It is claimed that Edison invented the profession of invention. If not, he at least perfected it. Steam power was being replaced by electric power, and Edison was its chief engineer. His mechanical skills and intuitive knowledge provided him with insights beyond the textbooks of his time. Experts scoffed at his claims and several clerics suggested he had a contract with the devil.

His most creative years were spent at Menlo Park, New Jersy (1876-1881). There, along with a team of talented co-workers, "the old man" perfected the telegraph, invented the phonograph and discovered the filament that made his incandescent lamp glow.

Edison's genius was not just in creating the first light bulb but in building the system that included the bulb as one of its parts. Where others would have sold the good idea, Edison made sure it worked, investing years and much of his own money in the nation's first electric light station in New York City.

Edison was a self-made man in a self-made nation, growing up as the nation grew up. When he began to work, the country was in a civil war. When he died, the country was a world power. As such, he stood as a symbol, proof that in America hard work and a good idea will be rewarded. His optimism, his flair for the media attention, and his success so fired the nation that his first biography was published in 1878 (before the incandescent lamp). One historian has said, "He invented the 20th century." He died a national icon.

If this play makes Edison more human than divine, it is because the playwright admires Edison for achieving so much despite his weaknesses. A great man doing great things is not nearly as impressive as an ordinary man doing great things is. Edison gives us all hope that we can each contribute to the betterment of human kind.