E. Haig’s Review of a New Play at STC

Benjamin Franklin is one of the most popular and highly regarded of the country’s “founding fathers.”  His life story has been told in any number of biographies (most notably H.W. Brands’ “The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin” (2000) and Walter Isaacson’s “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life” (2003)).  But little is commonly known or understood about his personal life.

Gary Wright’s new play, “Of Kites and Kings,” reveals a darker side of that personal life in relating the difficult relationship Franklin had with his illegitimate son, William.  The play is currently being staged on the Pollock Stage at the Sacramento Theater Company.  It is entertaining and educational and, on both counts, is well worth seeing.

Mr. Wright’s version of the relationship is told through the narration of Polly Stevenson, who owns the London boarding house where Franklin stays on his extended trips to England.  Ms. Stevenson may or may not have had the long-lasting relationship with father and son (Mr. Wright has undoubtedly used some literary license in the creation of her character), but the artifice works very well, especially since she is played in this production by the marvelous Katie Rubin, who all but steals the show in scene after scene.

To be sure, the tale is about the father and the son, but Mr. Wright has chosen to tell it with a heavy dose of comedy, much of it provided by Ms. Stevenson’s character.  Her narration, neatly woven into the real-time scenes in which she interacts with the male characters, includes occasional mind-trips (all from her perspective) and role playing (of other men and women in the story).  At times, she is playing two different roles in the same scene, all with nearly over-the-top élan from Ms. Rubin.

The men in the story, Ben, Will, and Will’s son Temple (also illegitimate) are shown at various stages of their relationships.  The first (and last) scenes show Ben and Will flying a kite in the midst of a thunderstorm, conducting Ben’s famous experiment that led to his discovery of the electrical power of lightning.  The scene is wonderfully staged by director Eric Wheeler, and it recurs throughout the play, each time with more dramatic significance.

Mr. Wheeler also uses an above stage projection of scene titles to great effect.  Those titles often provide a touch of humor in themselves.  In fact, his adroit use of the relatively small space on the Pollock stage is noteworthy, as are the fine performances he gets from the entire cast.  In addition to Ms. Rubin, Ted Barton is excellent as Benjamin, who, even if he isn’t shown to age significantly over the 33 years that the story covers, still projects the father’s overbearing, if loving, concern for his son.

The most demanding role might be of the son, and as Will, Dan Fagan conveys all the pathos of his character, at first serving his father with obeisance, if not reverence, and later defying him as their views of English rule of the colonies diverge.  Mr. Fagan captures the son’s ultimate loss of self-respect in the play’s closing scenes with a poignancy that is heartbreaking, even as his father’s break with his son seems heartless.

Rounding out the cast, Riley Edwards (alternating in performances with Adrian Anderson) was appropriately impertinent as Ben’s grandson.  The effective set design on the small Pollock stage is the work of Eric Broadwater.  Lighting and sound were designed by Les Solomon.  Jessica Minnihan provided the period appropriate costumes.

There is much to laugh at in “Of Kites and Kings,” but in the end the laughter only partially covers the inherent sadness in the tale of a great man who was unable to maintain a loving relationship with his son.

Performances of “Of Kites and Kings” continue on the Pollock Stage at the Sacramento Theatre Company through December 13. Tickets and information are available at the theater box office (1419 H St.), by phone (916-443-6722) and online (www.sactheatre.org).