THEATER REVIEW: ‘Milk Punch: a Play about Benjamin Franklin,’ now at Mixed Company Theatre

Renowned playwright and Mixed Company Theatre co-founder Joan Ackermann has been writing, acting in, and directing plays for decades. Her most recent play, “Milk Punch: a play about Benjamin Franklin”— commissioned years ago by John Studzinski (American-British philanthropist and board chair of the Benjamin Franklin House in London)—runs Thursday through Sunday evenings until November 22. Speaking with Lin Manuel Miranda after seeing “Hamilton” when it opened, Studzinski asked, “Why wasn’t Ben Franklin in the musical, given the fact that he’s the only one who signed all three documents (the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris, and the U.S. Constitution)?” Miranda responded, “We couldn’t put him in the musical because he’s larger than life. He would dwarf all of the other characters.” Soon after, Studzinski commissioned Ackermann to write a play, trusting her unique ability to deal with the “diversity and complexity” of Franklin’s legacy. “He’s such an enigma.

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