"1776," show #920

Just a year shy of this nation’s semi-quincentennial is a new production of 1776 playing at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater. Easier to say than the term for a 250-year anniversary is that this production is terrific in song, scene, and urgency in reminding that what was argued over in a hot room in Philadelphia long ago is all too relevant to today’s politics. Good Company Players has a bona fide hit in hand, and it’s an undebatable discussion that this show is sure to please all who see it.

What makes 1776 a musical worth staging in 2025 is that it personifies the pillars (of the founding fathers) and gives voice to the lesser-written figures in our history. Director Mark Standriff helms this production with a knowing anticipation for where the drama, comedy, and historical relevancy lie. Known as having some of the longest scenes between songs, 1776 is often admired by the, shall we say, more seasoned crowd and dismissed by the youngers. Shows like Hamilton are now touted as the cooler American musical. Hamilton is cool, don’t get me wrong, but when 1776 is delivered like it is at Roger Rocka's, audiences, of all generations, are both educated and entertained in the cast’s execution of the material. This mounting of the Declaration-focused classic is a wholly enjoyable piece that will give laughs, gasps, and an appreciation for what our founding fathers–and their wives–dealt with to give us the best they could. 

Jonathan Wheeler is equal parts funny and compelling in his leading performance as John Adams. Depicted as the loud mouth antagonist of the Continental Congress, Wheeler balances being a voice of respect, reason--by most--and enemy to the Southern diplomats who want to hold to their values, namely slavery. Wheeler’s voice is all too perfect for the singing demands of the role, and it’s when Adams is able to be vulnerable and passionate beyond the argument that Wheeler’s talent shines, especially opposite a splendid performance by Emily Pessano as Abigail Adams. Pessano holds as much comedic reaction and one-line response to Adams’s quips and complaints as John but, on a dime, turns on the love and longing for her husband. The two share a dynamite duet in “Yours, Yours, Yours” and their scene work is tenderly staged by Standriff’s allowance for the scenes to breathe and honor each beat. Steve Souza gives a scene-stealing performance as Benjamin Franklin, who is assigned the bulk of the one-liners, innuendo, an elder wisdom. Souza balances Franklin’s personality with ease and natural charisma. 

(L to R: Michael Fidalgo (Richard Henry Lee), Jonathan Wheeler (John Adams), Steve Souza (Benjamin Franklin); Photo source: Good Company Players)

Nick Sterling's performance gives a slow-burn followed by an instant ignited passion as Thomas Jefferson. As the primary author of the document up for discussion and debate, Sterling handles Jefferson's duty as writer and desire as husband to Martha with a youthful maturity that throws caution to the wind in a theatrically gifted way. He knows when to react in support, drive a scene with competent leadership, and when to open all vulnerability when Maisie Van Vleet (playing Martha Jefferson) enters the scene. Van Vleet’s turn in “He Plays the Violin” is an emotionally charged, fully committed performance in both vocal prowess and acting chops. The two’s chemistry is impeccably established and developed when they’re both on and off stage (not an easy task to accomplish), and altogether a relationship the audience is invested in. It colors Jefferson’s arc wholly without diminishing the actors’ own contributions to the musical as a whole. 

(L to R: Steve Souza (Benjamin Franklin), Maisie Van Vleet (Martha Jefferson), Jonathan Wheeler (John Adams); Photo source: Good Company Players)

Gordon Moore gives a drippingly witty, alluring performance as John Dickinson, chief opponent to John Adams. Moore’s leading of “Cool, Cool Considerate Men” grounds his motivation with clear, militant bravado, and gives foundation to his adversarial scenes with Adams and the other constituents who are on Adams’s side. Michael Fidalgo gives a standout performance as the bombastically energetic Richard Henry Lee. His charging leadership of “The Lees of Old Virginia” is a commanding ditty, and one that makes the audience wish the role had more material. Daniel Sutherland’s delivery of “Molasses to Rum” is an intimidating solo, and one that is enhanced with Elizabeth Crifasi’s appropriately suited red-heavy lighting. It’s a moment of drama within the drama, and Sutherland’s voice suits the song well. 

(L to R: Briston Diffey (Courier), John Sloas (Andrew McNair), Carter Shubin (Leather Apron/Painter); Photo source: Good Company Players)

Highlight featured performances come from the bravado of Alex Vaux’s hilarious-yet-intimidating Col. Thomas McKean, Roger Christensen’s assertive-and-spirited John Hancock, and Eric Bako’s tentative-then-grounded arc as James Wilson. Briston Diffey sings an electrifyingly subdued “Momma Look Sharp,” an exposed solo-led trio that is all acting and pure vocals, all which Diffey delivers with impeccable deft. Henry Montelongo provides comedic relief as the drunkenly motivated Stephen Hopkins, but gets a nice break in the boorish behavior at the end by being witness to the iconic signing of the Declaration next to Hancock.

(The cast of 1776; Photo source: Good Company Players)

The technical and production teams have combined for a truly splendid effort to ensure audiences know that these constituents were real people in an era we only see as, for lack of a better term, "human fossils," studied primarily by way of textbooks and documentaries. Souza’s wigs pair well with Ginger Kay Lewis-Reed’s excellent period-appropriate garbs, while David Pierce’s set gives the feeling of an accurately depicted cramped room while giving plenty of space for Souza’s choreography and Standriff’s staging to flesh out and take space. Completing the execution of this timeless musical by Sherman Edwards (Music, Lyrics, Concept) and Peter Stone (Book) is Standriff’s impeccable direction. It takes focused, informed work to ensure the entire cast is in support of the true starring role, the Declaration of Independence. I’ve said it before, but the mark of success for a musical where the audience already knows the ending (Spoiler: they all approve and sign–sans Dickinson–the Declaration of Independence) thinks it may not end the way they expect. For just a moment, the audience thinks reality may have gone a different way. This helming of 1776 not only achieves that true suspension of disbelief, but employs it so strongly throughout the show that, by the triumphant “Finale,” the audience can exhale in relief as each founding father is role-called and signs the document. So, do yourself a true patriotic favor and see for yourself why 1776, which premiered on Broadway in 1968, is more relevant and essential a musical to watch then as it is now.