1776 at A.R.T.

For those on the West Coast, it appears the same production comes to the Ahmanson in LA after it closes in Boston.

Any speculation as to what Paulus plans to do with it? 1776 is pretty straight-forward.

Valentina3 said: "GavestonPS said: "For those on the West Coast, it appears the same production comes to the Ahmanson in LA after it closes in Boston. Any speculation as to what Paulus plans to do with it? 1776 is pretty straight-forward."

1776 is very easy to make boring af because of really long book scenes and rather "high and mighty" songs/characters. I saw a recent gender-flipped concert staging which made me fall in love with the material. All other productions I had seen before made me roll my eyes, never understood the appeal of the show.I think trying it out in various places could be a good way to find what pacing/jokes are landing with today's audience. It's also a great way to generate buzz and attract investors."

Ive always thought of 1776 as more of a play with music than a musical to me. The book is so strong that you could take out the music and still have a cohesive piece of theatre. It just so happens that - IMO- the score is also incredibly strong. I’ll admit that in lesser hands, some of the lengthy book passages may become tedious, but the show is firecrackers when done correctly. When I speak to people who saw the original, the words they continually use to describe it were thrilling, suspenseful, moving, and just plain fun.



Have you seen the movie version? It obviously can never compare to the stage version, but I adore it and think it’s one of the strongest stage—>movie adaptations that we have. It retains most of the original broadway cast, most importantly, William Daniels. I watch it every year around July 4th and never get tired of it.


Paulus is very hit (Pippin) or miss (Porgy & Bess) with me, so I’m interested to see her take but slightly cautious.

trpguyy said: "It is an all-female production, for those wondering what the gimmick will be. "


Are they gender-swapping the actual female roles as well, or is it completely, 100% females in the cast?

musikman said: "Have you seen the movie version? It obviously can never compare to the stage version, but I adore it and think it’s one of the strongest stage—>movie adaptations that we have. It retains most of the original broadway cast,most importantly, William Daniels. I watch it every year around July 4th and never get tired of it."

I have seen the movie version and not gonna lie - I fell asleep twice trying to watch it. It was really boring to me. I wasn't really into American history at the time so maybe I'm being harsh, but I think it was the movie's responsibility to make me interested (which it didn't - plenty of other shows including Hamilton did it eventually).

I do agree that 1776 is an awesome show when done well. The concert version I saw was all of things you described - thrilling, exciting, fast-paced. Flipping genders really makes the show much more palatable to my sensibilities. White men saying those lines seems like a whole of bloviating to me. Women saying those lines are sharp and ironic and hilarious.

Updated On: 1/18/20 at 04:49 PM

JBroadway said: "Looking forward to this.

I think the long book scenes are partly what make this show so strong. I love whenmusicals allow theirdialogue scenes some room to breathe, so that when the characters begin to sing, it feels all the more earned."

Perfectly put.

Papermill did a very strong production about 10 years ago. James Barbour's 'Molasses To Rum' is still in my brain.

I hope the all-female version does not come to pass. Otherwise, I'll take a hard pass.

Valentina3 said: I have seen the movie version and not gonna lie - I fell asleep twice trying to watch it. It was really boring to me. I wasn't really into American history at the time so maybe I'm being harsh, but I think it was the movie's responsibility to make me interested (which it didn't - plenty of other shows including Hamilton did it eventually).


It's important to know which version of the movie you're seeing. The original theatrical release is a mess, because then-President Nixon didn't like parts of it that showed conservatives in a bad light. For example, Nixon didn't like "Cool Cool Considerate Men" so Jack Warner (a friend of Nixon's) had it cut completely from the film. When it was released on DVD, the director put it back together the way it was supposed to be seen, and it's much better. The DVD also had a director's commentary track where he talked about the whole fiasco.

Count me among those who love 1776 as is, and don't really consider it in need of a radical re-imagining. I've loved it ever since we watched the movie in fifth grade. Our teacher was a history buff who imbued in our class a huge appreciation for American history. I learned more about the Revolutionary and Civil Wars in that class than I did in subsequent history classes in middle, high school, and college. Seeing the Founding Fathers portrayed with humor, wit (sometimes using their actual words), and humanity was great, and I loved the songs.

I agree that Paulus is very hit or miss. Her track record with revivals seems a bit better than with new works. Hair and especially Pippin were among my favorite experiences in a Broadway theatre. Finding Neverland was boring, though Porgy and Bess was extremely underwhelming compared to the full operatic version. (I'm looking forward to the broadcast of the Met's production, which I didn't get to see. I loved the SFO's production that aired a few years ago.)

Having seen a few clips of all-female or mostly-female casts on Youtube, my main concern is that this music just doesn't really work with female voices. The harmonies and melodies were written specifically with male registers in mind, and it loses something when you don't have a booming baritone singing "The Lees of Old Virginia" or "Molasses to Rum." I can imagine the latter being sung by a black woman, however, to bring out an interesting subtext, but I feel I'd still miss John Cullum's terrifying take in the film. The harmonies between John and Abigail on their duets would also lose something, as would the refreshing quality of Martha's "He Plays the Violin" in a male-heavy show. I wouldn't mind colorblind casting like the Encores concert (Nikki Renee Daniels was my favorite thing about that concert).

Paulus is an intelligent director, though, and I'm curious to see what she does.

I have been informed by others that I must have hit a glitch, but I can still purchase tickets beyond the preview period. When going to order tickets, there is a small, black rectangular box at the top right of the page with 4 icons in it. I click onto the icon that is a silhouette of a person's head and it links me to the page where I can login to my A.R.T. account. I can proceed to order beyond the preview period from there.

The producers are hoping for quite a few additional stops in addition to LA on the way from Boston to Broadway. I am willing to bet that some NY critics will see this show as a gimmick, trying to repeat the success of Hamilton or the new (female Bobbie) company revival. This show will do well on the road, at least in blue states.

Houston's Theatre Under the Stars just announced that they will be hosting this show pre-Broadway in September. Can't wait.