A.R.T. & the Museum of the American Revolution to Present BETSY ROSS BEYOND THE FLAG

American Repertory Theater at Harvard University and the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia announced today the co-presentation of the next event in A.R.T's Civically Speaking series, Betsy Ross Beyond the Flag, to be held online on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 6:30PM ET.

Betsy Ross Beyond the Flag will explore the life and legend of the woman remembered for sewing America's first flag, as well as the role of historical reenactment and search for historical truth in A.R.T. productions. The event will feature author/historians Dr. Marla Miller and Dr. Aimee E. Newell with actor Lenne Klingaman (Waitress National Tour), and include a virtual visit to the Museum of the American Revolution.

Tickets are now available at AmericanRepertoryTheater.org/CivicallySpeaking. Free and open access to Betsy Ross Beyond the Flag and other virtual events is provided by the generous support of A.R.T. Members.

ABOUT Betsy Ross BEYOND THE FLAG

The life of Elizabeth Griscom Ross Ashburn Claypoole (1752-1836), better known as Betsy Ross, is one of American legend. But legends are often shrouded in myth, hyperbole, and even outright untruths. Ross's life at the time of the Revolutionary War is no different. What do we actually know about Betsy Ross? Where did she live and work, and what kind of flags did she make in her long lifetime? How did historical reenactment play a part in American Repertory Theater's past production of Waitress, and how is a search for historical truth informing their upcoming revival of 1776?

Join A.R.T. (Cambridge, MA) and the Museum of the American Revolution (Philadelphia, PA) for a virtual museum visit and conversation with author and historian Dr. Marla R. Miller (Betsy Ross and the Making of America) and actor Lenne Klingaman (Waitress National Tour), moderated by Sarah Schofield-Mansur, Assistant Director, Special Events & Programming at A.R.T., to uncover the facts and fictions associated with Ross and her contemporaries. Museum Director of Collections and Exhibitions Dr. Aimee E. Newell (A Stitch in Time: The Needlework of Aging Women in Antebellum America) will present the challenges of researching provenance for flags, textiles, and more. She will also discuss real Revolutionary women's lives through the use, preservation, and interpretation of these historical artifacts and how they continue to influence the ongoing fight for women's rights today.

Featuring insights from current scholarship on women's history and discoveries in material culture studies, Betsy Ross Beyond the Flag will explore Betsy Ross's influence on the cultural memory of women's contributions to the American Revolution.

Civically Speaking is A.R.T.'s series of virtual conversations, lectures, and performance events on history, politics, justice, and the meaning of democracy. Upcoming events include The Odyssey in Ulysses on Monday, February 28. Past events included Deborah Sampson Unveiled (with the Museum of the American Revolution) Flap My Wings: 10 Years Since Tahrir Square; Resistance Mic! with performers Justin Danzy, Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, Oompa, V (formerly Eve Ensler), and a short film by John Lucas and Claudia Rankine; Just Us: A Conversation with Claudia Rankine and Orlando Patterson; Protecting and Deepening Our Democracy: What Should We Do Now? with Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government at the Harvard Kennedy School Archon Fung; Talking Politics with Maxine Isaacs, and more.

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