You have to hand it to the Williamsburg Players’ season development team – they knew what they were doing when they picked “1776” to be their production closest to the 250^th July 4^th celebration in the Colonial Capital.  With such a sure bet to sell well, the production team, cast, and crew could have phoned it in and collected their ticket money.  And yet, the community around this show, led by director Jacqueline Kilduff, fought that urge, and have produced an exceedingly well-acted, well-sung, entertaining, and thought-provoking version of this tale of the road to the adoption of our Declaration of Independence.

“1776” reminds me, in some ways, of “12 Angry Men” – but replace the “12” with “13” and the “Men” with “Colonies”.  At the center of the plot is John Adams, that firebrand of a New Englander whose dream of a united front against mother England seems impossible to achieve, with no more than half of the colonies favoring independence.  Shining in the role of Adams is HRACT Award nominee Jeff Nicoloff, who brings Adams’ passion and frenetic energy to the fore.  We come into the show right at the height of Adams’ frustration, and Nicoloff pulls you right into his predicament in the wonderful opening ensemble number “For God’s Sake, John, Sit Down”.  Luckily for Adams, he has one huge ally in advocating for independence – Benjamin Franklin. 

Franklin is everything that Adams is not, personality-wise.  And Matthew Cadman is perfect for the role – filling the room with that ever-so-elusive quality of charisma, somehow grabbing and holding the attention of everyone around, even while unendingly quoting his own idioms and turns of phrase.  Franklin is cunning, pragmatic, and smooth as he quickly sweet-talks Richard Henry Lee of Virginia into introducing the resolution for independence into the Continental Congress.  Lee, meanwhile, is played with pompous confidence by Colin Palmer – I’d describe him as “the most assured-of-himself-frat-boy you’ve ever met”, prancing around stage, snapping his riding crop with gusto, smitten with the idea that he will be forever remembered – historical-‘Lee’. 

Of course, not everyone is so easily turned to the side of independence.  Chief among the holdouts is Pennsylvania’s John Dickinson, played by two-time HRACT Award winner John Cauthen.  Getting to see Cauthen and Nicoloff match wits and banter is a singular treat in this show, as it pits two giants of our local theater scene against each other, arguing over the fate of nations (heck, I’d watch these two bicker over who gets the last piece of cake and I’m sure it would be entertaining). 

And then there is, of course, Edward Rutledge, the South Carolinian (and gatekeeper of the Deep South vote) who takes umbrage with a paragraph in Thomas Jefferson’s original Declaration of Independence, which nodded to the need to abolish slavery.  In a bold and thought-provoking casting choice, the only African American in the cast, the talented Michael Harris, takes on the role.  Harris, whom we enjoyed in last season’s “Pippin”, exudes class and presence, with his little smirk of a smile, dressed like Gaston (and with the attitude, and chin, to back it up).  In a show full of powerful moments, it is Harris, angrily stomping around a very uncomfortable-looking Continental Congress during his number “Molasses to Rum”, that hits hardest, forcing one to consider all the people who benefitted from the practice of slavery.

Perhaps the most difficult task of “1776” is building out and differentiating the many, many white men of the Continental Congress for the audience.  This cast, somehow, does that remarkably well, keying in on specific tics and quirks to create quick caricatures for the ensemble to inhabit.  There is Douglas Yeates as John Hancock, just as interested in swatting flies as anything else going on.  There is Bill West as Stephen Hopkins, who always needs a rum to “get his heart going” in the morning.  There is Robert Pike as Samuel Chase, who always has some sort of food in front of him.  And the list goes on.  By the end, you somehow feel as if you could name everyone in the room at the Continental Congress – even if they abstain from every vote (courteously), defer to South Carolina’s opinions, or spend their day catering to the members’ whims of opening the windows (for the breeze) or closing the windows (for the flies).

While the moments in Congress are the ones that are most remembered by history, it is the personal moments which are often the most compelling in the show.  It is Thomas Jefferson’s (a soft-spoken Greg Lewis) relief and joy at seeing his wife Martha (Amy Stallings, with grace and charm).  It is the kinship and fun that Franklin and Adams experience just waiting for Jefferson to answer the door.  It is being able to hear a pin drop as the audience is drawn into the story of the military courier played by HRACT Award nominee Jonathan Aspin, lending his clear voice to “Momma Look Sharp” at the end of the first act. 

And it is John Adams’ letters with his wife Abigail (Susan Linnell) that are most touching of all.  Abigail, the one person who seems to be John’s match and John’s equal, is also the only person who can put up with him and put him in his place.  Their correspondence, told through a series of songs mixed throughout the show, is evidence of what seems to have been a true love and partnership, with Linnell’s beautiful vibrato in her upper register able to calm and center Nicoloff’s John.  Nicoloff, tearing up in love and admiration at each letter’s end, is at his best in these moments, where the romance in saltpeter and sewing pins has never been stronger. 

So yes, those personal moments will stick with me – but, of course, we wouldn’t be interested in any of it if those “nay’s” didn’t eventually turn to “yea’s” on the big tally board that is a centerpiece of the set.  I was quite jealous of Sam Miller, who, as Charles Thomson (Secretary of the Continental Congress), got to use a long stick to indicate the votes of each state on that big board.  Imagine what fun it would be if we tallied HRACT Award votes in that way. 

Speaking of which – “1776” was the last show in the 2025-26 HRACT Award season.  That means… we are only a few weeks away from nominations, voting, and then, ultimately, our annual award show!  Keep an eye on our website and social media channels for updates as we enter our busiest time of the year!