The Tallest Building in the World

by Matt Schatz

With equal measure of ego and genius, a young New York engineer sets out to build the world's tallest building - an easy task, as long as he can get his architect, the owner of the Empire State Building, and the Laws of Physics to cooperate. Based on actual events, The Tallest Building in the World examines the 1960s birth of the World Trade Center towers and what is gained and what is lost when we try to reach...

With equal measure of ego and genius, a young New York engineer sets out to build the world's tallest building - an easy task, as long as he can get his architect, the owner of the Empire State Building, and the Laws of Physics to cooperate. Based on actual events, The Tallest Building in the World examines the 1960s birth of the World Trade Center towers and what is gained and what is lost when we try to reach the sky.

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The Tallest Building in the World

Recommended by

  • Cheryl Bear: The Tallest Building in the World

    An insightful story of the emotional stake behind the construction of the world's greatest buildings and the precariousness of it all. Well done!

    An insightful story of the emotional stake behind the construction of the world's greatest buildings and the precariousness of it all. Well done!

  • David Hansen: The Tallest Building in the World

    Schatz tells an expansive story with great economy, utilizing a small number of interesting characters who debate and kvetch with wit and passion to build a dream for the future. The tragedy as they see it is the predetermined ephemera of architecture. As the playwright points out, "architecture might be the only art form where the art is destroyed as a means of progress." We are sadly aware of the flaws in the logic of their design, and how the techniques employed to make the thing possible are also elements which will contribute to its eventual destruction. Highly recommended.

    Schatz tells an expansive story with great economy, utilizing a small number of interesting characters who debate and kvetch with wit and passion to build a dream for the future. The tragedy as they see it is the predetermined ephemera of architecture. As the playwright points out, "architecture might be the only art form where the art is destroyed as a means of progress." We are sadly aware of the flaws in the logic of their design, and how the techniques employed to make the thing possible are also elements which will contribute to its eventual destruction. Highly recommended.

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization Florida Studio Theatre, Year 2012
  • Type Workshop, Organization Ensemble Studio Theatre, Year 2008
  • Type Reading, Organization Ensemble Studio Theatre, Year 2007
  • Type Commission, Organization Ensemble Studio Theater/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Year 2006
  • Type Reading, Organization Carnegie Mellon University, Year 2006

Production History

  • Type Professional, Organization Luna Stage, Year 2011