Carey, Carroll, Goede, Watts, White Put Pen to Paper Sept. 28 in 1776 at Goodspeed

By Kenneth Jones
September 28, 2007

1776, Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards' fact-inspired musical about the founding fathers behind the making of the Declaration of Independence, gets a revival by Goodspeed Musicals, starting Sept. 28.

The staging that opens Oct. 24 and plays to Dec. 2 at Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT, is directed by Rob Ruggiero (of the regional hits Ella and Make Me a Song) and choreographed by Ralph Perkins.

The patriots (and the men and women who are their satellites) include Peter A. Carey as John Adams, Ron Carroll as Ben Franklin, Edward Watts as Thomas Jefferson, Richard White as Richard Henry Lee, Glenn Seven Allen as Edward Rutledge, Jayne Paterson as Abigail Adams, Jay Goede as Dickinson and Teal Wicks as Martha Jefferson.

Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman is played by Greg Roderick; Paul Jackel is Robert Livingston; Christopher Kauffman is The Courier; John Hancock is played by Alan Rust; Jack Agnew makes his Goodspeed Musicals debut as Dr. Josiah Bartlett.

Broadway veteran John Newton is Stephen Hopkins; Michael A. Pizzi is Lewis Morris; James Wilson is played by Marc Kessler; Trip Plymale is Caesar Rodney; Jerry Christakos is Jonathan Witherspoon; Kenneth Cavett is Col. Thomas McKean; George Read is played by Dean Bellais; Samuel Chase is played by Paul Carlin; Michael Cartwright is North Carolina's Joseph Hewes; Dennis Holland plays Dr. Lyman Hall of Georgia; Secretary Charles Thompson is played by Charlie Tirrell; and John Costa plays Custodian Andrew McNair.

Returning to Goodspeed Musicals as Leather Apron is Marcellus Waller. The swings for this production are Kristofer Holz and Erin Williams.

The creative team includes scenic designer Michael Schweikardt, lighting designer John Lasiter, costume designer Alejo Vietti and music director Michael O'Flaherty. William J. Thomas is assistant music director. Orchestrations are by Dan DeLange.

1776 is produced for Goodspeed Musicals by Michael P. Price.

1776, based on the arguments and politics involved in the signing of the Declaration of Independence, opened on Broadway in March 1969, playing 1,217 performances before closing Feb. 13, 1972. With a score by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone, the original cast featured William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Betty Buckley, David Ford, Ronald Holgate, Ken Howard and Virginia Vestoff. Peter H. Hunt directed the 1972 film, which featured many of the original Broadway cast members, including Daniels, Da Silva and Howard. Directed by Scott Ellis, a 1997 revival for the Roundabout Theatre Company starred Tom Aldredge, Michael Cumpsty, Dashiell Eaves, Gregg Edelman, Pat Hingle, Linda Emond, Merwin Foard, Brent Spiner, Paul Michael Valley and Lauren Ward.

For more information visit www.goodspeed.org.