The Franklin Play: or, More or Less a Play About Benjamin Franklin
Based on a True Story ▪️ Family ▪️ American Revolution▪️ History & Legacy
Based on a True Story ▪️ Family ▪️ American Revolution▪️ History & Legacy
“ Compelling, complex, and innately theatrical, this is a play about history as an unreliable narrator and whose stories get told. A young man finds the family he is searching for, but in doing so is caught in the middle of a political revolution where both sides are willing to sacrifice anything "for the greater good". The warmth and compassion with which the central characters are written makes the historical setting come vividly to life. It's a remarkably thoughtful and effective piece. ”
1775—America is on the verge of revolution. Congress is about to convene. Independence is within reach. And Benjamin Franklin arrives in Philadelphia with his new secretary, a teenage boy named Temple.
The Franklin family is on the brink of collapse. Franklin's daughter, Sally, is bold, mouthy, and fiercely patriotic. His son, William, is short-tempered, logical, and unwavering in his loyalty to the Crown. And Temple, as it turns out, is not just Franklin’s secretary—he is William's abandoned son, a revelation that could either mend or destroy the family.
As Temple is shuffled between households—between Sally and William, Philadelphia and Perth Amboy, patriot and loyalist—he struggles to make both sides proud. But as war looms and sacrifices are made, he begins to see how history is not just recorded—it is shaped, manipulated, and mythologized.
Cast of 6 [4M, 2F]
Temple - 15, M - A boy. Our narrator.
William Franklin - 40s, M - Benjamin Franklin's loyalist son.
Sally Bache - 30s, F - Benjamin Franklin's patriot daughter.
Elizabeth Franklin - 40s, F - William's wife.
The Franklin Play (More or Less a Play About Benjamin Franklin) requires a minimal set, with scenes switching quickly between the Franklin homes in Philadelphia and Perth Amboy, New Jersey.