‘1776’ Musical Revamp Said to Include Most Diverse Cast Yet
1776 is a Broadway musical that tells the story of the founding fathers as they write the declaration of independence. After its 25-year break from the stage, the Roundabout Theater Company and American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) co-production, directed by Jeffrey L. Page and Diane Paulus, will take on a new and glamorously queer approach to the often dull and over-told history of the American Revolution.
Having first premiered in 1969, the show ran for more than 1,000 performances, won three Tony Awards, and was even adapted into a film of the same title in 1972, with the most recent Broadway performance showings taking place in 1997.
The revamped musical will detail the American forefathers’ story in an original, exciting way, unlike any ordinary history lesson.
“This is an exciting opportunity for us at Roundabout, to bring this beloved musical back to the Broadway stage in partnership with our colleagues at the A.R.T.,” says Todd Haimes, Roundabout’s artistic director and CEO. “I have enormous respect for Diane Paulus and very much look forward to collaborating with her on 1776, which is an important part of Roundabout’s musical history on Broadway.”
The revival is set to feature its most inclusive cast yet, composed fully of women, transgender, and nonbinary performers reflecting a variety of races and ethnicities.
“As I’ve worked with Diane, we’ve explored the unsaid, unspoken, and unwritten history, and as a result, I have found myself inside of the important piece of art, inside of American history,” Director Jeffrey Page says. “And I have learned something new about both.”
1776 depicts one of the most pivotal moments in American history, following John Adams as he tries to persuade his colleagues to sign the Declaration of Independence amid our country’s Revolution. Considering both the historical importance of the American Revolution and the social relevance of inclusive casting, the show is bound to invoke and encourage audience members to consider how their stories and identities are a part of American history.
“Jeffrey and I are fascinated by the idea that history isn’t the clear or linear story we read in our textbooks,” Director Diane Paulus says. “But instead, a predicament that we must grapple with in order to understand our past so that we can move forward together.”
1776 reveals what we don’t learn from our history books, striving to provide a more truthful portrayal of our past.
“You get to this dramatic moment at the end when the unanimous vote breaks down around the anti-slavery clause that was penned by Jefferson into the original draft of the Declaration, where the slave trade is called ‘an execrable commerce’ and an ‘assemblage of horrors, and then it gets crossed out to make a compromise and for this decision for revolution to be unanimous among the Colonies,” Paulus says in an interview with the Boston Globe.
“I read this and thought, ‘Why did I never learn about this clause?’ So I got very passionate about how a (new) production could contribute to a reckoning and an examination of our history and where we are in America today.”
The recently revealed ensemble includes several notable and familiar actors. Starring as John Adams is Crystal Lucas-Perry, a Black actress, and three-time Tony Award nominee Carolee Carmello will act as John Dickinson, drastically different from her character in 1997’s 1776 musical, where she was cast as Abigail Adams, John Adams’ wife.
The show will include captivating music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards, elegant and breathtaking choreography by Jeffrey L. Page, and hair by Mia Neal who—instead of the powered wigs we are accustomed to seeing reflect the period—decided to give each character a unique hairstyle.
Preview productions of the production will begin on September 16 at the Roundabout’s American Airlines Theater with an official opening set for October 6, followed by a 16-city national tour which begins in February 2023.
Photo courtesy of Playbill
