I imagine a lot of people will be heading out to Connecticut Repertory Theatre this week to see how well the musical “1776” has held up post-“Hamilton.” Both shows are about the early days of the United States — how the founders fought, loved, wrote a declaration, and decided to govern.
“1776,” which premiered on Broadway seven years before the bicentennial of the year in its title, has none of the multi-cultural vigor or careful dramatic balance of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s masterwork. But it also doesn’t seem very dated. That’s because it was odd all along, and is not easy to compare with many other modern musicals.
“1776” is a musical with extremely long stretches of dialogue between the songs. The songs themselves seem fairly arbitrary, picking up on random words and phrases rather than furthering the plot.
That plot is stuck in one basic setting — the meeting room of the Second Continental Congress, whose members can’t agree whether or not to break free of British rule. There’s tension and suspense as the hopeful revolutionaries try to convince the Southern states, and others, to make history. Dispatches from George Washington on the battlefield raise and lower the politicians’ moods. Occasionally a woman appears to provide solace and understanding. Otherwise it’s a night of men arguing with each other and sometimes singing.
The whole enterprise is quirky enough, and entertaining enough, to get you through a nearly three-hour evening (including intermission). Luckily, director Terrence Mann senses how much this material can drag without some all-American oomph. He keeps the pace rapid and moves the largely chairbound Congressional leaders around as much as he can. For every bit of speechifying there is a voluble reaction: waved arms, hoisted flagons and shouts of boyish humor. Twice, the cast creates elaborate tableaux based on famous paintings.
James LaVerdiere paces and winces as John Adams. He’s a pretty stern leading man, which means the comic relief role of Benjamin Franklin is that much more crucial. Richard R. Henry, who just tried to murder a president as Samuel Byck in the musical “Assassins” at Yale Rep, makes Franklin both funny and sage.
The whole show is a strange mix of ordinary and heroic. The representatives of the colonies are seen as regular guys who drink, curse and fall asleep at their desks. Their role as American heroes weighs heavily on their minds. Some of them are angling for greater power in politics and business, others are happy to remain unsung. (As I’ve said, a remarkable percentage of this musical goes unsung.)
This production is without doubt a civics lesson. These days many of us get our Congress-watching entertainment from C-Span. This show adds history, a bit of drama, and some lively dancing and singing. Some of this comes from hardy showbiz veterans like LaVerdiere, Henry and (as the sweet-voiced Abigail Adams) Gaelen Gilliland.
Much of the energy, though, comes from younger cast members largely drawn from the graduate theater programs at UConn and at the University of Michigan. The youthfulness and exuberance of these players, especially the lanky Simon Longnight (kicking up his heels like Buddy Ebsen in the rousing “Lees of Old Virginia” number), brings the spirit that a Young America requires.
Connecticut Repertory Theatre stages “1776” through Saturday, June 10, at Harriet S. Jorgensen Auditorium, 2132 Hillside Road on the UConn campus in Storrs. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. Tickets are $45-$55. 860-486-2113, crt.uconn.edu.
