1776

SALISBURY, MD--- It's the sweltering summer of 1776, and tensions are running high in the chamber of the Continental Congress. Will loud-mouth agitator John Adams persuade his colleagues to debate his proposal to declare independence from Great Britain? Will young Thomas Jefferson, lovesick for the wife he hasn't seen in six months, overcome his writer's block to complete the formal declaration he's been pressured into writing? Will the antagonism of complacent Tory John Dickinson and his loyalist followers sink the cause? Or will it be ruined by the Southern colonies' opposition to the declaration's anti-slavery clause? In short, will the declaration gain the necessary support of all 13 colonies? Or will the new nation-to-be die aborning?

One of the most popular musicals of all time, praised for bringing suspense to a well-known conclusion, movingly gives the answers when the Bobbi Biron Theatre Program at Salisbury University presents the awarding-winning 1776, opening Thursday, March 7, in Holloway Hall Auditorium.

Musical accompaniment is by the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra.

This lively Broadway show has been called the most entertaining history lesson ever crafted. 1776 worked like gangbusters at its premiere in 1969, winning five Tony Awards and running for three years. It again worked in the acclaimed 1997 revival by the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York.

According to SU director Martha Pfeiffer, who earned a master's in history, the musical provides a remarkably authentic dramatization, in a crowd-pleasing format.

Critics have called Peter Stone's book and Sherman Edwards' songs literate, witty and impassioned. A former schoolteacher and successful pop song writer ("Johnny Get Angry," "See You in September"), Edwards composed a score that captures the fife-and-drum fervor of the period. Stone's book grabs and holds attention, building to what some consider one of the most stirring crescendos in American theatre.

Cast members include Tim Dykes as John Adams, Ben Rayne at Benjamin Franklin, Justin Huebner at Thomas Jefferson, Justin Gallo as John Dickinson and Patrick Gates as Edward Rutledge. Alternating in the roles of Martha Jefferson are Leigh Usilton and Jamie Lynn Gaul, and as Abigail Adams are Sarah J. Stuart and Jocelyn P. Andersen.

Musical director is Dr. Michael Weber and choreographer is Dr. Paul Pfeiffer. Set design is by Gerry Patt, costume design by Paul Pfeiffer, lighting design by David Shuhy and sound design by Tony Broadbent.

Performances are Thursdays-Saturdays, March 7-9 and 14-16, at 8 p.m. with matinees Sundays, March 10 and 17, at 2 p.m. General admission is $10 and senior citizens and students $8. Group rates are available. School groups are encouraged to attend. Tickets may be purchased starting March 1 at the Information Desk of the Guerrieri University Center during regular Guerrieri Center hours. Reservations also may be made by calling the SU Theatre Box Office at 410-543-6228. For more information visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.