Ben Franklin: Unplugged

Kornbluth Breathes New Life into "Ben" - Pat Craig, Contra Costa Times, Thursday, October 21, 2004.
" Kornbluth has taken what was an entertaining monologue and turned it into a remarkable piece of theater that not only crackles with Kornbluth's sharp and engaging humor, but creates a delightful emotional bond between him and his audience."
" Those who have seen previous versions of the show will be surprised by this one, which is not only fleshed out, but is also some of the most sophisticated theatrical writing Kornbluth has done to date."
" Through this wildly funny and quite touching tour, we meet Kornbluth's mother and aunt, two old-school communists who gave the young man his political foundations. At first, he frets about how it would be possible for a young communist to represent the "First American" (as Franklin is frequently described) in any way. But through the power of some hilarious convolution, it turns out Ben and the commies may have a whole lot more in common than we ever dreamed."
" In the end, it is Kornbluth who makes the show sing. He has a terrifically engaging stage personality, coupled with a writing style, occasionally reminiscent of some of Woody Allen's early prose, that makes the evening a delight for anyone with a fondness for words or good theater."

Ben is Back - Just at the Right Time - Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle, Tuesday, November 2, 2004.
" The action dithers a bit early on but grows into an enchanting tale, divided between the story of Franklin and that of Kornbluth's Josh as a lazy researcher getting drawn into the mystery of Franklin's relationship with his son William. Arguments with his Stalinist mother feed into his quandary, as does a gig running around Manhattan dressed as Franklin for a series of MSNBC cable channel spots -- which leads to a wonderful confrontation with a stunned right-wing militiaman in front of the United Nations."
" The further Kornbluth gets into his subject, the more his mischievous wit reflects Franklin's own. As I wrote when the piece first appeared, this "Ben" is healthy, hilarious and wise."

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Kornbluth's Piercing, Gentle 'Ben' - Lloyd Rose, Washington Post, Thursday, May 11, 2000.
"Ben Franklin: Unplugged works on a lot of levels. Primarily its a detective story, as Kornbluth delves into the untold story of Franklin's break with his loyalist son. It's a revenge tale about Kornbluth getting his own back from a university that wouldn't accept him as a student. It's a show biz saga. Above all it's a pignant and penetrating father-son saga that completes a trilogy that deserves to stand with the best of the Jewish father-son sagas in our theatre."

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Founding Fodder - Village Voice, January 13-19, 1999
"...because of William's allegiance to the British (which included acts of loyalist terrorism), Ben permanently disowned him. Trying to understand the brutality of this rift is the heart of Josh Kornbluth's immensely enjoyable new monologue, Ben Franklin: Unplugged (P.S. 122). It's also a way for Kornbluth to examine the problematic relationship he has with his own parents: his unrepentantly Stalinist mother and, especially, his dead father."

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Kornbluth Evokes Spirit of Franklin - Robert Hurwitt, SF Examiner, Wednesday, May 27, 1998.
"JOSH KORNBLUTH looks like Benjamin Franklin. A lot. Especially with his long hair falling to his shoulders from his high, round, balding dome. Kornbluth looks even more like Franklin, as he demonstrates at the beginning of "Ben Franklin: Unplugged," when he slides his round wire-rims down his nose and peers over them with widened eyes and arched brows. It's a hilariously disarming, enchanting, and ingenious tale."

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