Judging A Show By Its Cast Album : 1776

As mentioned in the last post there was another musical about the revolution and that was " 1776"  does this 1969 winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical hold up? Would I see it if revived or in a civic theater? Let's find out

The show follows the moments leading to the founding of The United States of America, mainly revolving around The Declaration of Independence, following from the perspectives of John and Abigail Adams, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. As the Continental Congress faces the trails of founding a nation. John Adams is often written off in favor of other founding fathers so a show featuring him is interesting but also adds tons of room for good comedy, so I enjoy the premise. This musical is lighthearted and comedic , not very historically accurate. But what about the music?

The music is enjoyable and is done in a classic Broadway style, the lyrics are quick, sometimes comedic and often very alliterate, the melodies and lyrics work very well together. The female leads are few but they stand out as much as their male counterparts. The songs are more often fast paced and I found myself enjoying quite a few of them. Here are the songs I found myself enjoying the most

Piddle Twiddle and Resolve/ Till Then (L)

The Lees Of Old Virginia 

But Mr Adams (L)

He Plays The Violin 

Cool Cool Considerate Men 

The Egg

Is Anybody There

Overall I found the music enjoyable and would not mind seeing the whole story play out, if the lyrics provided some good comedy I am optimistic that the dialogue would do so as well. Also being a fan of history I wouldn't mind giving it a try, I only wish there were more songs sung by the very small amount of female leads. Until next time, I hope your day is a showstopper

Sources

Wikipedia : 1776 Musical 

1776 Original Broadway Cast Album Cover