Review: 1776 at Musicals At Richter

On Saturday, July 11th, I had the pleasure of seeing yet another phenomenal production at Musicals at Richter, in Danbury, 1776. Seeing this show at this outdoor venue on a clear night is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Robert Bria designed the set, which primarily depicts the inside of Independence Hall. Director David Halliwell, music director Andrew Gadwah, and choreographer Emma Kelly help bring out the best in this stellar cast! The stage chemistry and stage presence of this cast is so strong that the audience can easily forget that we are not watching an actual debate. I had never seen this show before and was quite impressed by how it draws the audience right in and consistently holds our attention. It was clear that the entire cast had fun performing.

Music and lyrics are by Sherman Edwards with book by Peter Stone, the show being created in the 1960s, incorporating some 1960s culture, likely beacuse they thought that would make it relatable to the audience of the time. The show is based on real events surrounding the writing and signing of the Declaration of Independence, but contains some significant poetic license. For example, in the show, the meetings of the Continental Congress are riddled with blasphemy and the occasional profanity, unfortunate choices from Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone in that they are off-putting and historically inaccurate. In historic reality, blasphemy was a serious legal offense in numerous colonies, at the time, and well-educated people would not have spoken so crudely, especially not in a professional capacity. Another major historical distortion is that North Carolina is portrayed as essentially a toadie to South Carolina, which was not true at all. North Carolina in reality were trailblazers with the Halifax Resolves, the first official action from any colony declaring the desire for independence from Great Britain. So, it is very important, as audience members, to research everything you see in this show, before perceiving it as official history.

As we celebrate 250 years as a country, it is very fascinating to gain more information about the complicated and drawn-out process that initially brought us to that point of even getting to a formal debate regarding the possibility of declaring independence. While school curriculums (at least the ones I have been exposed to) like to focus on the Revolutionary War and the events leading up to it, this show delves into the internal struggles and disputes among the Continental Congress, showing how the rivalries were not merely with Great Britain, or as simple as separating colonists into the convenient boxes of loyalists and patriots. To add to the complication of getting the Declaration of Independence passed, it needed more than a majority vote, but a unanimous vote, or at least, no state officially voting against it.

The talented live orchestra who are on the front of house left is led by keyboardist Andrew Gadwah also features Charles Smith on keyboard, Teresa Peters on woodwinds, Sarah Uyar on trumpet, Claudia Reese-Diaz on trombone, Amritha Chivukula on violin, Don Hurta on bass, and Bob Kogur on percussion.

Rob Mayette stars as John Adams who is the central character of this show. He wanted the independence from England, but found, initially, that his contemporaries were not quite as passionate about the need or prognosis of success if the colonies were to declare independence. He was passionate and direct which was off-putting to others, but had it not been for him and his perseverant insistence, America might still be under British rule, today. That being said, a hypothetical can neither be factually proven nor disproven. What is is what is. Rob Mayette does a great job imitating the unique and distinct accent of William Daniels who originally played this role.

Gail Reiser, who has an amazing singing voice, is excellent as Abigail Adams, John’s wife. She and John have a back and forth with the words “pins” and “saltpeter” respectively. It reminded me of the classic Looney Tunes, “rabbit season, duck season” bit, but in this case, neither says the other’s word to try to get their own words agreed upon in return.

Ted Schwartz is convincing as Ben Franklin, loaded with new sayings and coming across as a calming juxtaposition to the eccentric energy of John Adams. Since he agrees with John Adams about the need for independence, Ben Franklin becomes somewhat of a right-hand man to Adams, while maintaining his own free thoughts, never becoming a toadie the way North Carolina is portrayed as being to South Carolina. He is a highly likeable character, Ted Schwartz speaking with a voice reminiscent of John Denver.

Karl Hinger performs Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson is a powerful writer who comes across as more introverted in person, except for when he is with his wife, Martha, who he has a very passionate relationship with. Emma Kelly who also has an amazing singing voice excels in the role of Martha, as well as in her other role as Dr. Lyman Hall.

Joe Harding is masterful as John Dickinson, the main antagonist to John Adams. John Dickinson is a delegate from Pennsylvania who is the loudest dissenter from the idea of striving for independence from Great Britain. John Dickinson wants to be loyal in hopes of reconciliation. Joe Harding uses a deep voice reminiscent of the actor Alan Rickman, which works perfectly in this role.

BJ Markus is entertaining as Richard Henry Lee, someone who loves to add the syllable “ly,” to the ends of his words, making them adverbs. This is a dynamic performance, full of positive energy.

Chris Hetherington brings John Hancock to life. While John Hancock’s name is often used synonymously with “signature,” he was more than just the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence. He was the president of the continental congress. While George Washington was the first president once America became an independent nation, Washington was a general in the battlefield, at the time, not appearing in this show, but with updates of his progress in the field, by letter, being an important part of the show. John Hancock, on the other hand, was the political leader of the group.

Priscilla Squiers speaks with a consistent spot-on Scottish burr in the role of Delaware delegate Col. Thomas McKean.

Pedro Couy as Robert Livingston and Nicholas Eklund as Roger Sherman join John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson in a comedic musical number called “But, Mr. Adams,” in which John Adams is trying to press each one to pen the Declaration of Independence. A highlight of this number is when Franklin, Sherman, and Livingston break off to the side and start singing a part of the song that is reminiscent of the theme to The Three Stooges.

Another musical highlight includes the way the word “Philadelphia” is repeatedly sung by John Adams in the song “Piddle, Twiddle, and Resolve.”

“Is Anybody There?” seems to have musically influenced Andrew Lloyd Webber, as part of the melody would appear in part of “If Only You Would Listen” from School of Rock.

Michael Solano steals the scene in his song, “Molasses to Rum,” in the role of South Carolina delegate Edward Rutledge. The song, which musically creates a feel of serious unease, lyrically matches that dread by focusing on the hypocrisy of some northerners who don’t own slaves, but profit by playing a role in their transportation. While the song mentions Bibles on the trade ships, no true Christian can morally justify support for slavery. Edward Rutledge demanded that Thomas Jefferson’s clause to eliminate the slave trade be removed from the Declaration of Independence, in order for South Carolina to sign it. While the show arguably paints Edward Rutledge as the primary reason slavery would exist in the United States of America, after we became an independent nation, Jefferson’s clause would have only banned America’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. It would not have freed the then current slaves in the colonies. Also, the Declaration of Independence was not the Constitution and did not have the level of legal authority to ban existing slavery. Nevertheless, had Rutledge not prevailed by bullying to not sign the document unless that passage was eliminated, there is no telling whether the Constitution, when first written, would have banned slavery.

Edward Rutledge got serious pushback, in the show, from John Adams. In reality, however, the quote simplified in the show actually came from John’s cousin Sam Adams. “If we give in on this issue, there will be trouble a hundred years hence; posterity will never forgive us.” We are now two hundred fifty years later, over a hundred sixty years since slavery was legally banned from America, and still haunted, as a nation, by the specter of past slavery. As a nation, we still passionately disagree on a path forward from that horrific part of our national history that none of us can erase or undo even if we all wanted to. Samuel Adams was correct.

The rest of this ensemble cast also maximize the quality of their roles. Those cast members include Chris Neville as Dr. Josiah Bartlett, Peter Lerman as Stephen Hopkins, Jeff Yelton as James Wilson, Christian Eklund as the courier, Lucia Eklund as a painter, Anthony Nittolo-Novotny as George Read, Sedona Taylor as Caesar Rodney, Michael Wright as Charles Thomson, Alli Byrne as Rev. John Witherspoon, Michele Dugan as Samuel Chase, Walter Ruszczyk as Andrew McNair, Virginia Ruszczyk as Lewis Morris, and Sarah Knowles as Joseph Hewes.

The instrumental musical finale sounds like a dirge building to a crescendo as it is being played over the reading of the names of some signers, as they are signing their names on the Declaration of Independence. This is a fascinating artistic decision, since the music implies impending doom. The musical focus of this finale was on how they all were risking their lives by signing that document. From a modern-day perspective, with full knowledge that the United States of America has a W in the box score of the Revolutionary War, I did not initially grasp the meaning behind the doom and gloom tone behind what we celebrate every Fourth of July, especially when it is not only viewed as a positive historical event, but even from the show’s perspective, a victory of an alliance between people who had different viewpoints on independence. The show, however, seems to have chosen to view it from a worst-case scenario of what could have happened, emphasizing the fear that the delegates may have had, over the courage it took them to overcome that fear, and the victory that their quest for freedom from Great Britain would yield.

I highly recommend 1776 for mature audiences who are willing to do their research and will not automatically accept poetic license as historical fact. The show is scheduled to continue to run through July 18, 2026. For times and tickets, please go to Tickets.

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