Pig Iron Theatre Company Presents World Premiere of "Franklin's Key" Through June 29

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Explore the city of Brotherly Love in "Franklin's Key," on stage now at Plays and Players Theatre.

"'Franklin's Key' is a sci-fi adventure show," says actor Jacob Orr. "It's like 'The Goonies' meets 'Da Vinci Code' a little bit."

"It's such a magical adventure, full of mystery and surprises, and beautiful, visual storytelling," says actor Alton Alburo.

"What if, like, right under our feet in this city, there were puzzles to be unlocked?" asks Jasmine Jiang, Managing Director of Pig Iron Theatre Company.

During the War of Independence, the British believed that Ben Franklin could control the weather due to his experiments with electricity. What if that were true?

"This is a play set in an alternate universe where Ben Franklin had secretly invented a bunch of technology far beyond his time and then hid it away," says Jiang.

And now, in modern day Philly, two teenage siblings discover that mystery.

"Temple is a budding young scientist who's had to take on the care of her brother," says Alburo. "I'm playing Arturo, who is a young musical prodigy, who plays the cello and possibly key instruments."

"And I play Richard, who is Temple's ex-boyfriend, who is currently working as a museum security guard," says Orr. "I work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art."

They uncover a hidden tunnel at the museum that leads them underneath the city's most iconic landmarks.

Jiang says they find a secret society hiding there that's been protecting Ben Franklin's inventions this whole time.

"And they have to race against time to make sure that these inventions don't fall into the wrong hands," she says.

Visual Effects Designer, Skylar Fox, helped create the magic. Fox also worked on effects for "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" on Broadway.

"There's things appearing and disappearing," says Jiang. "There's fire and a little bit of pyrotechnics. It's a really exciting visual show."

And the movement ensemble helps to physically animate the show.

"It's so much fun," says Alburo.

"We really hope this gets people thinking about the world around them and really excited to see how they themselves can relate to the city and its legacy," says Jiang.

Pig Iron Theatre Company presents "Franklin's Key" through June 29 at Plays and Players Theatre.

For more information:

"Franklin's Key"
Pig Iron Theatre Company
Link to Tickets at Plays and Players Theatre

Plays and Players Theatre
1714 Delancey Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103