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2009: 1776
Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards
Book by Peter Stone
Based on a concept by Sherman Edwards
Original Production Directed by Peter Hunt
Originally Produced on the Broadway Stage by
Stuart Ostrow
Directed by
Dennis Razze
Behind the closed doors of Independence Hall in the sweltering months before July 4th, an audacious John Adams prods a reluctant Continental Congress to do the unthinkable—declare a new nation free from British rule. Along with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, Adams convinces the delegates to form an army and wage war against the tyranny of King George. Adams' vision for independence is strengthened from afar by his wife Abigail, and their actual love letters help tell the story of the birth of democracy. This Tony Award-winning musical portrays our founding fathers as real people who dared to dream of a country where "all men are created equal...."
Sponsor:
Alvin H. Butz, Inc.
Co-Sponsor:
Wills Hall Oblate Community
Director Sponsors:
Linda Lapos & Paul Wirth
"Like the 4th of July!...filled with fireworks, reverence and fun."
-The Bethlehem Press
"When things get serious in the quirky musical 1776 - now in a spirited Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival production - the tension is high and the audience hooked."
-Philadelphia Inquirer
"...a cast of so many fine and strong male voices, with solid acting and dancing chops to boot, to electrify 1776 like the lightning that struck Ben Franklin's key."
-The Bethlehem Press
"1776 packs a rollicking good time and a rousing score against the sobering drama of our nation's path to Independence."
-The Morning Call
"It is a brilliant show - funny, affecting, romantic, political and deliciously melodic."
-The Reading Eagle
"It feels entirely real...striking theatricality."
-Philadelphia Inquirer
"Richard B. Watson as John Adams commands the stage the moment the curtain opens."
-The Morning Call
"...truly fine mounting."
-The Reading Eagle
"See it, and be prepared to be both entertained and moved."
-The Reading Eagle
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