1776 Previews Tonight- Page 5

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/3/16 at 12:08am

Who sings "Mamma Look Sharp" in this?

[A Director]

Posted: 4/3/16 at 3:56am

The song from the show at the Tony Awards was "Momma, Look Sharp."  The dialogue leading into the song still carries a sting of truth.  No wonder Tricky Dick tried to get it cut when the show played the White House.

[3NU]

Posted: 4/3/16 at 11:14am

I saw the show last night with a friend, with neither of us having any prior knowledge of the musical (well, I guess you could argue that I had a bit more exposure to the material beforehand but only in that I knew the musical was somehow uniquely structured and that there was a half-hour songless period).

Both of us loved the musical and thought the modern dress was highly effective. I was actually half-expecting to be bored by the show -- given its length, content, and some less-than-stellar preview videos -- but I found myself pleasantly surprised by the show's humor, gripping tension, and stark relevance to today's political climate ("history is doomed to repeat itself", anyone?). 

Only a few week points stood out for me, none of which really affected my overall enjoyment of the production: John Larroquette was good but not great as Franklin (didn't seem fully in character all the time); Christiane Noll, as Abigail Adams, was dressed a bit too trendy and put-together to portray someone struggling to keep the family and farm afloat; Nikki Renée Daniels' casting carries (unfortunate) connotations; and when the book was clunky, it was really clunky (most notably for me, the courier's lines immediately before Mama Look Sharp).

Still, what I will come away remembering are the overwhelming positives: the terrifyingly good performances of Bryce Pinkham and Alexander Gemignani; the wit of the book (at its best); and the skill of Santino Fontana to convincingly portray the genuine spirit of John Adams in what could have been a truly miscast turn. 

All in all, I will affirm that, even with the creative liberties taken with casting and costuming, this 1776 newbie still came away with a great appreciation for the show. 

Updated On: 4/3/16 at 11:14 AM

[aj88]

Posted: 4/3/16 at 11:17am

With all of the discussion about the intermission placement, it takes me back to when I did this musical in college.

Our director was notorious for claiming many scripts were too long and that a show like 1776 was going to bore people. In fact, it probably was one of the least successful musicals we did but I think a lot of that had to do with lack of energy and also the weird pacing brought forth by the director.

Momma Look Sharp seems like the default place for an intermission and I agree with that. However, my director took a pin to the script and started making cuts left and right and took about 40-45 minutes off the show and then made the EXTREMELY odd decision to make the Act One finale, He Plays the Violin. A song I do really like, but aside from the fact it is an extremely charming and somewhat livelier moment, it really didn't work as an Act One closer. 

I hope I can make it to see this one because when done well, it can be one of the best musicals you could ever have the pleasure of sitting through.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/3/16 at 11:18am

I'm so excited to see this tonight. 

[Movidude742]

Posted: 4/3/16 at 12:23pm

RippedMan said: "Who sings "Mamma Look Sharp" in this?"

John-Michael Lyles

And I have to wonder if the multi racial casting and modern dress were perhaps both inspired by this number

Lyles is African-American and his costume as the courier was camo pants, and a dark hoodie.

Just imagine a Black youth in a hoodie singing that song, about a mother looking for her son who was shot dead in the village square.  Powerful imagery that took nothing away from the number but added so much

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 1:50am

I also wondered whether the multi-racial casting was color-blind or if they made intentional decisions to cast black actors in specific roles. I have to think the casting of Lyles was intentional and I thought it was extremely powerful and affecting. He also sang it absolutely beautifully. Definitely brought the tears. I think that was my favorite moment of the night. I also thought it could be intentional that the congressman who stops the tense moment in Molasses and Rum and says "enough!" (Sorry I don't remember who it was) was portrayed by a black actor. Maybe not but I definitely found the tension behind it heightened. I know prior posters have mentioned there were unfortunate implications in casting Nikki Renee Daniels as Martha Jefferson in light of Jeffersons's hypocrisy regarding slavery but could that have been intentional as well?  I'm not sure what message there could have been, but all of this just got me thinking about what artistic visions I may have missed.  Maybe it was just color blind and these folks were all just great for the roles--if so no complaints here that's for sure!  They were all fantastic. 

 

This was my first time seeing 1776 other than the movie years ago and my first time at an Encores presentation. I thought it was marvelous. The entire cast was fantastic with not a bad choice to me. I know others have mentioned Laroquette isn't the strongest singer but I didn't care as I didn't think that was a role that required it and I thought his portrayal was spot on. I found it very moving and poignant in light of what is going on in government today. I would love it if they would do a full Broadway revival.  So glad I saw this!!  I will definitely be snagging tickets to future Encores presentations when I'm in town. 

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 9:25am

I was at the Saturday matinee, but didn't get to post about it until now. I agree with many of the other posters who thought it was an excellent, excellent production. There's so much talk about how strange a show 1776 is, usually in reference to its structure, but I was thinking about what a strange show it is with regards to what tugs at my heartstrings. I got all choked up when Caesar Rodney was leaving to take his rest at home in Delaware and apologized to John Adams for leaving him a divided Delaware. Part of me finds it humorous, that he is so grave and solemn over his little home colony, but the conviction and commitment he has to his home and the cause for independence is heartbreaking. All that little man wants is for his colony to be part of the movement for independence, and he is devastated at having to leave it at a standstill. Perhaps I'm simply more familiar with 1776 than Hamilton, but I actually feel a stronger emotional connection to the characters in 1776 than I do with Hamilton (I actually really dislike the character of Hamilton the more I reflect on the show, and that isn't true for any of the characters in 1776).

I did also stay for the talkback on Saturday, and was delighted to see William Daniels in attendance. He commented that Santino Fontana had a much better voice than he ever did, and was very happy with the production. Jack Viertel and Garry Hynes talked a bit about the casting, and there was a question from the audience about whether they had considered women playing any of the members of Congress. Hynes said that it was something they discussed, but because that would then mean changing keys and moving a bit too far away from the Encores! mission of presenting works as they would've been done originally, she had to abandon the idea.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 9:27am

As much as I loved Santino Fontana, Bryce Pinkham and John Larroquette, the production still felt very white to me, as all the "leading" roles were white men. They could have cast a person of color in Alexander Gemignani's role and that would have been very meaningful.

[little_sally]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 9:56am

neonlightsxo said: "As much as I loved Santino Fontana, Bryce Pinkham and John Larroquette, the production still felt very white to me, as all the "leading" roles were white men. They could have cast a person of color in Alexander Gemignani's role and that would have been very meaningful.


During "Molasses to Rum" on Thursday night, I kept thinking about how much I'd want to see Norm Lewis in the role.

 

[bjh2114]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 10:05am

For me, Alex was the only weak one in the cast.  He felt incredibly wooden to me.  I would have loved to see someone else in that role, but I agree that casting a non-white person to sing Molasses to Rum would have been a really interesting choice.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 10:07am

I think Philip Boykin would be an excellent choice for Rutledge, too.

[little_sally]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 10:11am

Kad said: "I think Philip Boykin would be an excellent choice for Rutledge, too.

He's even more perfect than Lewis!

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 10:14am

"the production still felt very white to me, as all the "leading" roles were white men"

 

Well you know, maybe because they were real people and they were...WHITE MEN. 

[mpkie]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 11:19am

This was so good!! Easily one of the favorite things I've seen. Wish it was around for a while because I would certainly recommend it to other people

Glad I read about the lack of costuming, so I was prepared for it. Rather than being surprised, I ended up feeling it worked quite well.

I thought the casting was really on point. I really enjoyed Santino Fontana's portrayal of John Adams and John Laroquette really nailed Benjamin Franklin's characterization. Everyone else was great. I'll also call out Alex Gemignani to disagree with someone's comment above! His "Molasses to Rum" was intense and powerful, and the loud, held audience applause at the end of it indicates the rest of the audience felt this way, too. Quite a number of standout moments all around.

So funny whenever the audience cheered when a colony moved their vote from Nay to Yea. I'm like, you guys... spoiler alert: they voted yes for independence.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 11:29am

Kad said: "I think Philip Boykin would be an excellent choice for Rutledge, too."

 

Perfect. If only someone had asked us first.

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 11:34am

I wonder if they were worried that there would be too much comparison to Hamilton by color blind casting in those roles.

 

 

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 11:34am

They INVITED the comparison to Hamilton themselves, by saying they were going to cast diverse people because of Hamilton.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 11:54am

I did like Gemignani's performance, which I thought was effective and menacing. But I did miss the sound of a deep, rich voice singing "Molasses to Rum." It lends the song a greater gravitas, a greater implication.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 12:03pm

givesmevoice said: "I was at the Saturday matinee...
I did also stay for the talkback on Saturday, and was delighted to see William Daniels in attendance. He commented that Santino Fontana had a much better voice than he ever did, and was very happy with the production...

"

OMG I would have killed to see William Daniels in the audience. Yes WD was not known for his voice..but he will always be John Adams to me. I totally appreciated Santino however - and try very hard not to compare..but I have Daniel's voice running certain lines in my head that are impossible to forget.

It's also hard not to forget the electrifying screen of the Declaration that shadows the frozen actors while they sign appears in the full version of the show. I know they can't do this for a concert reading but I will never forget seeing it for the first time. I still get chills..

[mpkie]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 12:15pm

I benefit from having very little frame of reference to how it was originally done and therefore very little bias. I only watched a handful of movie clips after purchasing my Encores ticket, mainly rewatching "Sit Down, John" because I totally fell in love with that song.

[elmore3003]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 12:21pm

Kad wrote:  But I did miss the sound of a deep, rich voice singing "Molasses to Rum." It lends the song a greater gravitas, a greater implication.

 

There's only one problem: it's high, since it was written for a Tenor.

[sarahb22]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 1:02pm

mpkie said: "So funny whenever the audience cheered when a colony moved their vote from Nay to Yea. I'm like, you guys... spoiler alert: they voted yes for independence."

I remember reading somewhere an anecdote, that someone had gone to the theatre during the original run of '1776', and there were two ladies seated in front of him. During one of the tense moments in the second act one of the ladies leaned over to her companion and whispered, "Do you think they'll sign it?"

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 1:06pm

sarahb22 said: "mpkie said: "So funny whenever the audience cheered when a colony moved their vote from Nay to Yea. I'm like, you guys... spoiler alert: they voted yes for independence."

I remember reading somewhere an anecdote, that someone had gone to the theatre during the original run of '1776', and there were two ladies seated in front of him. During one of the tense moments in the second act one of the ladies leaned over to her companion and whispered, "Do you think they'll sign it?""

I would guess that was a joke, because I did the same thing to my friend at intermission on Saturday.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/4/16 at 1:41pm

Also, I need to take issue with all of the little children in the theater. I'm told that City Center heavily papered the house to school groups and while that's all well and good, there were what seemed like hundreds of restless little kids last night talking, texting and standing (blocking everyone's view behind them). Who thought it would be a good idea to bring kids under 10 years old to a three hour semi-staged reading of a historical musical? Seriously.