Taylor Rose Mickens, photo by Bob Sweeney
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) -- The internationally acclaimed, award-winning Philadelphia-based physical theater company Pig Iron Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Franklin’s Key, written by Dan Rothenberg and Robert Quillen Camp. This visually stunning theatrical adventure explores Benjamin Franklin's hidden discoveries in a magical, sci-fi alternate universeand runs June 3-29, 2025 at Plays & Players Theatre.
This electrifying new production transforms some of the city's most iconic landmarks into portals to adventure as two high school prodigies find themselves racing against time to protect Franklin’s secret inventions. Fans of The Goonies, Stranger Things, Harry Potter, and National Treasure will enjoy the artistry and mystery of this thrilling live stage production.
Pig Iron Theatre Company, founded in 1995 in Philadelphia, has long been recognized for its daring and highly physical approach to theater-making. Their genre-defying works have earned critical acclaim, with multiple Obie and Barrymore Awards. The upcoming production of Franklin's Key marks a significant shift from past experimental works often seen at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, embracing a more fantastical, family-friendly approach to storytelling.
During the War of Independence, the British feared Benjamin Franklin could control the weather. Franklin’s Key asks: What if that were true? A mystery unfolds for audiences in an alternate reality where Franklin's undiscovered technology has been hidden underneath some of Philadelphia’s most treasured landmarks for centuries.
Set in present-day Philadelphia, Franklin's Key follows two teenage prodigies: Temple, a self-taught scientist, and her brother Arturo, a gifted musician. The two uncover an ancient mystery, setting off a chain reaction that draws them into a secret battle between rival factions seeking to harness the incredible but volatile powers of Franklin's long-lost technology. Temple and Arturo, aided by a cast of quirky friends, traverse hidden tunnels under the city, leading them from abandoned subway platforms to the iconic statue of William Penn atop City Hall and the building-sized organ inside the old Wanamaker Department Store. With time running out, the team must navigate the labyrinth of Philadelphia's forgotten tunnels, evade powerful enemies, and unlock the secrets Franklin left behind before his discoveries fall into the wrong hands.
A love letter to Philadelphia's history, grit, and relentless ingenuity, this delightful and sharply choreographed performance incorporates object transformations and live stage illusions that bring the fantastical world to life. “Franklin’s Key is like a Marvel movie translated for the stage,” says Pig Iron’s Co-Artistic Director Dan Rothenberg. “We are working with an amazing team of scenic and effects designers to evoke building-sized automatons, Da Vinci Code-esque puzzles, and teenagers with telekinetic powers. While the story is cinematic in scope, audiences can expect Pig Iron’s signature, elegant stagecraft – sometimes disarmingly simple, but always surprising.”
Obie Award-winning Special Effects Designer Skylar Fox – known for his work in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway and around the world – brings his unique approach to stage magic to this intriguing tale. A Brooklyn-based designer renowned for creating innovative and boundary-pushing theatrical experiences, Fox has crafted effects for productions including Fat Ham (The Public/National Black Theatre), Boop! (Broadway), and You Will Get Sick (Roundabout Theatre Company, 2022). Franklin’s Key features an original score by the award-winning Rosie Langabeer, a New Zealand-born composer known for her inventive musical landscapes. Notable collaborations include Sunset, o639 Hours with BalletX, and Twelfth Night, previously with Pig Iron.
The brilliant design team also includes Set Designer Anna Kiraly (Pig Iron’s Chekhov Lizardbrain and Pay Up), who brings extensive experience in theater and opera design in New York and internationally; Tony-nominated Lighting Designer Amith Chandrashaker (Prayer for the French Republic and Merrily We Roll Along on Broadway), whose work has also been seen at major regional theaters and opera houses; Video Designer David Tennent, a creative technologist who previously worked with Pig Iron on A Period of Animate Existence; Sound Designer Chris Sannino, a Barrymore-nominated artist who has worked with numerous Philadelphia companies including The Wilma and Opera Philadelphia; Movement Director Yasmine Lee (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time on Broadway); and Philadelphia-based Costume Designer Maiko Matsushima, who has designed several acclaimed Pig Iron (Yuba City, Twelfth Night) and Wilma productions (Fairview, Hilma), as well as the reimagined Madame Butterfly at Pittsburgh Opera.
Co-writer Robert Quillen Camp wrote the text for Pig Iron’s Pay Up and Chekhov Lizardbrain, and is a regular collaborator with downtown New York provocateurs Hoi Polloi. Co-writer and Director Dan Rothenberg is one of the founders of Pig Iron Theatre Company, where he has been instrumental in creating over 30 original works that have toured to 15 countries.
Three actors from New York are leading the production as the story’s teen heroes: actor and singer Taylor Rose Mickens, making her Philadelphia theater debut, plays Temple. Temple’s brother Arturo is played by Alton Alburo, an actor most recently known for his role as Howie in the world premiere of Nic Adams’ most recent play, NECK DOWN. Jacob Orr (Montag, SoHo Rep) plays Temple’s hapless ex-boyfriend, Richard.
The supporting ensemble includes Chris Thorn (Death of a Salesman, Broadway, Hudson Theatre, 2022), as the enigmatic custodian of Ben Franklin’s grave, Bill Fordhook; Thorn’s additional performance credits include the Guthrie, A.R.T., and Lincoln Center. Alice Yorke, who portrays Diane Prentiss, a mysterious historian, is a Barrymore-nominated, Philadelphia-based actor, director, and producer. Yorke played the lead in Lightning Rod Special’s acclaimed musical The Appointment (NYTW: Next Door; Best of 2019 Theatre, New York Times, New York Magazine, Time Out). Actor Benjamin Bass (The Woodsman, 59E59 Theaters, NYC,; We Own This City, HBO) plays Armantrout and Jimmy, and Izzy Sazak, a Philadelphia-based theatermaker, takes on the dual roles of scientists Persephone Poledoris and Bonnie Jenkins. Sazak’s past credits include Pig Iron’s Poor Judge (The Wilma, Philadelphia, PA) as well as Pinocchio (The Arden, Philadelphia, PA) and Head Over Heels (Theatre Horizon, Norristown, PA).
The movement ensemble includes Makoto Hirano, co-founder of Philadelphia-based Team Sunshine Performance Corporation; Ben Grinberg, co-artistic director of award-winning Philadelphia performing arts company Almanac Dance Circus Theater; and Devon Sinclair, an actor-dancer who has performed regularly at the Walnut Street Theatre, People’s Light, and Delaware Theater Company. This exceptional ensemble brings Franklin's Key to life in a stunning fusion of historical mystery, electrifying spectacle, and innovative stagecraft.
Franklin’s Key takes place at one of the oldest theaters in the country, Play & Players Theatre, a charming 220-seat venue with a proscenium stage layout. Evocative set designs create a panorama of important landmarks, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, City Hall, and Christ Church Burial Ground, which become portals to adventure in this unique theatrical experience. With a run time of 110 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission, Franklin's Key fully utilizes the historic performance space and evocative scenic designs to transport audiences across time and space.
Programming and Tickets: Performances take place Wednesday through Sunday evenings at 7:00pm, with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00pm and two Tuesday evening performances on June 3 and June 10 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available online at Franklinskey.com, by phone at (267) 494-1919, or via email at [email protected]. Plays & Players Theatre is located at 1714 Delancey Street in Philadelphia, PA.
Student and group discounts are available for all performances. Franklin’s Key is recommended for audiences as young as 8 years old.
Pig Iron Theatre will offer a sensory-friendly “relaxed” performance of Franklin’s Key on June 12 at 7:00pm and an open captioned performance on June 28 at 2:00pm.
Daytime performances are available for group bookings, with flexible showtimes, potential post-show talkbacks featuring the artistic staff, and on-site concessions. Follow the journey and learn more at pigiron.org, on Instagram @pigirontheatre, and on Facebook.
Major support for Franklin’s Key has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
Pig Iron began as a “dance-clown-theater” ensemble in 1995, and their innovative productions garnered rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and then in the burgeoning arts scene of their hometown of Philadelphia. Now, over 25 years later, Pig Iron has emerged as a leader in the movement of alternative theater makers who seek to resituate how audiences encounter performance. The company is at the forefront of the “devised” theater movement, a practice of performance-making in which an ensemble of actor-creators begins its work in the studio rather than from a script. Their work moves between cabaret, site-specific / immersive theater, and highly choreographed physical and visual spectacles.
Pig Iron engages in collaborations with visionary artists who push the company in new directions. Collaborators have included legendary director Joseph Chaikin; playwright Toshiki Okada; designers Mimi Lien (Macarthur “Genius") and Machine Dazzle; the Grammy-winning choir The Crossing, indie rock outfit Dr. Dog, and filmmaker Josephine Decker. Pig Iron has toured 15 countries on four continents with notable appearances at the Public Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, the Humana Festival, TR Warszawa, and TPAM (Tokyo), among others. The company has won two OBIE Awards (NYC) and 10 Barrymore Awards, with over 50 nominations in Philadelphia.
