THEATER REVIEW: ‘1776’ falls short of revolutionary despite some good performances
By Heather Parish
In Good Company Players’ latest revival of “1776,” history is made not with a bang, but a bureaucratic murmur. The cast brings dedication and occasional brightness to the stage, but they’re trapped in a show that too often mirrors the indecision and inertia of the Continental Congress it depicts. The result is a musical that simmers with potential yet rarely boils over into theatrical vitality.
Indecision isn’t just a central plot point. The show itself can’t seem to decide what it is. Is it a historical drama? A political thriller? A bawdy romp? Well, it achieves none of the above.
A cast worth following
Jonathan Wheeler leads in a breakout turn as John Adams. From the opening chords of “Sit Down, John,” his fervent drive to propel the delegates toward independence is palpable. Wheeler’s vocal clarity and dramatic focus offer a lifeline to the audience through the murk of legislative delays in a torporific session of Congress. As Adams, he is believably abrasive yet undeniably compelling—energy emanates from him in every scene he’s in, commanding attention like a bonfire in the dark.
Emily Pessano provides the emotional depth as Abigail Adams, offering a tender counterbalance to Adams’ relentless politicking. Their duets, culled from the real-life letters between the couple, are among the rare moments where the show breathes with warmth and sincerity. Similarly, Daniel Sutherland delivers a chillingly precise “Molasses to Rum” as Edward Rutledge, wrapping Southern ease around a disturbing defense of slavery and pointing out the hypocrisy of Northern complicity in the inhumane practice. And Briston Diffey (Courier) offers quiet heartbreak in the elegiac “Momma, Look Sharp,” the only time that the cost of war is laid bare in the story.
Steve Souza’s bawdy Benjamin Franklin offers droll counterpoint to Adams, and Nick Sterling’s Jefferson is amusingly reluctant, if slightly underpowered for a character of such (ahem) verve. Maisie Van Vleet gives Martha Jefferson a lovely spark. Her song, “He Plays the Violin,” is as featherlight as a flirtation in its double entendre, but her charm can’t lift it above the level of filler.
The ensemble vocals shine brightest in group numbers, with “Cool, Cool Considerate Men” providing a biting satire of elite inertia, impeccably led by Gordon Moore as conservative antagonist Dickinson.
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Direction that fails to light the fuse
Despite the actors’ admirable efforts, director Mark Standriff’s staging flattens the production into a series of stilted talking-head moments. With over 30 minutes passing between musical numbers at times, the show’s scenework has to pop or it loses any urgency it might otherwise muster. For a musical about revolution, this “1776” is conspicuously short on heat.
Scenic and lighting designs by David Pierce and Elizabeth Crifasi are polished and safe. The staging, however, resembles a history lesson without the drama. The delegates sit. They speak. They vote. Repeat. What tension exists in the text — shifts in political alliances, philosophical conflict, moral compromise — is dulled by a uniform staging and approach. The same solemn cadence is applied to moments of grave consequence and procedural bickering alike. Even the most emotionally charged sequences feel like watching CSPAN rather than a musical about one of the most dramatic points in our country’s history. A more daring directorial hand might have stirred the delegates to life, contrasting each scene’s glacial pace with some burgeoning interpersonal storms. Instead, we’re left with a Congress as static onstage as it was on parchment.
A revolution without momentum
In the end, “1776” feels like a performance at war with itself: its cast fights valiantly to stir drama from a script built on indecision, while its direction lulls the show into an endless series of procedural plateaus. That the production manages to keep us in our seats (even when we know the ending) is testament to the talent onstage. But in a story about transformation, this “1776” feels frustratingly unchanged.
“1776” continues at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater through July 20.
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