NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Colorado Springs’ own ‘Ben Franklin’ to perform Oct. 2

Family style event to meld entertainment, history, current affairs

Can you recite the opening lines of the U.S. Constitution? Do you know who authored it, and how many signers it had?

With a big election looming, all of us could probably use a refresher on the defining document that shaped our country, serving in the years since as the blueprint for expansion of the free world.

What if instead of consulting a textbook, you could watch Benjamin Franklin materialize right before your eyes?

On the second of October, you’ll have that chance, at a family-style event featuring a talented local thespian.

A former drama teacher and avid history buff, Colorado Springs local Christopher Lowell has traveled the world portraying Ben Franklin, and when he’s “in character,” he’s so immersed in his alter ego that you’ll get answers to different questions than you thought you’d asked.

For example, on the most distant destinations he’s traveled to portray his character, he’ll begin talking about the time he spent in Paris, and then London, before he returned to America in 1775 convinced that a revolution was the only way to proceed.

He’s modest about his own role in the ensuing fight for freedom. When you ask him how many “founding fathers” there were, he’ll look confounded for a moment. “We were all involved in our own time in the founding of America,” he says.

Despite the modesty, he’s not above name-dropping. Ask him to name his closest friend and colleague, and he’ll immediately bring up Jefferson.

“I was very close to Thomas Jefferson. He was like a son to me,” Franklin says with polite formality. “At the time of the Declaration of Independence, when young Tom was chosen to write the document, he was 33 years old, and I was 70. Mr. Jefferson did me the honor of asking me to edit the document and suggest some changes, which I did. We became quite close. He was in a sense a replacement for a son I had who remained loyal to England during the conflict and from whom I became estranged.” Estranged for life? “There are some insults that will never pass,” he confirms sadly.

You’ll probably have some questions of your own for the founding father best known for his science experiments, most notably with electricity. (Franklin was in fact a prodigious inventor, although he never sought a patent, considering his ideas a gift to the greater good of society.) In addition to experience in business and enterprise, he also had a long career as a diplomat and public official.

Franklin, Jefferson and other figures from history will be part of a reenactment and current events discussion 7 p.m. Oct. 2 at the Pikes Peak Center. Tickets are available at Ranch Foods Direct, which is co-sponsoring the event.

What, you might wonder, was important enough to coax Franklin from the grave? Grab a newspaper and peruse the headlines, says Ranch Foods Direct owner Mike Callicrate.

“Our country is at great risk. I don’t think you’ll find a lot of arguments right now considering the financial challenges we are facing,” Callicrate says. “We need a country — and an economy — that serves the people, not the other way around. Back in the day of our founding fathers, they recognized that to be a strong and vibrant nation we had to put the people’s interests first. We need to recognize that again.”

Gazing somberly from behind his eighteenth century wig, Franklin agrees.

“We are in a period of crisis, and we are threatened just as surely as if we were being threatened by the presence of the British red coats,” he states emphatically. “But this menace is more economic, and more subtle in nature.”

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Tickets: $12 at TicketsWest - Pikes Peak Center 

Tickets may be purchased by calling 719-520-SHOW or by visiting www.pikespeakcenter.com

For more information, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.prosperousamerica.org

Additional contact: Ranch Foods Direct, 2901 N. El Paso St., (719) 473-2306. Open Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-6 p.m.;Sat 8 a.m.-5 p.m. www.ranchfoodsdirect.com.