1776 in 1976 at Melody Top

[broadwaydanwi]

Posted: 7/3/18 at 4:27pm

Hello from Milwaukee! I just finished publishing a new page on my "Memories of Melody Top" website about a 1976 production of 1776 that starred Ross Martin as John Adams and Stubby Kaye as Benjamin Franklin. This production gave a final performance on America's Bicentennial -- July 4, 1976. I'm wondering if anyone here has knowledge of other companies that produced 1776 during the summer of 1976. Please let me know. And have a happy Fourth of July holiday, too!

http://memoriesofmelodytop.com/1776.html

[nealb1]

Posted: 7/3/18 at 5:14pm

This website is so fantastic!  Thanks so much for posting it!!!

[broadwaydanwi]

Posted: 7/3/18 at 5:25pm

Thank you so much! After spending hours by myself preparing the page for publication, it's great to get some encouraging feedback. Have a wonderful holiday, nealb1!

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 7/3/18 at 6:46pm

Ross Martin was such a fine actor and gone way too soon.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/3/18 at 7:06pm

This is very cool.

My high school did it and we had colorblind casting! I was Dr. Josiah Bartlett. (I'm black). Had the best time doing this show!

[markypoo]

Posted: 7/3/18 at 7:53pm

I was studying at Oxford when this production was playing, but I did manage to see Forum with Arte Johnson, Bells Are Ringing with Rita Moreno, and Shenandoah with John Raitt that season nevertheless.

Sigh.

Those were the days.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/3/18 at 9:08pm

I imagine this is a particularly difficult show to stage in the round.

[broadwaydanwi]

Posted: 7/4/18 at 10:17am

I saw a production of 1776 that was presented by the Marriott Theater (in the round) in Lincolnshire, Illinois during the summer of 2002. Yes, the piece is a challenge to stage in an arena-type environment because there is a long stretch in the book that has no singing and no dancing. In my humble opinion, performers on stage in the round always need to keep moving, even ever so slightly, to keep an audience's full attention. That's not easy to do when given a long book scene without musical numbers. The director of this production used constant, natural movement by allowing the cast to move freely throughout this unique space, including aisles and walkways behind all four seating sections. At the Marriott Theater, as was the case at Melody Top, the final tableau of our Founding Fathers signing the Declaration of Independence while bells chimed was a moment of great emotion. Here's a link to some prop and production pictures used at the Marriott Theater 16 years ago. Love the cute pic of Mary Ernster! She recently performed on Broadway in WAR PAINT:

1776 at the Marriott Theater in 2002

[John Adams]

Posted: 7/4/18 at 10:57am

One of my favorite roles (<---- hence my avatar) 

The first time I was in the show was July of 1976. I played Sherman. We performed selections from our production at the Illinois State Fair on July 4th, as well as having a 3 month run in suburban Chicagoland.

About 15 years later, I did another production (again in the Chicagoland area) as John Adams. Adams is a very enjoyable character to play and if/when other actors here on the Board have an opportunity to play him, I hope you'll jump at the chance!

Besides the headstrong bombast (which is very fun to play), my two favorite lines in the show, that I absolutely LIVED for in every performance were, "Oh, Abigail" and "Franklin". (If you know the show, you know where they occur, and [maybe] you also know why I loved those two moments so much!)

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 7/4/18 at 2:09pm

On July 4th 1976, I was serving as a young inexperienced tech director in my first year of summer stock at the New London Barn Players in New Hampshire. Of course "1776" was the show we were doing that week. We had somehow borrowed every gong and chime and giant cow bell in the county and stashed them all on the theater's back porch for the climax of the show.

But at 3pm on July 4th that Bicentennial Year, all the church bells in the entire country started chiming in celebration for our country that had just survived Watergate and Viet Nam and was entering a new hopeful chapter. The minute we heard those chimes we all raced to our back porch and started clanging on every bell and gong in our arsenal. Sure, the country was divided and bigoted and tribalized then just as it is now, but we pounded on those bells with tears in our eyes because we were so proud of what our country COULD be, if given the chance.

[John Adams]

Posted: 7/4/18 at 2:27pm

Someone in a Tree2 said: "On July 4th1976, I was serving asa young inexperienced tech director in my first year of summer stock at the New London Barn Players in New Hampshire. Of course "1776" was the show we were doing that week. We had somehow borrowed every gong and chime and giant cow bell in the county and stashed them all on the theater's back porch for the climax of the show.

But at 3pm onJuly 4th that Bicentennial Year, all the church bells in the entire country started chiming in celebration for our country that had just survived Watergate and Viet Nam and was entering a new hopeful chapter. The minute we heard those chimes we all raced to our back porch and started clanging on every bell and gong in our arsenal. Sure, the country was divided and bigoted and tribalized then just as it is now, but we pounded on those bells with tears in our eyes because we were so proud of what our country COULD be, if given the chance."

I feel such a kinship with you 

[broadwaydanwi]

Posted: 7/3/21 at 12:39pm

As a way of observing the 40th anniversary of Ross Martin's far-too-soon passing on July 3, 1981 and celebrating the Fourth of July in America, I have made some updates to a page on my "Memories of Melody Top" website about a production of 1776 from the summer of 1976. In addition to publishing the scan of a window card created by Melody Top, I have also shared three audio clips from the show: "Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve," "The Lees of Old Virginia" and "He Plays the Violin." There are also larger versions of eight production pictures previously uploaded to my site. Of interest to fans of EVITA is that Robb Alton played Richard Henry Lee at Melody Top. Four years later, Alton would be cast as Peron in Chicago's sit-down production of EVITA, directed by Hal Prince, which would eventually become the musical's second national tour. Didi Hitt, Alton's wife, played Martha Jefferson at Melody Top; she, too, would also join the EVITA company as a Person of Argentina. Click on the link in this post to see everything I have described, as well as newspaper reviews and backstage shots.

1776 at Milwaukee's Melody Top

[Ceej]

Posted: 7/3/21 at 2:28pm

Houston’s TUTS did an in-the-round production during their home away from home seasons while the Hobby Center was being built. They did it at the Arena Theatre. The revolve was Congress and they used several small side stages in the audience to do the scenes outside of Independence Hall.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 7/6/21 at 12:49am

Thanks to the 1960s TV series of ''The Wild, Wild West,'' I was a big fan of Ross Martin, so it's cool to find out that he played John Adams in ''1776.'' But here's another fun fact: His ''Wild West'' co-star, Robert Conrad, ALSO was playing John Adams in ''1776'' at various Midwest theaters that same Bicentennial summer. I once had the honor of interviewing Conrad, and asked him to pick his proudest career achievements. And he said playing Pasquinel in the 1978 TV miniseries ''Centennial'' and getting rave reviews for starring in ''1776.'' Updated On: 7/6/21 at 12:49 AM

[nealb1]

Posted: 7/9/21 at 5:17pm

The Melody Top website is just so fantastic.  Such a rich, treasure trove of a by gone era of the music tents/summer stock.  

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/10/21 at 12:19pm

Chis Gronendaal was absolutely spellbinding when he replaced Victor Garber in the original SWEENEY TODD. Whatever happened to him?