Signature Theatre brings their annual tradition of producing the musical, 1776, to the Orpheum Theatre. Winner of the 1970 Tony Award for best musical, 1776 tells the story of the deliberations, triumphs, and sometimes absurd debates of the founding fathers as they set out to write the US Constitution. This year’s production features an all-star cast of Wichita’s best professional actors.
It is a long hot summer in Philadelphia, and the Continental Congress is an exhausted, annoyed, quarrelsome collection of men, at each other’s throats over the burning question of independence from Great Britain. John Adams (Ted Woodward), the passionate crusader for rebellion, races against time: if the congress does not agree to throw off the yoke of tyranny, General Washington’s painfully outnumbered army will have no ideal for which to fight. But Adams is obnoxious and disliked — no one will listen to his arguments. They might have a chance if Thomas Jefferson (Max Wilson), that silver wordsmith, would write a Declaration — but Jefferson, frustrated by his long absence from lovely wife Martha (Claire Gerig), is in no mood to be creative. And when it comes down to a final decision, the course of history hangs on whether sycophantic Judge James Wilson (John Boldenow) can remain as anonymous as possible with his vote… Under these conditions, how will America ever achieve Independence?
| Price | Location/Details |
|---|---|
| $26 Adv ($30 at the Door) | Orchestra Rows A-C |
| $21 Adv ($30 at the Door) | Remaining Orchestra |
| $10 Adv | Student |
7 p.m.
