The Fighting Quaker: Bringing America's 250th Birthday to the Stage

Producers Suzanne Matlack DeLaurentiis, Dale Fabrigar, and Nicole Mendez host The Fighting Quaker, a landmark theatrical event celebrating America's 250th anniversary. Directed by Bryan Rasmussen and written by the late Ann Matlack DeLaurentiis and Tricia Aurand, the 40-minute drama brings to life the remarkable and largely forgotten story of Timothy Matlack — the man who hand-inscribed the final official copy of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

The evening is a fundraiser benefiting the Mendez National Institute of Transplantation Foundation (MNITF), which raises awareness for kidney disease and organ donation. The event will include a festive food and drinks reception, gift bags, a VIP gifting suite, and an exclusive meet-the-cast experience following the performance. Attire is cocktail and business.

The Fighting Quaker traces Matlack's journey from debtor's prison to the halls of the Second Continental Congress, where — on the recommendation of Benjamin Franklin — he took quill in hand and preserved the most important document in American history. A colonel who crossed the Delaware, and later championed the abolition of slavery, Matlack was a man whose convictions grew stronger even as his world grew harder. The play's message resonates far beyond the 18th century: studies show that writing by hand activates more brain circuits than typing, strengthening memory, comprehension, and language development — and in today's digital world, Matlack's act of penmanship stands as both legacy and call to action.