Mad Cow Theatre Presents 1776 with All-Female Cast September-October

Next month, Mad Cow Theatre will open its 20th season with 1776, the Tony Award-winning musical which celebrates the creation of America's Declaration of Independence. Mad Cow's unique production, which features an exclusively female cast, will run from September 23 through October 23 in Mad Cow's Harriet Theater, located on the second floor of 54 West Church Street in Downtown Orlando. Regular tickets range from $38-$45, available at 407-297-8788 or madcowtheatre.com.

With music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and book by Peter Stone, 1776 was first produced on Broadway in 1969. It was nominated for five Tony Awards and won three, including the Tony Award for Best Musical. Mad Cow Executive Director MiTzi Maxwell says the play was selected to kick off Mad Cow Theatre's 20th season due to its relevance during the political season, and as a companion to The God Game, a play that examines contemporary politics, which will follow 1776 in the season schedule.

In recent years, a few scattered theatre companies around the country have produced 1776 with an all female cast, with the playwright's full approval. Maxwell says Mad Cow Theatre was excited to do the same.

"A nation's most important stories deserve to be told by all types of storytellers," said Maxwell. "We want to inspire all types of people, not just one gender, class, or cultural background, so that they too can be a part of a big bold story."

Mad Cow hopes the production will also prompt audiences to consider the importance of America's origins and to consider its relevance in light of current events. Is our collective national story altered when told in women's voices? How have we changed the image of our historical icons in service to more contemporary politics? How are our current political struggles different that those experienced by our founding fathers? Are we becoming "more perfect" or is that even possible?

Playing the lead role of John Adams will be Laura Hodos, a familiar face to Mad Cow audiences who saw her in The Light in the Piazza and Sweeney Todd. Most recently, Hodos played AbiGail Adams-John's wife-in the Palm Beach Dramaworks production of 1776.

The cast also includes other theatre favorites: Karel Wright as Ben Franklin; Melissa Whitworth as Thomas Jefferson; Sara Catherine Barnes as Richard Henry Lee; Janine Papine as Charles Thomson; Jac LeDoux as Andrew McNair; Whitney Morse as George Read; and Beryl Rochatka as Stephen Hopkins. Director Mark EdWard Smith (The Big Meal, Long Day's Journey into Night, Art, My Name is Asher Lev) returns to Mad Cow Theatre with 1776. A subsequent press release will detail the cast and creative team of the production.

Maxwell says this production is for everyone. "My hope is that women and men will come to see our production," she said, "and have a transformative experience through the hearts of a new storyteller-women. Who knows? We might spark new action, acceptance, and love in the world-starting right here on Church Street. I promise the talkbacks will be exhilarating."