1776 to Open at Ivoryton Playhouse Starring Mark Aldrich

Ivoryton Playhouse will continue its summer season with the Tony Award-winning musical 1776, starring Broadway's Mark Aldrich (My Fair Lady, Disney's Newsies: The Musical, Ragtime). The production begins with a first preview on Thursday, June 25, officially opens on Friday, June 26, and runs through Sunday, July 26 at Ivoryton Playhouse, located at 103 Main Street in Ivoryton, Connecticut.

With music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone, 1776 brings one of the most consequential moments in American history to the stage with humor, urgency, and heart. Set in the sweltering summer of 1776, the musical follows John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and the members of the Continental Congress as they struggle to agree on the bold and dangerous act of declaring independence from Great Britain.

Far from a dusty history lesson, 1776 is a lively, human, and often surprisingly funny look at the complicated people behind the founding of the United States. The musical captures the heated debates, clashing personalities, political bargaining, and moral contradictions that shaped the birth of a nation.

“1776 reminds us that American democracy was never simple, quiet, or inevitable,” said Ben Hope, Executive Producer at Ivoryton Playhouse. “It was argued into existence by imperfect people facing enormous pressure, and that makes the story feel not only historic, but incredibly alive.”

Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, 1776 has remained a favorite of audiences for generations, thanks to its rich characters, stirring score, sharp wit, and timely questions about leadership, compromise, courage, and the cost of freedom.

Director Kenn McLaughlin says, “The greatest gift 1776 gives us is to make these men deeply human [alongside] powerful debates on race, the threat of civil rebellion, the leverage of popular media, a megalomaniacal leader, economic uncertainty, unpopular war, and fear of change; this is the story of 1776.”

Ivoryton Playhouse's production offers a grand-scale event seldom seen in its intimate, historic venue. Featuring 26 professional actors, 8 orchestra members, and 8 design team members, the founding fathers will be vividly brought to life in a production designed to enchant and entertain.

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