The first moments of 1776, a revival of Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone’s 1969 musical, now re-envisioned by Jeffrey L Page and Diane Paulus are, unfortunately, its finest. The company, 22 strong – women, transgender actors and non-binary actors, many of them people of color – stands together in streetwear before changing into the frock coats and buckled shoes worn by members of the Continental Congress. The image is audacious, vivid, clear. What follows is like an antique American flag, more threadbare.
Page is a celebrated choreographer. Paulus is a lively director with an interest in women’s stories – Jagged Little Pill, Gloria: A Life, Waitress. And 1776 is one way to tell more of these stories, but in the manner of a photo negative, highlighting their marked absence. The story of 1776, which follows the broad outlines of history while tweaking the behavior of some of its participants, is a proto-Sorkinesque drama tracing the attempts of John Adams (Crystal Lucas-Perry) to secure a unanimous vote in favor of America’s independence from England. The colonies are divided, with the north largely in favor of the resolution and the south largely against it. By chance, strategy and cunning – with assists from the wisdom of Ben Franklin (Patrena Murray) and the eloquence of Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence – he acquires the necessary votes.
