Historical Musicals

by Paula Gail Benson

This summer, the broadcast to be watched on the 4^th of July weekend was the recording of Broadway’s original cast of Hamilton. The phenomenon, based on Ron Chernow’s 818-page biography of the “ten dollar Founding Father,” Alexander Hamilton, has been chronicled in programs on CBS and PBS as well as other media. The process by which it came to Broadway is detailed in the 288-page Hamilton: the Revolution, by Lin Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter. Lauded for its creative approach and non-traditional casting, according to Wikipedia, the show was nominated for a record 16 Antoinette Perry (Tony) awards and won 11, more than any single production has ever received.

For those of us familiar with the music, part of the joy was seeing how it translated to the stage and how the original cast interpreted it. The intricate choreography was meticulously developed by Andy Blankenbuehler, with specific meaning behind each movement. The joyful “Helpless,” Eliza’s song upon meeting and marrying Alexander, is followed by Angelica’s regretful “Satisfied,” when time is literally reversed to replay the moment of the meeting from Angelica’s view. The double casting that allowed key performers to take on two roles, and often two perspectives, provided some delightful and challenging moments for the actors. The actors’ dexterity with the number of words in the rap numbers, the joy of Jefferson’s return from Paris in “What Did I Miss,” and Burr’s bring down the house song and dance of “The Room Where It Happened” along with the entire company’s performance in “Yorktown” are just some of the amazing highlights of a truly outstanding production.

 

Daveed Diggs in his Tony award winning role as Thomas Jefferson

However, before Hamilton, the 4^th of July musical not to be missed was 1776. Premiering on Broadway in 1969, it was made into a film in 1972 and related the story of John Adams’ struggle to convince the Continental Congress to pass a resolution for independence. Sherman Edwards, who wrote the music and lyrics, had the idea from his time spent teaching high school history. He convinced Peter Stone to write the book by playing the first song, “Sit Down, John,” demonstrating that the story would not be about idolizing the founding fathers, but treating them as Franklin says in a later scene, “We’re men–no more, no less–trying to get a nation started against greater odds than a more generous God would have allowed.”

Like Hamilton, 1776 is based upon real occurrences and actual words spoken by the historical figures. Edwards and Stone did take some liberties with historical facts. In Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence, Denise Kiernan and Joseph D’Agnese chronicle the lives of the fifty-six men who signed the Declaration. The 1776 cast limits the number to twenty. In the musical, the character Stephen Hopkins says he wants to watch each man’s face as they sign the document. That actually was spoken by William Ellery, the other representative from Rhode Island. (By the way, the Declaration wasn’t signed on July 4, but on August 2.) Martha Jefferson never traveled to Philadelphia, but the scene Stone and Edwards wrote for Martha Jefferson allowed Betty Buckley to make her Broadway debut.

The musical encountered some political resistance. President Nixon objected to the lyrics in “Cool, Considerate Men,” (a minuet suggesting that men will always favor the more conservative political right in hopes that they may someday achieve wealth if they don’t already have it). That song was originally removed from the film. Later, in the director’s cut, it was restored.

Adams (William Daniels), Franklin (Howard Da Silva), and Jefferson (Ken Howard) from the film 1776

William Daniels, the actor who played John Adams, declined his Tony nomination as best featured actor in a musical because he contended that he was eligible for best actor in a musical. He did not receive the best actor nomination because his name wasn’t above the title, a Tony rule at the time. (See this link for background information about 1776.)

 

Lin Manuel Miranda backstage with William Daniels

Diane Paulus, of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard, planned to bring an all-female cast of 1776 to Broadway this year. I hope she will be able to regroup the production once theaters reopen.

Speaking of which, I would like to recommend one additional non-traditional casting for a future version of Hamilton. Wouldn’t it be great to see Judi Dench play King George III?

Jonathan Groff as King George III

Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth I