3851 Don M. Fri, Feb 22, at 06:58pm
PS The writing, direction, and choreography all moved the production to a moving fnale. Must mention Lee of Virginia as top notch performance.

3850 Don M. Fri, Feb 22, at 12:51am
Just returned from the show. It always amazes me, the talent we have in our city! The show is a must see! There were school kids there for the performance which made the experience special. At the end of the show, they were reading the Declaration of Independence posted in the lobby! The opener, Sit down John was stunning! Imagine a full male chorus belting it out in a small space. Most characters were well defined and life like. Some standouts; John Adams, Ben Franklin, and yes Rutledge, who was more cynical than evil. His Molasses number was a show stopper. The 2 hour 40 minute show never dragged. The writing, direction, and choreography were all

3263 DemocraticGurl Thu, Jan 31, at 10:21am
The Audacity of Signal Ensemble- Signal, best known for contemporary dramatic works, takes a bold leap with Stone and Edwards, "1776" The gall! The chutzpah! Well, it works. This Jeff Recommended show is an exciting redition of the Tony winning musical. The harmony of the entire cast in the first number captivates and I became sucked in from there. Mind you, we all know how this play ends on the fourth of July, but I sat on the edge of my seat as the Second Congressional Congress struggled to produce America's very first salvo of freedom. The characters are ambitious and do not look like the "safe" styinging we remember in the 1972 movie "1776". It is a credit to Ronan Marra who allow the actors to explore the bounds of their distinctive characters without reigning in their passion. "Momma Look Sharp", "Molasses to Rum", "Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve", and "The Lees of Old Virginia" are stand apart numbers. If you are not tapping and humming in you chair during the latter, you need to get out of the office more often. Kudos to Phillip Winston who John Adams is fleshed out from cranky crumudegeon to tender and inspired lover. On the eve of state primarys and Super Tuesday this work is timely. See this super show and get in touch with your inner patriot.

3247 Sara B Wed, Jan 30, at 06:24pm
It's true that some of the performers in the show weren't great singers..but where they lacked in voice, they made up for in acting. But the full cast vocals were great. I thought the show was great, and for being such a long show, it kept my attention, because it is well written. I felt the debate scenes were very much full of life and kept me on the edge of my seat. Trager made a bold choice, he wasn't like many Rutledges, but I thought it was a refreshing new way to see the role, but his performance was a little over the top at times, but overall, I thought he was great. The lighting effect at the end was so cool and Mama Look Sharp was great. Nice singing from the solo, and I couldnt' take my eyes off of the Leather Apron in that scene, a role that usually doesn't add much, this actor knows how to manipulate an audience's emotions with the most subtle facial expressions and body language that was just heartbreaking to watch. the Custodian was also great in that scene and was very funny throughout. The acapella portion of the song was beautiful. The song Cool Cool Considerate Men was also very powerful. I felt one of the most exciting parts of the show was from right before Molasses to Rum until after Franklin's big "the issue is independance" speech. I was very engaged in those parts of the show especially. If you like 1776, you'll like this show.

3233 anonymous Wed, Jan 30, at 03:08pm
I very much agree with the review. I saw the show in previews, and can imagine that it only has room to grow better. The production, as a whole, was put together really nicely. Jeremy Trager's Rutledge is the one standout performance (in a terrible way). His foppish character did not gel with the rest of the cast.

3236 I can be anonymous too Wed, Jan 30, at 02:52pm
I actually agreed with a lot of this review. 1776 was a lot more entertaining and even funnier than I expected and did not feel like just a 3-hour history lesson. The modern parallels were fascinating: debating whether to drop slavery from the Declaration was exactly how last year they debated dropping "gender identity" from ENDA. Do we demand all our rights all at once or do we progress in steps? As for Trager, yeah, he made a character choice and I can understand and respect that. But the problem is he cranked that choice up to 11 on the drama scale. He wasn't just evil, he was EVIL!!! I don't need to be hit over the head with it. The sashaying, the dramatic coattail-flipping and the maniacal facial twitches were all too much. Plus, it's too easy to turn the pro-slavery guy into The Villain. He was also a human being, too, but Trager didn't want to deal with that. He just wanted as much attention as possible. After his song was over (a long, challenging song that he was able to tackle vocally at the most), I had no idea what it was about due to all the distracting histrionics. And to say there were no good singers is inaccurate. John Adams' wife, Thomas Jefferson and the soldier who sang "Mama Look Sharp" all sang beautifully.

3231 anonymous Wed, Jan 30, at 01:42pm
To our ears Rutledge is evil and nasty. He was defending his way of life, so there is no need for the man to be brooding, dark, and overly flamboyant.

3206 Chip Samuels Tue, Jan 29, at 08:26pm
To the above post by anonymous: You're wrong... in my humble opinion. I also saw this show. It was entertaining and, while you are correct, some of the men's voices weren't necessarily bound for broadway, Trager's playing of Rutledge was an abomination to this award winning musical. He turned a proud southern gentleman into some sort of ridiculously flamboyant homosexual mad man, more concerned about his hair and fancy walk than actually protraying a character. The real Rutledge was a well-respected southern aristocrat, and, while he did want to keep slavery in tact for the economic vitality of the south, he wasn't "evil," it was just politics. To portray him that way was not only a BAD choice, but it was not true to the script. The actor portaying him was in a totally different show than the rest of the cast and seemed to want attention for every verbal and nonverbal thing he did. He was distracting more than anything. But people should see this show. It is a bit long, but well worth it.

3202 Anonymous Tue, Jan 29, at 06:07pm
After seeing 1776 last weekend, I cannot disagree more whole-heartedly with this review. In many respects, the production was as tedious and yawn-inspiring as last night's state of the union address by everyone's favorite commander-in-thief. There were just too many bland, unattractive, physically unfit white men on stage, several singing in voices that really and truly did not justify the ticket price. The actors made valiant efforts, but many did not seem to have the god-given pipes needed to perform in any musical production, let alone one that too easily lends itself to becoming horribly BORING. I thought I would never make it through the lengthy sequence during which each character trudged upstage to sign the declaration, then take their seats, one ...at a ...time. There were only three respites in this tepid, rote history lecture, and one was Trager's captivating performance and beautifully sung solo. I can't imagine why this is the one performance that has been called out negatively! Regardless of whether by the director or the performer, a distinct character choice was made. Rutledge was evil, repellent, perverse and a force to be reckoned with. His solo practically blew the lid off the theatre, and in my mind, his characterization was perfect for the lone human being who fought to keep the sin of slavery alive in our newly independent country. The row of older couples in front of me talked loudly of his "brilliant" performance the moment the curtain call ended. I heard another audience member mention his song by name and say "wow, what a voice!" Kudos to Trager for waking up the audience during this otherwise ponderous production, and showing us that those who don't believe that all men are created equal are exactly as Rutledge was portrayed – creepy, evil, and arrogant! And possibly insane.