The Sept. 28-Dec. 2 staging, directed by Rob Ruggiero and choreographed by Ralph Perkins at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT, will boast 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; and Teal Wicks as Martha Jefferson.

Connecticut Delegate Roger Sherman will be played by Will Lampe; Paul Jackel is Robert Livingston; Christopher Kauffman will be The Courier; John Hancock will be played by Alan Rust; Jack Agnew makes his Goodspeed Musicals debut as Dr. Josiah Bartlett.

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

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

The creative team will include 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 will be by Dan DeLange. 1776 is produced for Goodspeed Musicals by Michael P. Price. Official opening is Oct. 24.

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.