Usually the history lectures at Primitive Hall are pretty tame: a slide show about colonial botanist Humphrey Marshall; an illustrated lecture about Philadelphia silhouettes; an analysis of the Pennock family's connections with London Grove Friends Meeting.
Not so on Thursday, Dec. 5.
The evening started out normally, as the guests gathered in the candlelit center hall of the 1738 house museum. Matthew Skic, an associate curator at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, gave a lecture about Richard St. George, an Irish soldier and artist who is the subject of the museum's new exhibit, "The Cost of Revolution."
Then things got exciting.
Actor Seth Reichgott, dressed as St. George, swept into the center hall from a side parlour, shouting at the "ruffians" who were threatening him (the peasants in the Irish Rebellion). He then told us about his military adventures and the uprisings that were occurring around the world. He talked about being shot in the head at the Battle of Germantown in the American Revolution and how he suffered physical after-effects ever since, as well as what we would today call PTSD.
Seth's amazing performance, sometimes delivered while he was standing atop a Windsor chair, was electrifying. We hung on every word of the monologue, written by Philadelphia playwright Chris Braak.
If you missed the lecture, Seth and another actor perform it twice a day at the museum, which is at 101 South Third Street. "The Cost of Revolution" exhibit is open through March 17, 2020.
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