I have praised the movie “1776” many times here, urging schools all over the country to show it to their students as a wonderful history lesson about the birth of our nation. I even wrote a column several years ago about a school district in a DC suburb that stupidly banned the movie. With the recent HBO series on John Adams, perhaps there’s enough renewed interest in the founding fathers of the USA.
The 1972 film was a faithful adaptation of a show that debuted on Broadway in 1969 and ran for three years. I was lucky enough to see that original production with William Daniels as John Adams, Ken Howard as Thomas Jefferson, and Howard DaSilva as Benjamin Franklin (all three reprised their roles in the movie). Since my daughter grew old enough to understand it, watching the movie on July 4th has become a Harris Family tradition.
I went back to see the revival in 1997, with Brent Spiner as Adams and Pat Hingle as Franklin, and was surprised to find myself as moved as I was the first time. That production was nominated for a Tony, and earned the show a slot on the Tonys telecast. Here’s the rousing opening number, with Richard Poe as Adams (after Spiner left the show)…