1776 Revival (Broadway P/reviews) - News & Discussion Thread- Page 2

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 4:28pm

This makes no sense to me whatsoever. None.

As someone else said earlier, this is pandering. I'm able to pretty much accept the choices made in HAMILTON, but this 1776 is just absurd. For those here that do not like the show, how will an all female cast make it any better for you? I realize that for some, it will not make a difference. I also know that some will enjoy this and that's fine.

For me, the good news is that Diane Paulus has just saved me a few hundred dollars.

 

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 4:38pm

I love 1776.  I love Diane Paulus.   Can't wait especially since we already had tix for what was suppose to happen in early May.  Will I love the all women?   Don't know, but certainly willing to find out.  Also willing to find out WHAT (if any) concept beyond "just" a gender swap exists.  

 

Time will tell.

Oh, and didn't Elizabeth A Davis get a Tony nom for Once?  Seemed to surpise many - but I may be confusing the name.

[BJR]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 4:47pm

Valentina3 said: "I think a non-male perspective to this show could be fascinating. I agree with you all that it needs to havea point of view. It cannot be all female just for the sake of it. But I trust Paulus won't make us go through something shallow."

Agreed. Casting isn’t concept. But Paulus knows that. 

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 4:53pm

I'm excited for this and will certainly be attending. I think it's a wonderful thing to re-imagine a show that's very heavily male with a female cast. Will it be successful in making any kind of a statement? Will it be a great artistic acheivement? I don't know. That's not what I'm concerned about. If the score is well sung and the story is told effectively, that's what I care about. The gender of the actors have no bearing on that. 1776 is a lovely show and this cast features some lovely performers. Skipping it because you don't think that the concept has merit (which is a presumptuous thing to say about a production which has not even played a preview yet) is silly. If you don't like the show to begin with, fine. If this isn't something you'd see regardless of who's in it, fine. But to write it off solely because of the all-female concept is, again, silly.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 4:59pm

Falsettolands said: "Alex Kulak2 said: "I like the concept, but I haven't heard of any of these performers. What are some shows they've done?"

Elizabeth A. Davis was absolutely stunning in the Allegrorevival."

 

She was and WON a TONY for Once!

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 5:42pm

Robbie2 said: "Falsettolands said: "Alex Kulak2 said: "I like the concept, but I haven't heard of any of these performers. What are some shows they've done?"

Elizabeth A. Davis was absolutely stunning in the Allegrorevival."

She was and WON a TONY for Once!"


WOW! If she did win the Tony for “Once”, then I believe Ms. Judy Kaye would like a word...(Snark Alert: She did not win)

 

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 6:12pm

Robbie2 said: "Falsettolands said: "Alex Kulak2 said: "I like the concept, but I haven't heard of any of these performers. What are some shows they've done?"

Elizabeth A. Davis was absolutely stunning in the Allegrorevival."



She was and WON a TONY for Once!"

she most certainly did NOT win an Antoinette Perry Award for Once.

I did see her in Once. She was perfectly fine.

[WayTooBroadway]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 6:19pm

So glad you guys are sitting this out! The white male privilege on this board is astounding.

[msmp]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 6:52pm

The cast doesn't excite me (I would have loved a reunion of the 54 Below cast who did this ages ago--don't remember everyone but I know Mary Testa, Bonnie Milligan, and Carolee Carmello were involved) but 1776 was the first musical I ever listened to and I'm looking forward to this new take on it.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 7:32pm

JSquared2 said: "disneybroadwayfan22 said: "I love the creativity in this casting, but do disabled performers not exist?"

OFFS give it a rest already. Do you have medical reports on every actor listed in the press release? Will you also be outraged if there isn't a hunchbacked dwarf in the cast? If not, why not?"

If you were an actor with a disability that can barely get jobs on Broadway or not, you would understand my point. It’s sad that we are just now slowly making progress.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 7:35pm

There's a theater company in my area that began putting on an all-female production of 1776 around 2017. It works because the text of the play isn't changed. It's a cast of talented women telling the story of the creation of the Declaration of Independence, which adds in the subtext of women deserving a voice in our history and our politics. They reunite every so often to do another set of performances partnered with local charities for women, which raises money for the charities and gets more eyes on the performance. You get as much extra meaning out of the performance as you want to. 

I'm curious to see what, if any, changes are made to this production other than transposition. 1776 is a lovely show with so many great featured moments for a big ensemble cast.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 7:44pm

quizking101 said: "Robbie2 said: "Falsettolands said: "Alex Kulak2 said: "I like the concept, but I haven't heard of any of these performers. What are some shows they've done?"

Elizabeth A. Davis was absolutely stunning in the Allegrorevival."

She was and WON a TONY for Once!"


WOW! If she did win the Tony for “Once”, then I believe Ms. Judy Kaye would like a word...(Snark Alert: She did not win)

"

oops meant to say TONY nominee for ONCE me bad

Updated On: 4/16/20 at 07:44 PM

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 7:46pm

I'm definitely interested in seeing this.  I don't actually know too much about 1776 so it's a musical that I'd definitely like to experience and I'm intrigued by this concept, especially how they'll portray the typically female roles.  When I had first heard of the changes made to the new West Side Story, I thought they were absurd, but I ended up loving it, so I'm willing to go into this with an open mind (though I'm well aware there are a lot of people who disagree on West Side Story).  Though if you don't like the concept, why not just not attend?

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 7:53pm

Alex Kulak2 said: "I like the concept, but I haven't heard of any of these performers. What are some shows they've done?"

 

I haven't heard of a lot of them either, but here's what I do know:

Elizabeth A. Davis is a Tony nominee for Once (Reza). 

Eryn LeCroy was recently seen in The Phantom of the Opera.

Joanna Glushak was the Gypsy Robe winner for A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and was most recently seen in War Paint.

Allison Blackwell was a phenomenal Violetta in an otherwise flawed Pretty Woman.

Oneika Phillips was recently seen in the ensemble of SpongeBob SquarePants.

Becca Ayers was recently seen in the most recent revival of My Fair Lady.

Nancy Anderson was Glenn Close's understudy in the revival of Sunset Boulevard.

 

 

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 10:11pm

I can't believe I skipped Allison in the cast. Loved loved her in Pretty Woman and I thought Oneika Phillips sounded familiar. Hannah Cruz was my tour Eliza in Hamilton and she was great!

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 10:54pm

It’s not a totally green cast...it’s just made up of a lot ensemblists.

—Kerry O’Malley has at least 5 or 6 credits Broadway credits to her name.

—Shawna Hamic was Mme. Thenadier in the Les Mis 25th anniversary tour and was in the first go round of The Last Ship (I want to say her character had a solo song, but I don’t remember much but Michael Esper and Rachel Tucker from it).

—Liz Mikel was on Friday Night Lights and has worked at The Muny, TUTS, DTC, and was in Lysistrata Jones, but she may try not acknowledge that last part much.

—Crystal Lucas Perry won a Lortel award for her performance in Ain’t No Mo at The Public.

—Salome Smith just finished a run in Little Shop 

I’m also not entirely sold on this being the cast that makes it to Broadway. Can you sell an all-female 1776 in 2021 without any names when the economy is trying to put itself back together and the world is picking up the pieces and trying to make sense of past year?  I have mad respect for Diane Paulus and the show itself—I have a HUGE soft spot for it—but I think we’re still being premature when we’re writing plans for 2021. 

[MannPhan24601]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 10:59pm

Brooke Simpspon came in 4th on The Voice a few years back on Miley's team. She has a wonderful voice

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 11:38pm

also of note, Lulu Picart is a Lucille Lortel nominee for her work in "Disenchanted"

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 4/17/20 at 7:42am

Without a vaccine there is no way this will happen. I can’t believe they would even announce such a thing.

[jdrye222]

Posted: 4/17/20 at 4:44pm

I’m just confused because the press release says it is “gender-inclusive” ...... which to me would also include male-identified..... like, a total mix of all, not just inclusive except for male.... What about trans men? Or men who identify as “they/them”?
I’m not opposed to switching it all up and being inclusive of gender. What I don’t understand is using the term “gender-inclusive” to literally exclude male-identified actors completely. What is that trying to say?

[TheSecretArden]

Posted: 4/17/20 at 4:56pm

To all those who are off-put by this casting: I implore you to withhold judgment until we learn more about the design and interpretation that Paulus is offering. The beauty of revivals is that they provide an opportunity to see familiar stories in a new light. While a traditional interpretation of this story offers a realistic representation of the conversations that took place that fateful summer, the themes of social justice, the desire for representation, and the fight for independence could be especially powerful when portrayed by performers from minority identity groups. 

Imagine how impactful "Molasses to Rum" could be when sung by a queer Filipina whose ancestors have suffered directly at the hands of Western colonizers. Try to hear the words "Is Anybody There?" coming from the mouth of a Black woman, whose intersectional identity continues to put her among the most marginalized citizens of our country.

You have every right to disagree with the artistic choices being made, but I also would encourage you to ask yourself both why these choices upset you and why the artists involved are making them. From my point-of-view, theater is a living art form and the stories it tells must continue to evolve in order to challenge new generations of audiences. I am excited to be challenged.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/17/20 at 5:55pm

I'm not against this production, as I've stated. However what you are suggesting doesnt hold water ...an audience shouldnt have to know anything ersonally about the actor.You'd have lost 99% of your audience.

[Valentina3]

Posted: 4/17/20 at 7:16pm

TheSecretArden said: "Imagine how impactful "Molasses to Rum" could be when sung by a queer Filipinawhose ancestors have suffered directly at the hands of Western colonizers. "

I know I keep harping about this, but the production I saw had a white actress in this role and I couldn't help but think about how strong of a statement that was about need for inter-sectional feminism and how 53% of white women voted for Trump. I agree that the take you're talking about would be interesting too. Having John Adams and Ben Frank be black (and giving up on their own rights) could be very ironic OR very impactful. We'll see :) 

[jdrye222]

Posted: 4/17/20 at 7:47pm

I haven't said anything about my judgment of the artistic validity of the production. I just really do find it strange to call it "gender-inclusive" while excluding male and male-identified actors in the mix. It's like calling something "color-blind" when in fact you intend to do an all-black version.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/6/21 at 10:39am

So... San Jose is a pre-Broadway stop for this. When was the last time San Jose ever had a pre-Broadway engagement of anything?

https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/theater/hamilton-to-launch-broadway-san-joses-revised-season