Washington Post Staff Writer
May 11, 2000; Page C1
Perhaps in deference to his historical subject, Josh Kornbluth dresses up a bit in "Ben Franklin Unplugged," his latest--and in some ways richest--one-man show at Theater J. In addition to trousers and white shirt, Kornbluth dons a wine-colored, Jacquard-pattern vest. More sartorial riches are to come: In the second act, Kornbluth actually dresses up like Franklin, which makes sense, as he claims that the whole inspiration for the show came to him one day while he was staring into the shaving mirror and realized he bore a resemblance to "the first American." Jewish and the son of Communist parents, Kornbluth thinks that he might be described as an "un-American," so he approaches his research into Franklin with some trepidation. Soon, however, he has found a link between himself and his subject. "I'm a professional son," he confides to us, and his shows have always been about "my father's expectations for me and how I haven't met them." In Franklin pere et fils, he finds a father-son relationship that makes his look cozy.
"Ben Franklin Unplugged" works on a lot of levels. Primarily it's a detective story, as Kornbluth--possessed, like most of us, of only the patriotic cliches about Franklin--delves into his subject. In true modern scholarly style, he perceives the presence in an absence--i.e., the untold story of Franklin's break with his royalist son--in the episodes in Franklin's life that he neglected to include in his autobiography.
Like a detective, Kornbluth forms and then abandons hypotheses as he unearths more and more facts. History is elusive. Did Franklin sit comfortably in a shed taking notes while making his son, William, run around in a thunderstorm with the famous kite? Or were they collaborators, the kite linked safely to a jar of water that served as a lightning rod?
On his quest, Kornbluth has various adventures, and the show assumes several forms. It's a show biz saga: His Aunt Birdie gets him a job impersonating Franklin on spots for MSNBC. It's a character study of an eccentric Yale professor. It's a revenge story about Kornbluth getting his own back from the university that wouldn't accept him as a student. It's a bunch of political jokes--if his Communist mother brings up a storage bin of Kornbluth's she's paid for for 18 years, "I, in turn, bringup Stalin."
Above all, it's a poignant and penetrating father-son story, an attempt at closure and reconciliation, even redemption. Franklin's son broke his heart by insisting on being his own man, and Franklin turned implacably from him. "My son," he told George Washington, "is now our enemy." Kornbluth, still mourning his own mightily eccentric father, who died some 20 years ago, hopes to find some previously overlooked bit of evidence--a journal entry, a letter--that reveals renewed love between the Franklins. It's not there.
But Kornbluth is certainly here, hopeful, grieving and giving. With "Red Diaper Baby" and "The Mathematics of Change," both of which will be presented with it on Sunday, "Ben Franklin Unplugged" completes a trilogy that deserves to stand with the best of the Jewish father-son sagas in our theater.
Ben Franklin Unplugged, by Josh Kornbluth in collaboration with David Dower. Directed by David Dower. Costume design, Laura Hazlett; music and sound, Joshua Raoul Brody; lights, Mike Daniels. At Theater J through Sunday. Call 800-494-8497.