The McLean Community Players’ production of the musical 1776, based on the events surrounding the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence, opens Friday, February 5, 2016, and runs weekends through Feb. 21 at McLean’s Alden Theatre. With music by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone, 1776 became an improbable hit and won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical in 1969. Director Annie O’Neill Galvin leads an award-winning cast and crew for this production.
In 1776, the founding fathers, who participated in the creation and signing of one of the most important documents in our nation’s history, are presented in a humorous way as human beings with their foibles and failings. The “obnoxious and disliked” John Adams, supported by Benjamin Franklin, Richard Henry Lee, and Thomas Jefferson, leads the struggle to persuade the delegates from the thirteen colonies to break away from the British Crown. After Thomas Jefferson is persuaded to write a document declaring independence, epic debates and personality clashes ensue. All this happens in the sweltering spring and summer of Philadelphia in 1776 and at the same time that General George Washington is sending pessimistic reports from the battlefield about the progress of the Continental Army in fighting the British.
Director Annie O’Neill Galvin says “Massachusetts is my home state, so it’s no surprise 1776 is one of my all-time favorite musicals. One of the things I love most about it is how you get pulled into the story, even though we all know how it ends. You develop a new appreciation for the sheer enormity of what our Founding Fathers were trying to do: overcome nearly impossible odds to create a new nation. The journey from idea, to pen, to action is an incredible one – and it’s an honor to be able to work with this cast and crew to bring history to life for McLean.”
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Creative Team of 1776
Co- Producers..Jerry Gideon, Jean Matich
Director..Annie O’Neill Galvin
Assistant Director..Karen Veltri
Choreographer..Melissa Dunlop
Stage Manager..Shayne Gardner
Music Director..John Edward Niles
Music Coordinator..Lori Roddy
Set Design..George Farnsworth, Bill Glikbarg
Lighting Designer..Lynne Glikbarg
Sound Designer..Matthew Scarborough
Costumer..Juliana Cofrancesco
Assistant Costumer..Megan Murphy
Scenic Painting..Adrienne Kammer
Technical Director..George Farnsworth
Set Construction..George Farnsworth, Bill Glikbarg, Bob Schroth
Props..Claire Tse
Hair and Makeup Design..Xandra Weaver
Sound Operator..Andrew Rampy
Publicity..Cathy Farnsworth
Playbill Advertising..Tula Pendergrast
House Manager..Columba H. Brumby
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The Cast of 1776
John Adams..Brent Stone
Ben Franklin..Jeff Westlake
John Dickinson..Shawn Cox
Edward Rutledge..James Myers
Thomas Jefferson..Scott Gustaveson
Richard Henry Lee..Mytheos Holt
Abigail Adams..Marissa Chapman
Martha Jefferson..Leslie Lewis
Robert Livingston..James Maxted
Roger Sherman..Jerry Hoffman
John Hancock..Bob McGrath
Courier..Derek Marsh
Charles Thomson..Jonathan Cagle-Mulberg
Andrew McNair..Michael Bagwell
Josiah Bartlett..Mike Holland
Stephen Hopkins..Bob Ashby
Lewis Morris..Richard Dahl
John Witherspoon..Todd Meikle
James Wilson..Michael Gerwin
Caesar Rodney..Michael Doane
Thomas McKean..Bob Cohen
George Read..Jon Simmons
Samuel Chase..Matt Bogen
Joseph Hewes..David Weaver
Lyman Hall..Kevin McCormack
1776 plays from February 5, 2016, through February 21, 2016 at The McLean Community Players performing at The Alden Theatre in the McLean Community Center – 1234 Ingleside Avenue, in McLean, VA 22101. For tickets, call (866)811-4111, or purchase them online. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $23-$25.
https://youtu.be/PazGAmxCoYg
1776 is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
The McLean Community Players, based in McLean, Virginia, celebrate both the musical and dramatic theater traditions. Performing four shows a year – two musicals and two plays – MCP is committed to doing theater for the community, in the community, with the community and sustained by the community.
The Mclean Community Players are proud to announce that they are offering performances with accessibility for both the hearing impaired and the visually challenged. For 1776, audio description services will be offered at the second matinee performance on February 14, 2015, and, for the first time, American Sign Language interpretation will be offered at our last matinee performance on February 21, 2016.
See our Accessibility Page for more information.
Note: This press release was authored by Cathy Farnsworth.
