Reviewed by Amalisha HuEck
The intriguing story about one night, when two Founding Fathers John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, found themselves under the strange circumstance, where there was only one room available and they had to share the bed, had its world premiere on April 11 at Moving Arts Theatre.
Adams, who was the vice president for two terms under President George Washington, and in 1076 was elected as the United States’ second president, and Franklin, a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence and as an accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired and as such has been honored for more than two centuries after his death on the $100 bills.
Produced by Dana Schwartz & Laura Buckles, ‘What Price Freedom’, written by Tony Blake and directed by Darin Anthony, is a strong production with powerful portrayal of the characters Brandon Bales as John Adams and Rob Nagle as Benjamin Franklin, and has its moments with their verbal battle and plenty of humor.
As Director said, ‘Tonight play, What Price Freedom, is a look at our founding as a nation and just how fragile it was. In the theatre we long to see human connections and interactions. Here we bring these larger than the life characters of Benjamin Franklin and John Adams together for an event that could change the face of history. But what we discovered about this time frame, living under the thumb of King George, it actually has a lot of echos to today. What’s that they say, “History doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes.” I hope you hear the rhymes that I hear.’
The scenic & lighting design is successfully done by Justin Huen, sound design by Warren Davis; the authentic costumes were created by Mylette Nora and the prop design is by Dana Schwartz. The stage manager is Jonathan Strebe. Publicity is under control of Anita Lee PR and Eric Pargac is in charge of marketing.
What Price Freedom opened on Saturday, April 11th at 8 PM with a run through May 3rd. Performances are on Friday, Saturday, Monday at 8 PM and Sunday at 4 PM. Moving Arts Theatre is located at 3191 Casitas Ave Los Angeles, CA 90039. The car park is on the property. Tickets range from $15 (students) and $33 (public), and can be purchased by calling 323-472-5646 or go to info@movingarts.org