A new production by Tom Keels and Larry Arrigale
Take a stroll through the grounds and parlors of the historic Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion in Germantown. On your journey you will encounter some notable Philadelphians who lived in Germantown, and hear their stories.
The Monk of the Wissahickon. A journalist, labor activist, best-selling author who grew up in Germantown. An African-American caterer, restaurateur, philanthropist, and real estate entrepreneur who became one of the first black millionaires in America. A Germantown resident who became the first African-American woman to receive a degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. The founder of the Grey Panthers after she was forced to retire at age 65, and a fierce activist for integration, women’s rights, and mental health issues. A resident of the Mansion who met his end mysteriously in NYC.
A lively and intriguing alternative to a scary haunted house this season, these historic spirits will entertain and amuse you as you make your way through the 40 min tour of the picturesque house and gardens of Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion. Suitable for all audiences!
Saturday October 25, 2025
6:00pm-8:30pm
Growing Flowers on the Moon, the new play by award-winning playwright/screenwriter R. T. Bowersox, will have its World Premiere production mounted at the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion, 200 W. Tulpehocken Street in Germantown.
The play will run November 6 to 15, with performances every night at 7:00 pm. There will be a Sunday matinee performance at 2:00 pm on Sunday, November 9. It will be produced by Philadelphia’s TheatreXP.
“It’s a site-specific production,” said Bowersox. “When I first saw the Parlor in the mansion, I was struck with how remarkably similar the space was to the image I had in my mind when I was writing the play. It’s perfect for the story, and I knew that was where I wanted to produce it. There’s enough area for the actors to work in the center of the room, with the audience on either side of the long space. It will be very intimate, which is perfect for the nature of the story. The audience will feel like they’re actually there with the characters.”
The story centers around a reclusive, elderly woman named Helen MacMillan, who has lived in Cargill House, a large southern estate mansion in Savannah, Georgia, for the past 50 years. For all those years, she has been grieving the death of her fiancé, David Cargill, having never moved on emotionally after his passing. The night the play takes place – February 8th – is the fiftieth anniversary of Cargill’s death, and Helen and her life-long friend and companion, Flora Anthony, are marking the sad event as they have for half a century of February 8ths.
But then a knock comes at the door, and a young, 25-year-old, African-American man enters the home fully believing himself to be David Cargill. Despite the obvious impossibility, he knows things that only David Cargill would know – private moments and conversations, a thorough knowledge of Cargill House, and secret things only David Cargill and Helen MacMillan would have shared between themselves fifty years ago. Who is he? How could he know these intimate details from long before he was born? Why is he really there? Is it even possible that he could be the reincarnation of Helen’s long-lost love?
“It begins as a suspense tale,” said Bowersox, who will also produce and direct the play. “But it evolves and develops into something completely different. There are two twists at the end that you will never see coming or expect.”
The play stars seven actors who have built solid reputations in the Philadelphia theater community with performances at some of the area’s top theater venues – Susan Giddings, Cathy Simpson, Travoye Joyner, Kathryn Wylde, and Brian Scott Campbell. Bowersox’s wife and producing partner, Melody G. Moore, will stage manage the production.
Growing Flowers on the Moon will be the seventh professional production of a Bowersox play. Two years ago, his Crossing the Veil had its World Premiere at Plays and Players in Philadelphia. Several of his other plays have had successful professional runs as well, including Moment of Grace, The Poetry of Hearts, and The Return. His play, Person of Interest was also produced internationally. All have been award-winners in various competitions. On the film side, his screenplay, Muti, was produced as The Ritual Killer in 2023, starring Morgan Freeman and Cole Hauser.
The Maxwell Mansion is one of the last surviving examples of Victorian architecture in Philadelphia. It was built in 1859 for textile merchant Ebenezer Maxwell and his wife, Anna Smith Maxwell. It has been exquisitely curated and maintained under the watchful eye of Executive Director George W. Boudreau. The mansion and property will be part of the new Philadelphia chapter of the Victorian Society in America in 2025, an internationally recognized organization that works to educate about the unique, fascinating history of the era, preserve its surviving architecture, and celebrate the cultural treasures that survive from the nineteenth century. The Mansion is open to the public for tours most days.
Again, tickets can be purchased at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/theatrexp-inc/growing-flowers-on-the-moon or at https://theatrexp.org/blank/
For more information on the play, performance dates, or tickets, call TheatreXP at 302-540-6102.
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ANNUAL MURDER MYSTERY EVENTS
Written and directed by Josh Hitchens unless otherwise noted, with special effects by Jay Efran
2008 – Death of a Titanic Survivor
2009 – Murder in the Animal Kingdom
2010 – Good to the Last Ghost
2011 – A House Divided
2012 – The Borden Tragedy
2013 – Twisted: A Dickensian Murder Mystery (Written by Edward G. Pettit)
2014 – Diary of a Murder
2015 – The Case of the Cursed Doll
2016 – Mystery in the House of Usher: A Poe Tale (Written by Edward G. Pettit)
2017 – Death Takes a Curtain Call
2018 – A Séance to Remember
A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY (2010)
Adapted and Performed by Josh Hitchens, from the book from Charles Dickens
*Performed annually at the Dickens Christmas Party
STOKER’S DRACULA: A SOLO TALE OF TERROR (2011)
Adapted and Performed by Josh Hitchens, from the novel by Bram Stoker
*Presented in partnership with the Rosenbach Museum and Library
THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES: A STUDY IN SCARLET (2012)
Adapted by Josh Hitchens from the book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Directed by Jay Efran
Featuring Josh Hitchens, Jason Graboski, Rachel Gluck, Christopher Morse, Gerson Alexander, Alexander McDermott
*Presented in partnership with the Mutter Museum
BLOOD RELATIONS (2012)
Written by Sharon Pollock; Directed by Josh Hitchens
Featuring Megan Edelman, Karen Stevens, Robert Bauer, Sandy Clay Bauer, Janet Wasser, Jim Kelsh, Josh Hitchens
* Presented on August 4, 2012, the 120th anniversary of the Borden murders.
THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE SPECKLED BAND (2013)
Adapted by Jason Graboski from the story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Directed by Jay Efran
Featuring Josh Hitchens, Jason Graboski, Jessica Evans, Gerson Alexander
*Presented in partnership with the Mutter Museum
A DOLL’S HOUSE (2013)
Written by Henrik Ibsen; Adapted and Directed by Josh Hitchens
Featuring Jennifer Summerfield, Megan Edelman, Carl Granieri, Linda Minster, Ryan Walter, Peter Zielinski
*Presented in partnership with the American Swedish Historical Museum
THE ADVENURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES: A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA (2014)
Adapted by Josh Hitchens from the story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Directed by Jay Efran
Featuring Josh Hitchens, Jason Graboski, Loretta Vasile, Peter Zielinski
*Presented in partnership with the Mutter Museum
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (2014)
Written by William Shakespeare; Directed by Josh Hitchens
Featuring Megan Edelman, Josh Hitchens, Ken Jordan, Noah Levine, Edward G. Pettit, Jennifer Summerfield, Loretta Vasile, Ryan Walter, Peter Zielinski
THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE VALLEY OF FEAR (2015)
Adapted by Josh Hitchens from the novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Directed by Jay Efran
Featuring: Josh Hitchens, Peter Zielinski, Patrick McAndrew, Megan Edelman, Sue Edelman, Sam Miller, Edward G. Pettit, Brian Weiser
*Presented in partnership with the Mutter Museum
THE YELLOW WALLPAPER (2016)
Written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman; Directed by Josh Hitchens
Featuring: Jennifer Summerfield
*Presented in partnership with the Mutter Museum
LITTLE WOMEN (2016)
Written by Louisa May Alcott; Adapted and Directed by Josh Hitchens
Featuring: Christina Higgins, Megan Edelman, Molly Edelman, Sue Edelman, Sam Fineman, Allison Kessler, Brian Weiser
TRIBULATION PERIWINKLE: CIVIL WAR NURSE (2017)
Written by Louisa May Alcott; Adapted and Directed by Josh Hitchens
Featuring: Christina Higgins
ANNE OF GREEN GABLES (2017)
Written by Lucy Maud Montgomery; Adapted and Directed by Josh Hitchens
Featuring: Molly Edelman, Megan Edelman, Sam Fineman, Noel Hanley, Allison Kessler, Ryan Walter, Janet Wasser
THREE SISTERS (2018)
Written by Anton Chekhov; Directed by Josh Hitchens & Ryan Walter
Featuring: Megan Edelman, Molly Edelman, Sue Edelman, Sam Fineman, Jacob Glickman, C. J. Higgins, Josh Hitchens, Allison Kessler, Amber Orion, Geremy Webne-Behrman, Peter Zielinski.
