Editing 1776 (musical) (section)

== Productions ==
After out-of-town [[Tryout (theatre)|tryouts]], the original Broadway production opened on Broadway on March 16, 1969, at the 46th Street Theatre (now the [[Richard Rodgers Theatre]])<ref name=barnes>Barnes, Clive. [https://www.nytimes.com/1969/03/17/archives/theater-spirited-1776-founding-fathers-tale-is-a-happy-musical.html?sq=1776+AND+%2522Da+Silva%2522&scp=2&st=p "Theater: Spirited '1776'; Founding Fathers' Tale Is a Happy Musical (article preview)"]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219050148/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00A14FC345D13728DDDAE0994DB405B898AF1D3&scp=2&sq=1776%20AND%20%22Da%20Silva%22&st=p |date=February 19, 2014 }}[http://www.1776themusical.us/reviews/review11.htm 1969 ''New York Times'' review of the original production]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201232052/http://www.1776themusical.us/reviews/review11.htm |date=February 1, 2014 }} ''New York Times'', March 17, 1969</ref> and closed on February 13, 1972, after 1,217 performances. In its three-year run, it played in three different theatres: the 46th Street, the [[St. James Theatre]] (1970) and, finally, the [[Majestic Theatre (Broadway)|Majestic Theatre]] (1971).<ref name=ibdb>[http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=2859 "Listing, '1776' "] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906074907/http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=2859 |date=September 6, 2015 }} InternetBroadwayDatabase, accessed June 8, 2011</ref>  The principal cast included [[William Daniels]], [[Howard da Silva]], [[Paul Hecht]], [[Clifford David]], [[Ronald Holgate]], [[David Ford (actor)|David Ford]], [[Virginia Vestoff]] and [[Ken Howard]].<ref name=barnes /><ref name=ibdb /> [[Rex Everhart]], who was da Silva's understudy, replaced him on the original Broadway [[cast album]] after da Silva suffered a mild heart attack, which required him to leave the show temporarily. [[Betty Buckley]] made her Broadway debut as Martha Jefferson in the original stage production.<ref>{{cite web|title=Betty Buckley|url=http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=33550|publisher=IBDB|access-date=7 July 2012}}</ref> [[Clifford David]] left the production soon after opening. He was replaced as Rutledge by [[David Cryer]] who was in turn replaced by [[John Cullum]] who became one of the few Broadway replacements in history to recreate a role on film. (Cullum was succeeded in the Broadway production by [[Paul-David Richards]].)

[[File:Nixon 1776 play C3006-34.jpg|thumb|President [[Richard Nixon]] with the cast of ''1776'' after a performance in the East Room of the [[White House]]]]
The musical toured for two years in the United States and was given a London production, opening on June 16, 1970, at the [[Noël Coward Theatre|New Theatre]]. The production starred [[Lewis Fiander]] as Adams, Vivienne Ross as Abigail Adams, [[Ronald Radd]], [[Bernard Lloyd]], [[David Kernan]] as Rutledge, John Quentin as Jefferson and [[Cheryl Kennedy]] as Martha Jefferson.<ref name=Green />

An Australian production, also with Lewis Fiander, opened at [[Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne|Her Majesty's Theatre]] in Melbourne on 26 June 1971 and moved to the [[Theatre Royal, Sydney|Theatre Royal]] in Sydney on 11 September 1971.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/work/1073|title=AusStage – 1776|website=www.ausstage.edu.au|access-date=2017-09-21}}</ref>

''1776'' was revived by the [[Roundabout Theatre Company]], opening on August 4, 1997, in a limited engagement at the Roundabout's home theater, the Criterion Center, before transferring to the [[George Gershwin Theatre]] on December 3, 1997, for a commercial run.<ref name=curtain>Bloom, Linda.[http://www.curtainup.com/1776.html "CurtainUp Review, '1776'"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303234928/http://www.curtainup.com/1776.html |date=March 3, 2016 }} curtainup.com, accessed June 8, 2011</ref> It closed on June 14, 1998, after 333 performances and 34 previews.<ref name=revival>[http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=4754 "Listing, '1776' revival"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905164509/http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=4754 |date=September 5, 2015 }} InternetBroadwayDatabase, accessed June 8, 2011</ref> The production was directed by [[Scott Ellis]] with choreography by [[Kathleen Marshall]], and featured [[Brent Spiner]] as Adams, [[Michael Cumpsty]] as Dickinson, [[Pat Hingle]] as Franklin, and [[Paul Michael Valley]] as Jefferson.<ref name=curtain /><ref name=revival /> Rex Everhart, who replaced Howard da Silva on the original cast album, was the standby for the role of Franklin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/1776-4754#Replacements|title=''1776'' (1997-1998)-Replacements|website=Internet Broadway Database}}</ref>

The musical was produced in an [[Encores!]] City Center staged concert from March 30 to April 3, 2016. Directed by [[Garry Hynes]], the cast starred [[Santino Fontana]] as John Adams, [[John Larroquette]] as Benjamin Franklin, [[John Behlmann]] as Thomas Jefferson, [[Christiane Noll]] as Abigail Adams, Nikki Renée Daniels as Martha Jefferson, [[Bryce Pinkham]] as John Dickinson, [[Alexander Gemignani]] as Edward Rutledge, [[André De Shields]] as Stephen Hopkins, and [[Jubilant Sykes]] as Richard Henry Lee. The cast included MacIntyre Dixon, Ric Stoneback, and Kevin Ligon reprising their roles from the 1997 revival as Andrew McNair, Samuel Chase, and George Read respectively.<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/casting-complete-for-encores-1776 "Casting Complete for Encores '1776'"] Playbill, February 2016</ref> The production notably sported a racially diverse cast in light of the recent success of another musical about the Founding Fathers, ''[[Hamilton (musical)|Hamilton]]''.<ref>Scheck, Frank. [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/1776-theater-review-879645 "Theater Review"] ''Hollywood Reporter'', March 31, 2016</ref>

The musical was produced in Chicago, Illinois by [[Porchlight Music Theatre]] as part of their "Porchlight Revisits" series in November 2018. Directed by Michael Weber, Music Directed by Jeremy Ramey, with Musical Staging by Michelle Lauto.<ref>Bylander, Jessie. [https://splashmags.com/index.php/2018/11/25/porchlight-revisits-1776-review-inclusive-company-breathes-new-life-into-50-year-old-classic/#gsc.tab=0 "Theater Review"] ''Splash Magazines'', November 25, 2018</ref>

A new revival of ''1776'' was to be staged at the [[American Repertory Theater]] (A.R.T.) in mid-2020, under the direction of [[Diane Paulus]] (Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director of A.R.T.), and then in Los Angeles at the [[Ahmanson Theatre]], before arriving at the [[American Airlines Theatre]], co-produced by ART and [[Roundabout Theatre Company]].<ref>McPhee, Ryan. [http://www.playbill.com/article/diane-paulus-to-direct-broadway-revival-of-1776# "Diane Paulus to Direct Broadway Revival of 1776"] Playbill, May 6, 2019</ref> The team held a two-week workshop on Zoom in April 2020,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Perspective {{!}} A Tony-winning director finds a rewarding new way to build a musical in the age of covid-19 |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/a-tony-winning-director-finds-a-rewarding-new-way-to-build-a-musical-in-the-age-of-covid-19/2020/04/29/761d0bfc-895d-11ea-ac8a-fe9b8088e101_story.html |access-date=2022-04-09 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> but the production was postponed due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=McPhee |first1=Ryan |title=American Repertory Theater Postpones Pre-Broadway 1776, Remainder of Current Season |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/american-repertory-theater-postpones-pre-broadway-1776-remainder-of-current-season |website=Playbill |access-date=26 November 2020 |date=March 24, 2020}}</ref> In June 2021, A.R.T. announced that the production, now directed by Jeffrey L. Page and Paulus, would begin performances at A.R.T. in May 2022.

In April 2022 A.R.T. announced the revival cast of performers who identify as female, non-binary, and trans, and that the production would transfer to Roundabout's American Airlines Theatre on September 16, 2022 (where after previews it officially opened on October 6, 2022, and ran until January 8, 2023)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/1776-534848|title=''1776'' (2022-2023)|website=Internet Broadway Database}}</ref> and begin a 16-city national tour in February 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cast Set for the Broadway-Bound 1776 at A.R.T. |url=https://playbill.com/article/cast-set-for-the-broadway-bound-1776-at-a-r-t |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=Playbill |language=en}}</ref> The cast (many of whom were making their Broadway debuts) included Crystal Lucas-Perry (later Kristolyn Lloyd) as Adams, Patrena Murray as Franklin, Elizabeth A. Davis as Jefferson, Allison Kaye Daniel as Abigail/Rev. Witherspoon, Eryn Lecroy as Martha/Dr. Hall, Carolee Carmello as Dickinson and Sara Porkalob as Rutledge.

The show received mixed to negative reviews, with Jesse Green of ''[[The New York Times]]'' criticizing its casting, writing that it "intensifies and complicates the argument." Green also wrote of the overall production that despite "underlining one’s progressiveness a thousand times, as this ''1776'' does, [it] will not actually convey it better; rather it turns characters into cutouts and distracts from the ideas it means to promote."<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/06/theater/1776-review-broadway.html|title= Review: '1776,' When All Men, and Only Men, Were Created Equal|work= The New York Times|date= 7 October 2022|accessdate= October 7, 2022|last1= Green|first1= Jesse}}</ref>