Interview: Crisis, Confrontation, & Consensus James Patterson Debuts as John Adams in 1776

“John Adams is a debut role for me. I love his passion.  He is the central catalytic force in the entire drama. He has dedicated his life to God, country, and family in that order.  He’s been toiling in the Continental Congress for years now, and he just wants to get the job [independence] done and go home to his family.”

Actor James Patterson is speaking enthusiastically about the challenge of playing the Founding Father from Massachusetts in Maine State Music Theatre’s new production of 1776, created for America’s 250thanniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, that begins its run at the Pickard Theater in Brunswick, Maine on June 24th.

Patterson, whose comprehensive resume includes Broadway, off-Broadway, national tours, and performances at numerous leading regional theatres across the country, is happy to be returning to MSMT for the summer.  Last seen here as Harbison in SOUTH PACIFIC, he has also treated Maine audiences to his glittering, show-stopping Lumière in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and another historical role – that of Joshua Chamberlain in MSMT’s 2014 revival of a work the company had developed in recent years.  Since his last performances here in 2024, Patterson has appeared in New York in Encores’ production of JELLY’S LAST JAM and in the Ahrens-Flaherty musical, LUCKY STIFF at Florida Studio Theatre.

Asked what draws him to the role of John Adams, whom the musical portrays as driven and often annoying, Patterson replies, “He is driven and flawed, but he has such integrity. He believes so deeply in the cause [of independence]; he has sacrificed everything for it. He has put his life on the line – all the Founding Fathers have – and, as they say, he would probably be the first of them to be hanged. [To accomplish his goal,] he has to learn to compromise,” Patterson says, referring to the Founding Fathers’ compromise on slavery. “It’s a disastrous compromise that comes back to haunt the nation in the next century, but it is a necessary choice at the time.  And it’s very hard for John Adams, who was so vehemently anti-slavery, to accept this [compromise], but he ultimately does so the Congress can take the first steps to creating a new nation.”

Playing an historical character like Chamberlain or Adams poses a special challenge to Patterson because “They [Chamberlain and Adams] are significant figures of history, men who did great things.  I want to be worthy of portraying them and give them the respect they deserve.”

To undertake that responsibility, Patterson has done his research and is grateful to director Amber Mak for giving the cast such a comprehensive digest of the factual background of the play and the period.  The actor says he watched the 2008 HBO television series, John Adams, viewed a video of the 2002 Broadway revival of 1776 at Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, and even checked out some student productions. “There is something to learn in everything.”

Musing on the show, itself – one which is infrequently done, quirky, and yet hugely appealing, Patterson observes, “It feels so modern. It’s a show where we know the ending, and yet somehow it manages to rivet people to their seats.  The drama is very intense; the characters are human. The show dramatizes in a very entertaining way a critical moment in the birth of our nation, and it portrays the characters as real human beings.”

Patterson also thinks the Sherman Edwards score contributes greatly to the appeal of 1776. “There are so many wonderful singing moments, each different. I love my duets with Franklin, Jefferson’s duets with his wife, a poignant ballad like ‘Mama, Look Sharp,’ and the powerful ‘Molasses and Rum.’ The lyrics are very witty, and they require good diction.”

Patterson is also excited about MSMT ‘s visual production and the staging by director Amber Mak and choreographer Christopher Page-Sanders.  He notes that the stage will be raked and will thrust right down to the edge of the orchestra pit, adding to the intimacy of the piece.  Mak is also making her debut at MSMT with 1776, and Patterson finds her process very open-minded and her preparation extremely thorough. “She had prepared a great deal of background material for us, and we did quite a bit of table work, which is unusual in such a tight schedule.”

That Mak is a woman and Page-Sanders an African-American is not lost on Patterson, who comments, “Having a female director and African-American choreographer adds perspective to the story. The show makes women part of the storytelling, and our production, using this cast and these creatives, adds voices that need to be part of the story because women and African Americans played a big role in the American Revolution.”  Patterson also notes that he loves the way two women characters are included in the musical. “Abigail Adams, my wife, is very strong and loving, and some of my favorite scenes in the whole play are between Abigail and me, using their letters for the lyrics and dialogue. Women were crucial to the history of America’s founding.  Like Abigail, they held together the home, the family, the business, thereby allowing their husbands to go to the Congress and accomplish great things.”

Patterson knows this production of 1776 has been programmed in conjunction with our nation’s 250thanniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but he feels strongly that the work has a broader and more lasting significance.  “We see the Continental Congress battling over ideas, not being able to agree for such a long time  -a very familiar dynamic today. But then, we see them compromise. They put the greater good of the cause, the ideal for which they are fighting, above themselves.  They realize what they have to do to accomplish the goal. And they treat each other, even those with whom they disagree, like Dickinson, with respect.”

The musical1776 has a profound resonance for 2026, James Patterson believes.  Not only does it present history in an entertaining and dramatic manner, but it imparts a valuable lesson, so that at the final curtain the audience may, as the actor puts it,  “find hope, because in these times, we need hope whenever we can find it.  I want the audience to see that unity is possible.”

Photo courtesy of MSMT

1776 The Musical runs at MSMT’s Pickard Theater on the campus of Bowdoin College from June 24-July11, 2026  www.msmt.org  207-725-8769

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