|
|
 |
1776: Original stage productionThe original Broadway production of 1776 opened on March 16, 1969 at the 46th Street Theatre (now the Richard Rodgers Theatre) and closed on February 13, 1972 after 1217 performances. In its three year run, it would play in three different theatres: the 46th Street, the St. James Theatre (1970) and, finally, the Majestic Theatre (1971). The show was lauded at the 1969 Tony Awards, where it was nominated for five awards and won three: Best Musical; Best Featured Actor in a Musical (for Ronald Holgate as Richard Henry Lee), and Best Direction of a Musical. It was also nominated for the Tony Awards for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (for Virginia Vestoff as Abigail Adams) and for Best Scenic Design. William Daniels was ruled ineligible for the Best Actor nomination because his name was not billed above the title of the show; he refused a nomination for Best Featured Actor. 1776 also won the 1969 Theatre World Award and two Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Book and Outstanding Costume Design. Many members of the original Broadway cast reprised their roles for the film. Both the stage version and the movie featured William Daniels as John Adams, Ken Howard as Thomas Jefferson, and Howard Da Silva as Benjamin Franklin. (Rex Everhart replaced Da Silva on the original Broadway cast album after Da Silva suffered a mild heart attack which required him to leave the show temporarily.) Betty Buckley played Martha Jefferson in the original stage production, while that role featured Blythe Danner in the film. Revival
The revival was nominated for three Tony Awards: Best Revival of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (for Gregg Edelman as Edward Rutledge). Edelman won a 1998 Drama Desk Award for his work as Rutledge; the show also received Drama Desk nominations for Outstanding Revival, Outstanding Direction (Ellis), and Outstanding Actor (Spiner).
|
1776 was
revived by the