About the Musical

Although Penn spent only four of his 74 years in Pennsylvania, his legacy is profound. As a city planner, he mapped out a 'greene countrie towne' with broad, straight streets. He positioned each house in the middle of its plot, so that every child would have play space; he named its streets — Walnut, Spruce, Chestnut — for trees, not for men. His original city plan has survived. As a reformer, Penn replaced dungeons with workhouses, established the right of a jury to decide a verdict without harassment by a judge; provided schools where boys—and girls—could get a practical education; and limited the death penalty to two offences—murder and treason—rather than the 200 mandated by English criminal law.

The democratic principles that he set forth served as an inspiration for the United States Constitution. Ahead of his time, Penn was a visionary who, in the 1693, wrote a piece called “The Future Peace of Europe” and published a plan for a United Europe.