Davis), is unrecognizable from one show to the other: The showboat and slaver of Hamilton is, in 1776, a sensitive and recessive humanitarian who tries to include an anti-slavery passage in the Declaration. The one major character the musicals have in common, Thomas Jefferson (Elizabeth A. John Adams (Crystal Lucas-Perry)-who is only mockingly name-checked in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash-is the hero of this story, no longer unsung conversely, George Washington makes only epistolary appearances in 1776, as the author of letters despairing about the sorry state of his ragtag army. In their emphases, however, the two shows are very different. Now more than ever, 1776 registers as a companion piece to Broadway’s other current Founding Fathers musical, its bastard child Hamilton. Their ornately patterned and delicately colorful coats, designed by Emilio Sosa, are openly donned as costumes, as though to ask: Haven’t they always been costumes? And if so, can’t anyone wear them? (The two female roles are still played by women.) The performers enter in modern dress, then step forward to the footlights to slip into buckled shoes and pull up their stockings. Page and Diane Paulus, they are played by an ethnically diverse company of actors who identify as female, trans or nonbinary. The members of the Second Continental Congress were all white men, but in this production, directed by Jeffrey L. The most obvious difference between this version of 1776 and previous ones is in the casting. Yet the Roundabout’s latest revival of the show doesn’t feel stiff: It infuses this august body of show with a rush of fresh blood. Notes No livestream rights are available for this title.Once more unto the breeches, dear friends, once more! The American-history musical 1776 is not, in itself, unfamiliar: Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone’s tunefully educational account of the process leading up to the Declaration of Independence was a hit in 1969, and its 1972 film adaptation soon became a television staple it has since returned in major productions on Broadway (in 1997) and in the Encores! concert series (in 2016). As the former strangers become collective friends, through patience, understanding and humor, they realize the memory of this night will be a gift to remember. They even find themselves beginning to accept their fate by finding ways to celebrate the true spirit of Christmas. Eventually, however, they begin to bond, despite their circumstances. Understandably disappointed and dispirited, they try to make the best of things with little success at first. The passengers are suddenly forced to disembark and take shelter in a small depot in New Hampshire. However, the train develops engine trouble, and there are track problems ahead. And other travelers have similar desires to reach their destinations in time for Christmas. A man and his wife are attempting to reach Maryland in time for the birth of their first grandchild. A recently widowed woman wishes to spend the holidays with her daughter's family in Boston. A software salesman, returning from a business trip, wants to return to Los Angeles and patch things up with his wife. A sailor is trying to get to Texas to place an engagement ring on his girlfriend's finger. Once they reach Boston, many of the passengers hope to make connections to various destinations across the United States. On Christmas Eve, during a snowstorm, a group of strangers are on a train to Boston from Bangor, Maine, where the airport had been shut down due to the weather.
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