Tickets to the performances Monday through Wednesday are $3 for one ticket or two for $5.