A New Play by PETER SHAM

The Franklin Event is a play that blends historical fascination with emotional longing. It begins as a kind of charming theatrical parlor trick, a solo show where famed American founding father, Benjamin Franklin, by some unexplained electrical phenomenon, materializes regularly as if “on cue” before a live audience. The event has been hosted and moderated for many years by Grace Weller, a historian and author who first discovered the "Franklin Effect." The play is framed as an intellectual curiosity, however, as it progresses, the boundaries between the public and the private, the spectacle and the real, fall away revealing a love story haunted by time and inevitability. Reminiscent of a kind of paradoxical Groundhog Day, with Grace reliving the same events each night, while Franklin experiences them for the first time every time, the play is unique in the way it moves from the presentational to the conceit that the audience is allowed to “eavesdrop” on private moments between Ben and Grace. Cast Size:1W/1M.

NOTE: This brand new 2-person play is proving to be surprisingly popular in cities across the country, with 3 productions already scheduled for 2026, and 3 more applications in the cue! Looking for a patriotic, magical, & affordable show to celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary? Consider the The Franklin Event.

Would you like to read the play?

Email us. We’ll send you a Perusal Script on the house!

CAST BREAKDOWN

(1M/1W)