NEW YORK — As directed by by Jeffrey L. Page and Diane Paulus, the revival of the 1969 musical “1776,” which opened last week at the Roundabout Theatre, is the latest entry in the current trend of blowing up the baked-in optimism of the American musical theater.
These productions are not so much revivals as deconstructions. And, as with the case of this peculiar treatment of the much-loved Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards musical about the signing of the Declaration of Independence, they are open to the charge of bait and switch.
The most valid response to that charge is, to my mind, radically excellent artistry.
