With all the sturm und drang thrown at us by this administration, it’s easy to be cynical about celebrating the 250thanniversary of the Declaration of Independence. And if that’s the case for you, I urge you to see Tony Blake’s What Price Freedom? at Moving Arts in Atwater Village. His meticulously researched two-hander features the talents of veteran Rob Nagle as Benjamin Franklin and Brandon Bales as John Adams, on their way to negotiate a truce with the British on the eve of the Revolutionary War. What could go wrong?
Starting with the fact that these two opposite-thinking founding fathers are forced to share a room together, the sparks and the ideas fly through a long night, and we are treated to the unusual idea that Franklin was contemplating a compromise that would have scuttled the whole idea of independence for the colonies. The debate feels familiar, yet it’s nothing you’d ever learn in school.
Director Darin Anthony had fun playing with the rhythms that Blake sets forth in the play. Alternating moods pull us through the complicated debate, punctuated by both humor and horror. (And for more about that, you’ll have to see the play). The ambiance is augmented by the meticulously created lodging complete with four-poster bed, designed, , along with the lighting, by Justin Huen. We can thank Mylette Nora for the authentic 18th-century garb, complete with buckled shoes, and Warren Davis for the sound design, right down to the squeaks in the bed. It takes a village, and in this case, a professionally run theater company, to present such a important play.
Moving Arts presents What Price Freedom, playing Friday, Saturday, Monday at 8 PM & Sunday at 4 PM through Sunday, May 3rd at Moving Arts Theatre, 3191 Las Casitas Ave., Las Angeles, CA 90039. Free Parking available. General admission: $33; students $15. For tickets and information call: 323-472-5646, or online at info@movingarts.org.
