1776 (musical) - Productions

Productions

After out-of-town tryouts, the original Broadway production opened on Broadway on March 16, 1969 at the 46th Street Theatre (now the Richard Rodgers Theatre) 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 (1971). The principal cast included William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Paul Hecht, Clifford David, Ronald Holgate, David Ford, Virginia Vestoff and Ken Howard. 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. Clifford David left the production soon after opening. He was replaced as Rutlege by David Cryer who was in turn replaced by John Cullum. Cullum had been the creative team's first choice for Rutledge and indeed, his performance was deemed so iconic that he became one of the few Broadway replacements in history to recreate his role on film. (Cullum was succeeded in the Broadway production by Paul-David Richards.)

The musical toured for two years in the U.S. and was given a London production, opening on June 16, 1970 at the New Theatre. The production starred Lewis Fiander as Adams, Vivienne Ross as Abagail Adams, Ronald Radd, Bernard Lloyd, David Kernan as Rutledge, John Quentin as Jefferson and Cheryl Kennedy as Martha Jefferson.

1776 was revived by the Roundabout Theatre Company, opening on August 4, 1997, in a limited engagement at the Roundabout's home theatre, the Criterion Center, before transferring to the George Gershwin Theatre on December 3, 1997 for a commercial run. It closed on June 14, 1998, after 333 performances and 34 previews. 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. Rex Everhart, who replaced Howard Da Silva on the original cast album, understudied Hingle as Franklin.