Chicago Children's Theatre's to Present MESMERIZED: A BEN FRANKLIN SCIENCE & HISTORY MYSTERY This Fall

Chicago Children’s Theatre is launching its 19th season with an electrifying new production, the world premiere of Mesmerized: A Ben Franklin Science & History Mystery.

Part farce, part docudrama, Mesmerized is a fun new introduction for kids to Ben Franklin, one of our country’s founding fathers and most famous scientists, best known for being the first to harness electricity with a kite and a key.

Through fabulous storytelling, fast-paced comedy and audience interaction, Ben and his smart, outspoken young niece, Sarah, embark on a journey to France where they discover that people are being magically cured by a mysterious man - Dr. Mesmer. So Ben and Sarah agree to employ the Scientific Method to put Dr. Mesmer's mystical powers to the test. Is it science, is it magic, or will we all be Mesmerized?

Watching the on-stage pandemonium unfold through the eyes of young Sarah, kids will be having such a good time that they won’t even realize they’re learning about science, history, the American Revolution and Ben Franklin’s many scientific discoveries and inventions. 

Mesmerized: A Ben Franklin Science & History Mystery runs September 23-October 15, 2023, Saturdays and Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Press openings are Saturday and Sunday, September 23 and 24 at 9:30 and 11 a.m. Run time is 60 minutes. Mesmerized is recommended for ages seven and up.

Single tickets, $30-$40 (including fees), go on sale August 1. Visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org, call (312) 374-8835, or email boxoffice@chicagochildrenstheatre.org for tickets, group rates and more information.

Even better, subscriptions to Chicago Children’s Theatre’s 2023-24 season are now on sale at chicagochildrenstheater.org. Three-show packages including Mesmerized, The Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party, and A Year with Frog and Toad, start at just $83. Or, choose a two-play package starting at just $53. Sign up for the CCT Family email list by June 30 for 25% off season tickets. 

Chicago Children’s Theatre is located at 100 S. Racine Ave., at Monroe, in the heart of Chicago's West Loop. It’s minutes from I-90 and I-290, as well as downtown and Ashland Avenue. Free, onsite parking is available on the south side of the building. Free street parking can be found nearby on weekends, or try the Impark parking lot, 1301 W. Madison St.

For more, visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org, follow the company on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to its YouTube channel, CCTv: Virtual Theatre and Learning from Chicago Children’s Theatre.

Behind-the-scenes of Mesmerized: A Ben Franklin Science & History Mystery

Mesmerized: A Ben Franklin Science & History Mystery is based on a real-life, scientific stand-off between Ben Franklin and Dr. Franz Mesmer, an Austrian physician known for coining the term “animal magnetism” and one of very few people whose name has become a verb in everyday use – mesmerize. In 1782, at the behest of the King of France and his teen bride, Marie Antoinette, Franklin was summoned to the halls of Versailles, where he used the Scientific Method to put Dr. Mesmer’s dubious new miracle cure-all to the ultimate test.

“In the end, the story of Ben Franklin and Franz Mesmer exhibits the strength of the imagination and the power of the Placebo Effect,” says Suzanne Maynard Miller, who adapted the play, inspired by Mara Rockcliff’s book “Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France.” “But, most of all, this narrative explores the idea of science and its capacity to guide us as we navigate this thing called life.” 

Chicago Children’s Theatre’s debut production of Mesmerized is directed by Tommy Rapley, who previously staged the company’s acclaimed production of Leo Lionni’s Frederick, also adapted by Suzanne Maynard Miller, and choreographed CCT’s productions of The Hundred Dresses and A Year with Frog and Toad. 

The cast for Mesmerized features (at press time) China Brickey as Marie Antoinette, Kasey Foster as Charles, Rika Nishikawa as Sarah, and Shawn Pfautsch as Ben Franklin. They’ll be supported by a nimble ensemble working at lightning speed to tell the true story of a defining moment in science history. 

Per usual, this CCT world premiere also showcases the work of top Chicago professional designers, including Collette Pollard (set), Mieka van der Ploeg (costumes), Trey Brazeal (lights), Matthew Muñiz (sound and original music), Bren Coombs (props), Megan E. Pirtle (wigs, assistant costume designer), Lauren Nichols (assistant scenic designer), Anastar Alvarez (production stage manager) and Shannon Golden-Starr and Zachary Crewse (assistant stage managers). 

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