WELLSBORO, PA – This coming Tuesday, June 23, at 7:30 p.m., Robert Gleason will take the stage as Charles Willson Payne (April 15, 1741-February 22, 1827) in the Coolidge Theatre at 104 Main Street in Wellsboro. Following his first-person performance will be a question and answer session with the audience. He will be in character the entire time.
This is the fourth History Comes Alive show being presented by the Deane Center for the Performing Arts during the 2026 series.
A painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist, Charles Willson Peale is considered one of the Founding Generation’s greatest Renaissance men. He was motivated by a seemingly endless curiosity. Not only did he have expertise in painting but also in many diverse fields, including carpentry, dentistry, optometry, shoemaking, and taxidermy.
It was his love of art that took Peale to England in 1767 where he studied for three years under arguably the best painter of the times, American ex-patriot, Benjamin West. Unlike his mentor, Peale believed in the great promise and possibilities of the New World and America, his home country. He returned to the Colonies and settled in Annapolis, Maryland.
In 1775, Peale’s enthusiasm for the American Revolution led him to move to Philadelphia, then the national capital, where he began painting portraits of notable people.
Peale also recruited troops for the Pennsylvania militia, which ultimately joined with other militia to create the Continental Army commanded by General George Washington that helped win American Independence. Peale rose to the rank of captain and participated in the successful Battles of Trenton (Dec. 26, 1776) and Princeton (Jan. 3, 1777).
While in combat, Peale painted miniature portraits of various officers. After the war, he returned to painting full-time in Philadelphia, immortalizing many of our founding fathers and mothers. Peale’s catalog of work is one of the most complete collections of “Who’s who” of the Founding Generation and one of the most important lasting contributions to our present understanding of those who framed this nation.
Among the scores of portraits he did of historic figures were George Washington who sat for Peale 7 different times between 1772 and 1795; Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton.
He taught his brother James and some of his 16 children to paint. They carried on his legacy as artists.
Peale also had a great interest in natural history. In 1801, he organized the first scientific excavation in U.S. history in Newburgh, New York and unearthed a mastodon skeleton.
These two major interests combined in his founding of what became the Philadelphia Museum, later known as Peale’s American Museum. It housed a diverse collection of botanical, biological, and archaeological specimens along with Peale’s paintings.
Gleason has a degree in Theatre Arts from West Chester University and has performed on stage, screen, television and radio. He has a large stock of costumes, props, and books.
In 1991, Gleason joined the American Historical Theatre in Philadelphia as James Wilson. At that time, he had been portraying Wilson, a Founding Father, for the Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge since 1985.
Gleason termed his meeting with AHT founders William and Pamela Sommerfield as a turning point in his personal and professional life. In-depth research and interaction with audiences have become hallmarks of his historical portrayals.
The next History Comes Alive performance in the Deane Center’s Coolidge Theatre will be Tom Pitz as Thomas Jefferson at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 10.
History Comes Alive is made possible by grants from America250PA and the Charles Knox & Margaret Etner Foundation.
Tickets for each show are $15. Children 12 and under accompanied by a paying adult are admitted free. For information or tickets, call 570-724-6220 or visit www.deanecenter.com.
