By Jaimie Julia Winters
What if Benjamin Franklin could tell you what really happened in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and Betsy Ross could explain the truth behind one of America’s most enduring legends?
Residents will have that opportunity to hear these stories when renowned historical reenactors Rob DeVitis and Alisa Dupuy appear as Dr. Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross at the Kearny Public Library and Museum on Friday, July 10, at 6:30 p.m., as part of the nation’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence.
The interactive presentation, Ben and Betsy, invites audiences into the world of Revolutionary Philadelphia, where two of America’s most recognizable historical figures share stories of their lives, their friendship, and the birth of a nation.
“It’s about knowing the story not told in the basic history books and understanding the importance of what these men and women accomplished for the country,” said DeVitis, who has portrayed Franklin for the past 15 years.
Ironically, becoming one of the nation’s best-known Benjamin Franklin reenactors wasn’t his idea.
“A friend said that I looked like Ben Franklin and wanted me to do an event,” DeVitis recalled. “Ever since I did that 15 years ago, I didn’t stop.”
That one performance became a passion for preserving American history through first-person interpretation.
“I now have a passion for keeping our history alive,” he said. “Talking with other interpreters. Sharing stories.”
Today, DeVitis is recognized as one of the country’s premier Franklin reenactors. Based in Philadelphia, he performs throughout the Northeast, has appeared on The Tonight Show and the National Geographic Channel, and has portrayed Franklin for organizations including the Smithsonian Institution and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also known for leading walking tours through Philadelphia’s historic district as Benjamin Franklin himself, mixing humor with meticulously researched history.
Joining him is Alisa Dupuy, founder of The Ladies of History, whose portrayals of influential women from the past have captivated audiences nationwide. A former award-winning French teacher in Princeton, Dupuy speaks five languages and has built a repertoire of more than 35 historical characters performed at libraries, museums, and historical societies across the country.
Ironically, Dupuy was initially reluctant to portray Betsy Ross.
“I didn’t even want to portray Betsy Ross because of the legend,” she admitted.
But extensive research changed her mind.
“When I started reading her biography, I found it very interesting. I have since become convinced of the truth of her participation, although not the design of the flag. Her contribution was one of production, not of design,” she said.
Rather than focusing solely on the famous story of the first American flag, Dupuy presents Elizabeth Griscom Ross Ashburn Claypoole as she really was — a successful upholsterer, seamstress, Quaker, and businesswoman who persevered through personal loss while contributing to the Revolutionary cause.
“I also believe that if people had known of her previous connections to Washington before the Revolutionary War, they would not have been so quick to dismiss the possibility of her contribution,” Dupuy said.
Together, Franklin and Ross reveal how their lives intersected in Revolutionary Philadelphia.
“We both volunteered our time and efforts for our new nation,” DeVitis said of the stage partnership. “We have so many similarities in our lives. We shared and lived in the same parts of the city before, during, and after the war.”
Dupuy agrees, noting that the pair’s many personal and historical connections provide the foundation for an engaging performance.
“We use those connections to develop our presentation,” she said.
The program goes beyond familiar textbook stories.
Audience members can expect lively conversation, humor, questions and answers, and little-known anecdotes that reveal the personalities behind the famous names.
“I want people to have an appreciation of the hardships that 18th-century people endured,” Dupuy said. “The true grit and determination that they displayed, as well as their sense of duty to this country, so that we would have the wonderful country that we have today.”
For DeVitis, preserving those stories is especially meaningful as the United States marks its Semiquincentennial.
“The many men and women who fought, toiled, rebelled or died for our freedom — that’s the lesson people should remember,” he said.
Dupuy believes the Revolution also offers lessons for modern America.
“People should be compromising more in order to form a more perfect union,” she said. “Back then, it was more common for people to serve in politics as civil servants rather than for their own interests. The Founding Fathers understood that building a nation required compromise.”
Their presentation is especially fitting for Kearny, whose own colonial history reaches back to New Barbadoes Neck and the Revolutionary War. The area served as a strategic military corridor during the conflict, with nearby Schuyler Mansion functioning as British headquarters during the 1777 campaign and local militia helping defend northern New Jersey.
As the nation commemorates 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, DeVitis and Dupuy hope audiences leave with something more valuable than historical trivia.
They hope people see Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross not as distant legends frozen in paintings, but as real people who faced uncertainty, hardship, and extraordinary challenges while helping build a new nation.
For one evening in Kearny, history will come alive thanks to the Kearny History Museum.
