1776
Signal Theater

Highly Recommended - Chicago Reader 2/14/08
Highly Recommended - NewCity Chicago 1/30/08
Don't Miss! "..Marra’s production accomplishes stirring sweep with a small-scale footprint" - TimeOut Chicago 1/30/08
Jeff Recommended
Tony Award Winner


01/25/08 - 03/01/08

Thu-Sat 8p; Sun 3p. $10/20 (Thu/Sun). $10/25 (Fri/Sat)


Highly Recommended - "Signal Ensemble Theatre's revival of Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone's taut 1969 musical puts flesh on the Founding Fathers, thanks to witty dialogue and a surefire dramatic structure. A ton of future hangs in the balance here; nothing seems inevitable. Suitably sprawling yet concentrated like a diamond, Ronan Marra's 26-member cast plays history as it happened, not as remembered. Thanks to Andra Velis Simon's confident musical direction, the songs stay as strong as the story (though the orchestra occasionally misfires). Best, the stirring staging showcases veteran character actors like Ted Hoerl, Larry Baldacci, and Vincent L. Lonergan while confirming younger talents" - Lawrence Bommer, Chicago Reader 2/7/08

As musicals go, "1776" makes a pretty fair civics lesson. Centered around the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the musical by Sherman Edwards (music and lyrics) and Peter Stone (book), is an ambitious revival at Signal Ensemble Theatre, offering a tidy version of the tumultuous doings of the Second Continental Congress. The show's depiction of political maneuvering and manipulation; the liberal-conservative divide and the petty self interests, personality quirks and personal animosities that motivate elected officials make it especially relevant this year. But as a musical, "1776" is wanting. The book outstrips the less than praiseworthy score and clumsy lyrics. The inane "The Egg," about the birth of the nation and the superfluous double-entendre "He Plays the Violin" make one glad for the long stretches where there's nary a note sung. But Edwards includes with the clunkers, a couple of gems. The rousing opening "For God's Sake, John, Sit Down!" and the wry conservative ode "Cool, Cool Considerate Men" ("to the right, ever to the right, never to the left") showcase music director Andra Velis Simon's vocally robust men's chorus. (Too bad they're accompanied by a pit band that often sounds ragged). The plaintive "Momma Look Sharp," a dying soldier's lament expressively sung by Eric Lindahl (underused, but used well) serves as a reminder that while politicians debate, soldiers die. "1776" fares best as an actors' vehicle and Signal's cast, under director Ronan Marra, delivers, putting a distinctive stamp on American history's movers and shakers. There's prickly John Adams (a passionate Philip Winston), the "obnoxious and disliked" representative relentless in his pursuit of independence; politic Benjamin Franklin (good character work by Vincent L. Lonergan); the newlywed Thomas Jefferson (Tim Howard) suffering from writer's block and sexual frustration; president of the congress and voice of reason John Hancock (Larry Baldacci) and irascible Rhode Island rep Stephen Hopkins (a cantankerous Ted Hoerl). Their anti-independence foils include Pennsylvania delegate John Dickinson (a deliberate, nicely smug Jon Steinhagen), a British apologist content to maintain the status quo and the preening South Carolina delegate Edward Rutledge (a deliciously decadent Jeremy Trager) determined to preserve the South's "cherished institution" of slavery at the expense of independence. Their debates crackle under Marra's direction, but musicals want more. Edwards simply doesn't supply the goods. "1776" marks Signal's first musical. Here's hoping the company chooses better next time it flexes its musical muscles" - Barbara Vitello, Daily Herald 2/1/08

Highly Recommended - "...Kudos to Signal Ensemble Theatre for taking on such a huge show and pulling out all the stops for its first musical and succeeding on virtually every level" - Dennis Polkow, NewCity Chicago 1/30/08

"Perfect timing. With the increasingly bitter sniping among the Democratic presidential candidates, we start to wonder how this country survives its own government. Along comes Signal’s revival of 1776 to remind us that it ever was so. Stone and Edwards’s retelling of the Continental Congress’s struggle toward the Declaration of Independence bears remarkable historical accuracy for a Broadway musical, but this is no Schoolhouse Rock edutainment. It’s a refresher course in the differences between real history and ninth-grade U.S. history, a reminder that declaring independence was both a radical, not-entirely-popular concept and a decision negotiated by actual, fallible men. Like a baby grand piano, Marra’s production accomplishes stirring sweep with a small-scale footprint. For the most part, his large cast is terrific—Philip Winston’s John Adams and Jon Steinhagen’s John Dickinson are well-matched enemies, and Vincent Lonergan’s tendency toward mugging works in favor of larger-than-life eccentric Ben Franklin. Marra’s only failing is not reining in Jeremy Trager’s South Carolina delegate Rutledge. Trager has an amazing voice, but as an actor he specializes in creepy intensity, which doesn’t translate well to Southern gentleman. His work here is cringeworthy, strutting like a fop in a Restoration comedy and sporting the worst Southern accent since Julia Roberts in everything. But the praiseworthiness of every other element of this fine production, plus Edwards and Stone’s moving storytelling, leaves us filled with hope for our country. Maybe what this contentious Congress shows us is that, in the greatest historical moments, the audacity of hope takes a village" - Kris Vire, TimeOut Chicago 1/30/08

Tony Award Winner
New York Times "1776 is a most striking, most gripping musical."
New York Post - “"In this cynical age, it required courage as well as enterprise to do a musical play that simply deals with the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. And 1776 … makes no attempt to be satirical or wander off into modern by-paths. … The result is a brilliant and remarkably moving work of theatrical art."

Set during a "hot as hell" summer in Philadelphia, 1776 is the Tony Award-winning musical about the seminal act in American history: the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Sectional differences, pride and fear threaten the Declaration and the fledgling nation. The score features hits such as "Sit Down, John," "He Plays the Violin" and "Momma Look Sharp."

Author
Book by Peter Stone; based on concept by Sherman Edwards

Director
Ronan Marra

Performers
featuring ensemble members Vincent L. Lonergan, Joseph Stearns and Philip Winston with Larry Baldacci, Kevin Bishop, John Blick, Scott Danielson, Matthew Erickson, Dan Granata, Ryan Guhde, Michael Herschberg, Ted Hoerl, Tim Howard, Andy Lambertson, Eric Lindahl, Paul G. Miller, Lindsay Naas, Colby Sellers, Thomas Shea, Anne Smith, Eric Smith, Jon Steinhagen, Danny Taylor, Jeremy Trager, Steve Welsh and Matt Whalen

Production
Set design - Melania Lancy; Costumes - Laura Dana; Lights - Julie Ballard and Price Johnston; Sound - Anthony Ingram; Wigs - Ora Jewell-Busch; Props - Noel Henke; Dramaturg - Nicole Lemery; Production Manager - Stephanie Ehemann; Asst Stage Manager - Kristen Barrett

Tags: Theater, American, 2008