A Patriotic Musical - "1776"
by Claire J Rottenberg
Since today is Barack Obama's inauguration day, I
thought it would be a good idea to highlight a
uniquely American musical, "1776." The Broadway
version of "1776," which opened in 1969, was
well-received by both audiences and critics. It ran
for 1,217 performances and won 3 Tony awards,
including the award for Best Musical. The 1972 movie
version, although almost identical in cast and
production, did not fair nearly as well.
"1776" depicts a somewhat fictionalized version of
the writing and ratification of the United States
Declaration of Independence. Some facts were altered
for dramatic purposes while others were adapted from
later periods in the main characters' lives. The
historical characters of "1776" include John Adams,
Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.
Peter Stone wrote the book and screenplay for "1776,"
and the unmemorable score was composed by Sherman
Edwards. Both the play and the movie starred
primarily stage actors, including William Daniels,
Howard Da Silva and Ken Howard.
The film version of "1776" was very long at 142
minutes and this may have been one reason it did not
succeed as a movie. The subject, also, might not lend
itself well to the movie musical genre. However, I
did enjoy the film when I saw it many years
ago.
"1776" Official Website
Information
Sources
Wikipedia - "1776"
Play
Wikipedia - "1776"
Film