By Robert Simonson
12 Aug 2003

WTC View, a new play by Brian Sloan which tells of a classic New York story taking place in the midst of an international tragedy, will have its debut at the New York International Fringe Festival on Aug. 13 for a run through Aug. 23. The festival got underway on Aug. 8.

Sloan based his play on his real life experiences during the days just preceding and following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. He explains the circumstances in a playwright's note: "The last thing I did on the evening of September 10 was place an online ad for a roommate in The Village Voice. Believe it or not, on September 12 I had a number of people calling wanting to look at my apartment, even though I was not there and they could not get downtown to see it as it was in the 'zone.'

"This strange situation served as the jumping off point for my first full length play. It is about a SoHo resident as he looks for a new roommate in the weeks right after 9/11. Finding a roommate in New York City is always an adventure. But after 9/11, it was downright bizarre. As each prospective tenant came to see my apartment, they inquired not only about the utilities and whether there was laundry in the building but they also ended up sharing their own personal stories about what happened to them on 9/11. And this served as the real basis for what became this play. My intent with this sort of approach was to provide an historical snapshot of those strange days that followed 9/11."

The cast features Jeremy Beazlie, Jay Gillespie, Elizabeth Kapplow, Michael Linstroth, Lucas Papelias, Nick Potenzieri and Michael Urie.

WTC View is at the Bottle Factory Theatre, 195 E. 3rd St. (between Avenues A and B). Tickets are $15. To purchase, call (212) 279-4488.