1776 Revival (Broadway P/reviews) - News & Discussion Thread — Page 6

Returning to my BWW account just to talk about this! I saw the matinee today. I'm a huge fan of 1776 -- my mom saw the original Broadway production and the first tour (when it was in Boston, in fact), and so introduced me to the movie when I was a kid. I've seen a few productions over the years, including the Encores with Santino a few years back when I was still in NYC. So I came in with high familiarity. I was also pretty excited for the whole concept and the casting conceit; we've had tons of traditional productions of 1776, so I think exploring it in a nontraditional way is a nice idea.

Overall? I came out feeling good about the experience, but it's definitely a mixed bag. A lot of my negative feelings, others have touched on. Some of the actors are playing their roles very traditional and colonial, some are playing a lot more modern, and the inconsistency there can be jarring. I noted that a few of the actors just read so damn young; Wilson in particular stood out to me as reading in his 20s and just really youthful. And some of the actors had what I kind of think of as -- wandering feet? That sense of moving without firm intention. It's one of those things that stands out to me in terms of an actor having a strong presence on stage or not.

One of the other biggest bothers of the production is another thing others have mentioned: the amount of lines that are directed out at the audience, to such an extreme that it honestly felt like mugging. It made it really feel like the production didn't trust the audience to get it. Like, you already have the visual of these lines coming from women, nonbinary people, people of color, etc., which can have a great impact, and you can even use some particular emphasis sparingly to make things stand out -- but in this, there were just too many instances of the actors looking pointedly at the audience like "GET IT?!"

The direction for Martha and "He Plays The Violin" read very odd to me. It really felt like she hated Adams and Franklin? I wasn't sure if it was trying to make a point about them being the men responsible for keeping Thomas away from her or not, it was just too unclear. And then the sexualization of the number was, uh. A whole lot. I mean, the song can already have an innuendo to it, but I think someone in the thread mentioned "When Harry Met Sally" and it's a pretty apt comparison. But the actress herself did really well, and her voice was fantastic.

Another criticism is that there were so many moments that felt rushed to me. Like it felt like they never gave the lines any room to breathe. Which is too bad, because it's such a strong book.

That said, Joanna Glushak as Dickinson is a huge standout. She had such poise and presence on stage. A+. I think Sara Porkalob as Rutledge was a little over the top at times, but "Molasses to Rum" absolutely hits hard and she did fantastic work with it. And it's a moment where the casting works the most effectively. It doesn't try to mug pointedly to the audience, but builds the number in a way that felt a lot more organic and earned.

There's two revisions/additions that are called out in the program itself:

Finally got around to seeing this and I think I liked it? I only knew a couple songs going in so it was mostly a new experience for me. While the female/trans/nonbinary cast totally worked, I didn't feel like this choice elevated the material, other than giving us incredible performances from less-known people. I was waiting for a payoff at the end of the show as to WHY this was the cast, but it never came. The direction is messy. As many have already said, the acting to the audience was weird and inconsistently used. I would have liked to see more interesting staging. Sure, it's built in to the show that there's a lot of sitting and standing, but a more interesting set would have allowed for a better flow for the cast.

The cast really shines. I'm surprised to read that many people didn't like Crystal Lucas-Perry - I thought she was excellent. Joanna Glushak is definitely the scene stealer here, just incredible work. Liz Mikel, Eryn LeCroy, and Allyson Kaye Daniel also stood out, but the cast really was consistently excellent across the board. Wish they had received better direction. 

A.R.T. is just so over the top - vaccine tests and required masks, which is totally fine, but if you're going to enforce masks, the AC should be BLASTING. Also no programs with limited WiFi. Super disrespectful to the cast/crew as the audience members can't even see who is who. A.R.T.'s quest to be the most woke theater ever is such an eye roll for me. 

I'm interested to read the NYC reviews. There's a solid show there but it's definitely not perfect. And boy, do I wish they could have cut some material out. A 3 hour show these days is rough. 

Updated On: 7/21/22 at 09:04 AM

TaffyDavenport said: "ACCESS10 seats are now available on the Roundabout website for this and for You Will Get Sick. Great selection of mezzanine seats for both."

Thanks for the heads up Taffy. Just grabbed tkts for both. :)

jacobsnchz14 said: "The Broadway cast of1776includes Crystal Lucas-Perry as "John Adams," Gisela Adisa as "Robert Livingston," Nancy Anderson as "George Read," Becca Ayers as "Col. Thomas McKean," Tiffani Barbour as "Andrew McNair," Carolee Carmello as "John Dickinson," Allyson Kaye Daniel as "Abigail Adams/Rev. Jonathan Witherspoon," Elizabeth A. Davis as "Thomas Jefferson," Mehry Eslaminia as "Charles Thomson," Joanna Glushak as "Stephen Hopkins," Shawna Hamic as "Richard Henry Lee," Eryn LeCroy as "Martha Jefferson/Dr. Lyman Hall," Liz Mikel as "John Hancock," Patrena Murray as "Benjamin Franklin," Oneika Phillips as "Joseph Hewes," Lulu Picart as "Samuel Chase," Sara Porkalob as "Edward Rutledge," Sushma Saha as "Judge James Wilson," Brooke Simpson as "Roger Sherman," Salome B. Smith as "Courier," Sav Souza as "Dr. Josiah Bartlett," Jill Vallery as "Caesar Rodney," and Ariella Serur, Grace Stockdale, and Imani Pearl Williams as Standbys. Additional Standbys will be announced at a later date."

This is strange. Why is Carolee coming in and Joanna Glushak taking the Stephen Hopkins role? Glushak gave the most memorable performance as John Dickinson, feels like a very weird move. 

In my circle of theatre people, the reviews out of A.R.T. crushed any excitement anyone had for this. I don't know anyone who is looking forward to this production.

I just can't muster even the tiniest bit of excitement for this.

No matter what I do to get myself excited for this show, I cannot do it. And I don't know why, it's just not grabbing me. 

FWIW, it might be that they wanted Carolee for ART, she wasn’t available, and they made this casting agreement prior to that production opening.

The casting has never thrilled me on paper. Open to being amazed of course, but this feels like a decent regional theatre cast. Not a Broadway show.

ACL2006 said: "There's zero appeal for this. Probably closes in the Winter."

It's a limited run. 

OhHiii said: "Whenever I’m reminded of this production and the concept, I can’t help but feel like part of it is rooted in rehabbing Diane Paulus’ image following several stories from artists over the course of the past few years about her treatment of both artists of color and the non-binary/trans community. Know the concept was set prior to 2020, but it has never struck me as genuine or organic to the material. It’s like they want a new musical, but instead tries to shoehorn this into an existing property."

When this production was in development pre-COVID, it was being touted as "all female," so yes, the trans/non-binary angle is new (although from what I can tell, everyone in the cast was AFAB, and there are just two or three non-binary people in the cast, no trans women). I don't remember everyone who was in the lab, so it's hard to tell if the casting of non-binary actors was deliberate or simply acknowledging the fact that some of the biologically female actors they cast like three years ago use they/them pronouns.

Anyway, I fine it a bit odd that Joanna Glushak has been replaced with Carolee Carmello. I wonder if Glushak dropped out or if the producers felt they needed a "name" added to a cast of relative unknowns to bring more excitement to a revival not a lot of people feel particularly excited about. Carolee will be wasted in the role of John Dickinson anyway, since he gets one song and it's practically a "patter" song. She'll hardly get to use that glorious voice at all.

Updated On: 8/9/22 at 01:20 PM

TheatreMonkey said: "The Distinctive Baritone said: "OhHiii said: "Whenever I’m reminded of this production and the concept, I can’t help but feel like part of it is rooted in rehabbing Diane Paulus’ image following several stories from artists over the course of the past few years about her treatment of both artists of color and the non-binary/trans community. Know the concept was set prior to 2020, but it has never struck me as genuine or organic to the material. It’s like they want a new musical, but instead tries to shoehorn this into an existing property."

When this production was in development pre-COVID, it was being touted as "all female," so yes, the trans/non-binary angle is new (although from what I can tell, everyone in the cast was AFAB, and there are just two or three non-binary people in the cast, no trans women). I don't remember everyone who was in the lab, so it's hard to tell if the casting of non-binary actors was deliberate or simply acknowledging the fact that some of the biologically female actors they cast like three years ago use they/them pronouns.

Anyway, I fine it a bit odd that Joanna Glushak has been replaced with Carolee Carmello. I wonder if Glushak dropped out or if the producers felt they needed a "name" added to a cast of relative unknowns to bring more excitement to a revival not a lot of people feel particularly excited about. Carolee will be wasted in the role of John Dickinson anyway, since he gets one song and it's practically a "patter" song. She'll hardly get to use that glorious voice at all.

The only other cast change I see is thatAriella Serur is no longer a standby. I wonder if they cut down from three standbys to two for economic reasons? Kind of a bummer for someone who was supposed to make their Broadway debut with this show. Are they really going to have only two standbys for a cast of 27???"

Quick point of fact: Joanna Glushak didn't "drop out", she is playing a different role and still in the production."

Glushak is now playing Stephen Hopkins, a role originated by Allison Briner Dardenne, who appears to not be in the production any longer. Ariella Serur is still listed as a standby with the notice of "additional standbys being released at a later date."

HenryTDobson said: "jacobsnchz14 said: "The Broadway cast of1776includes Crystal Lucas-Perry as "John Adams," Gisela Adisa as "Robert Livingston," Nancy Anderson as "George Read," Becca Ayers as "Col. Thomas McKean," Tiffani Barbour as "Andrew McNair," Carolee Carmello as "John Dickinson," Allyson Kaye Daniel as "Abigail Adams/Rev. Jonathan Witherspoon," Elizabeth A. Davis as "Thomas Jefferson," Mehry Eslaminia as "Charles Thomson," Joanna Glushak as "Stephen Hopkins," Shawna Hamic as "Richard Henry Lee," Eryn LeCroy as "Martha Jefferson/Dr. Lyman Hall," Liz Mikel as "John Hancock," Patrena Murray as "Benjamin Franklin," Oneika Phillips as "Joseph Hewes," Lulu Picart as "Samuel Chase," Sara Porkalob as "Edward Rutledge," Sushma Saha as "Judge James Wilson," Brooke Simpson as "Roger Sherman," Salome B. Smith as "Courier," Sav Souza as "Dr. Josiah Bartlett," Jill Vallery as "Caesar Rodney," and Ariella Serur, Grace Stockdale, and Imani Pearl Williams as Standbys. Additional Standbys will be announced at a later date."

This is strange. Why is Carolee coming in and Joanna Glushak taking the Stephen Hopkins role? Glushak gave the most memorable performance as John Dickinson, feels like a very weird move."

Totally agree; she gave the best performance in the show by far, and there were some excellent performances.  I honey thought that she would be a serious Tony contender.

It is not as if CC sells tickets…a serious disservice to a fine actress.