*REVIEWED 03/13/10 PERFORMANCE

Reviewed by CHIEF SENIOR THEATER CRITIC John Garcia, THE COLUMN

Directed by Luke Hunt

Musical Direction by Dick Helmcamp

Choreography by Rachel Hunt

Stage Management by Analaura Keith

Lighting Design by Aaron Lett

Scenic Design by Hillard Cochran

Costumes by Shanon Loose and Mayre Stewart

CAST:

John Hancock: Jay A. Cornils

Dr. Josiah Bartlett: Walter Schoenfeld

John Adams: Aaron Lett

Stephen Hopkins: Ray Blanton

Roger Sherman: Jerry Hall

Robert Livingston: Bob Beck

Rev. John Witherspoon: R.L. Smith

Benjamin Franklin: Jay Lewis

John Dickinson: Hillard Cochran

James Wilson: Paul Talley

Caesar Rodney: James Long

Col. Thomas McKean: Chris Seil

George Read: Daniel Scott Robinson

Samuel Chase: Stacey Blanton

Richard Henry Lee: Alan Meadows

Thomas Jefferson: Luke Hunt

Joseph Hewes: Scot Jackson

Edward Rutledge: Dick Helmcamp

Dr. Lyman Hall: Jason Reed

Charles Thomson: Dan Howell

Andrew McNair: Jacob Hanson

Abigail Adams: Amy Atkins

Martha Jefferson: Christine Atwell

Courier: Dade Elza

Leather Apron: Jarrett Hubbard

________________________________1776___________________________

Reviewed by CHIEF SENIOR THEATER CRITIC John Garcia, THE COLUMN

1776 is a musical that can be quite daunting for any theater company to tackle, whether they are an equity or non-equity house.

It requires at least 24 men of all ages & shapes, all dressed in period costume and powdered wigs. This isn't a big, splashy musical with dancing or overflowing with large ensemble numbers. Nope.

What does make 1776 such a major challenge is that it contains much more book than score. This musical is based on the battles & politics that arose when our forefathers created the declaration of independence.

1776 relies heavily on its book, which is a fascinating & engrossing book-even after all these years. As these men whom Benjamin Franklin calls "the cream of their colonies" battle it out on the creation of this declaration, we as the audience actually begin to wonder "I don't think that they will ever accomplish this."

We know politicians, I mean just look at today's heated political battle over healthcare!

But of course we all know the outcome of what happened in 1776. But the book works masterfully in making the audience second guess itself if "they will ever get the damn thing done" as John Adams (the agitator of the congress) states.

It's rare for musicals (especially in today's overflow of jukebox musicals or those based on films and TV shows) to have such a solid book as 1776 does.

1776 opened on Broadway in 1969, closing in February 1972 after 1217 performances. The original production actually hop scotched through three Broadway houses during its long run. It opened at the 46th street Theater, and then moved to the St. James, finally closing at the Majestic. It was nominated for five Tony Awards, winning Best Musical over HAIR, ZORBA, and PROMISES, PROMISES.

Speaking of Tony Awards, here's some delicious gossip you may not know. When the 1776 producers filled out their ballot for that year's Tony Awards, they listed William Daniels (who originated the role of "John Adams") in the Featured Actor category. This infuriated Daniels so much (he felt he should be nominated as a lead), that he demanded to be taken off the Tony ballot completely, which he was. Daniels' cast mate Ronald Holgate would go on to win in the Featured category for portraying "Richard Henry Lee".

One last piece of trivia here, 1776 also happened to be the Broadway debut of a Fort Worth native by the name of Betty Buckley, who played "Martha Jefferson".

In 1997, the musical was revived at Roundabout Theater on Broadway, playing for 333 performances. In 2008 HBO produced a riveting mini series on the life John Adams starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney.

On the actor side of this theater critic, I've had the pleasure of doing 1776 twice. The first time was in Florida where I portrayed the Courier, the second time I was "Robert Livingston". I can see you scratching your heads after you read that. But it's true. I see you thinking, "Um, in the famous painting of the signing of the declaration, I don't remember seeing a Latino in a powdered wig next to John Hancock." Thank heavens for non-traditional casting is all I can say here! I've also seen several productions both here in the metroplex and in Pittsburgh.

On Saturday night I went to view the production, which this time around was being mounted by the Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players (GCCP). This was my first trip ever to review this theater company. I had no idea that their theater was actually housed upstairs above a museum. This fact helped explain why in the lobby I saw a stuffed pelican that was encased in a glass box. Scared the bejesus out of me!

GCCP is a community theater company that is currently celebrating 30 years of entertaining their audiences. But soon they will be moving into their own new civic theater.

As stated at the beginning of this review, 1776 is an ambitious musical to bring to life. While GCCP's 1776 does contain several flaws, the overall production is still quite enjoyable, especially in the casting department.

Visually the production is appealing, if somewhat watered down. The space is small, thus having to put over a dozen men on stage did create a cramped look at times as the evening progressed. The set did not have the tables for these men to sit at, just chairs. However Hillard Cochran's scenic design of light grey walls and wooden shudders for windows were pleasant to the eye. This is a proscenium stage, and the very ornate floral pattern that framed the stage really added authenticity to the set. Kudos must also go to Scenic artists Mayre Stewart, Taylor Jackson, and Julie Lee who painted a charming back wall for the Jefferson's home.

The costumes by Shanon Loose and Mayre Stewart were acceptable, but some of them were not up to par as some of the others. Several men wore socks (not hose), or their coats & pants seemed ill fitted. The costumes for the ladies needed more petticoats and the whalebone hoop framing that they wore during that period. Aaron Lett's lighting design was workable, but could have used much more variations. It could very well be the limitations of the space or the availability of lighting units, but the design missed several key moments.

For example, when McNair changes the date on the calendar, we really needed to see the lighting change dramatically to let the audience know we are passing through several days. Several productions have had all the lighting on stage go dark (the men on stage frozen) while one piercing light would hit the calendar, thus assisting the audience in knowing where we are in regards to the passage of time that was occurring on stage.

I give Director Luke Hunt a rousing round of applause for taking up the artistic challenge of making this musical work on such a tiny stage. It is not an easy task to cast a large group of actors, some who have barely a line-let alone in a community theater production. It is a challenge to get that many actors to commit. Having said that, I did notice the omission of "Lewis Morris" (the other delegate from New York).

Also the casting of a female as one of the congressmen simply did not work here. I give them props for attempting their best to hide her with make up and costume, but the second she spoke, the jig was up.

Nonetheless, Hunt's direction of keeping the performances placed firmly in realism is to be admired. Even with the limited floor space, he did a valiant job of making his staging and blocking work as well as it could on the intimate stage.

The three major problems of the production were pace, line memory in some performances, and the inner action & subtext within the delegates. When the principal men were on a roll, the piece moved effortlessly, only to have that pace hit a brick wall due to a fellow actor having to slowly deliver his line or "come into" the scene.

There were a couple of accidents when a couple of the actors completely went up or just plume forgot their lines. Thankfully this only happened a few times.

Finally, I sorely missed the subtext & inner action within the delegates. Some of the cast had that craft and polish, but others did not. I missed the more vocal reactions, heated arguments, and urgency within the ensemble of men. When there was a point or opinion brought up, only a few responded on stage. For example, when Dickinson hits Adams with a good comeback about taxes, there normally is a much more vocal reaction from the congress. Also in the second act when slavery takes center stage, the actors needed much more subtext and visual reactions to this very heated debate.

As I've said, this is an intimate space, so you can see everything very close up. Always remember, even if you don't have a line or solo, someone in that audience is watching you! Nonetheless, I still applaud Director Hunt on doing a commendable job here.

This is a large cast that had some terrific performances and some that just seemed a bit out of sync.

Within the congress, the stand out performances included the following: Chris Seil as "Col. Thomas McKean" (who had the perfect Scottish dialect); Jay A. Cornils as "John Hancock (I particularly found his empathy for Adams touching); Jerry Hall as "Roger Sherman"; James Long as the gravely ill "Caesar Rodney"; Daniel Scott Robinson as "George Read"; and Scot Jackson as "Joseph Hewes".

Dan Howell as "Charles Thomson" alas had great difficulty in finding his subtext and keeping it throughout the evening as the secretary. Thomson would read the letters from George Washington to the congress as well as reading (for the first time!) the actual declaration of independence. Howell sorely needed the volume, the pride, and commitment to be reading out loud such historical documents. When he delivers the horrific final letter from Washington regarding his small troop about to go up against 20,000 British solders-Howell did not fully grasp the poignant emotion that we needed here.

Jay Lewis provided the best laughs of the evening with his whimsical performance as "Benjamin Franklin". Franklin does have a bad leg, but Lewis had a mischievous twinkle in his eye that made his performance delightful. But when it was time to battle with Adams in regards to his ego and refusal to delete the slavery section in the document, Lewis showed great restraint and command as Franklin in regards to his beliefs.

Dade Elza portrayed the "courier", the young man who has to hand deliver letters from the bloody battlefields where Washington is to the congress itself. Physically Elza fit the role perfectly. But sadly he just could not handle vocally or emotionally what the role demands. Elza did not sustain any of the notes and seemed to struggle to hit the higher vocal range within the haunting ballad, "Momma Look Sharp".

It is a powerful song of a boy dying on the battlefield, begging for his mother to find him. Elza fought within his performance to convey those emotions within his performance. Musically it did not help Elza that the two back up soloists were completely off key in the chorus section of the song. I could see Elza trying his best to get into the inner core of realism and subtext within the role, but somehow he just did not reach that intensity.

Luke Hunt is not only the director, he also portrayed "Thomas Jefferson", a quiet man who only wants to get home to his wife. Hunt delivers an excellent performance here. I watched him from the very beginning and he kept the inner dialogue and subtext flashing before his face throughout the evening. Hunt also soars with authority when he is forced to delete the paragraph regarding slavery. I was quite impressed by Hunt's performance here.

The show stopping number of the evening belonged to Dick Helmcamp as "Edward Rutledge", the delegate from South Carolina. The song is titled "Molasses to Rum", which is composed in dynamic rhythms and beats. Helmcamp has a hearty, booming baritone voice that just made this song soar. He bit into the vile, cruel lyrics with just the right amount of heartless compassion the song requires. Rutledge gets carried away in front of the congress on how he supports slavery, and Helmcamp delivers here. However, it was a bit anti-climatic that we could not hear at all the delegate who screams, "For the love of God Mr. Rutledge!" That causes Rutledge to come down from his own personal high. Regardless, Helmcamp easily had the best vocal performance of the night.

The two lone females of the cast were Amy Atkins as "Abigail Adams" and Christine Atwell as "Martha Jefferson", both ladies delivered glowing performances.

Ms. Atwell has yet to disappoint me each time I've observed her on stage. She stole my heart as "Eliza Doolittle" in Artisan's MY FAIR LADY (earning her a COLUMN Award nomination this year for BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL); then poured a nice coating of buttery warmth with her charming work as "Betty Blake Rogers" in Plaza Theater Company's THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES. As "Martha", Atwell has only one song to sing, "He Plays the Violin". A sweet confection of a tune that has Martha praising her romantic husband (Thomas Jefferson). Atwell can melt even the coldest of hearts with her dulcet soprano voice, and in this musical she once again wins me over.

As "Abigail", Ms. Atkins was a marvelous discovery for me as I have never seen her on stage before. This raven haired beauty has a fabulous set of vocal pipes that turned each of her solos into major musical highlights of the evening. The vibrato of this Soprano was fully supported with just the right breathing technique, allowing the lyrics and musical notes to flow evenly, without sounding choppy or all broken up. She was most impressive in such numbers as "Till Then"; "Yours, Yours, Yours"; and "Compliments".

Which leads us to the two performances that were not only outstanding, but they made this production of 1776 most entertaining. That would be Aaron Lett as "John Adams" and Hillard Cochran as "John Dickinson".

Cochran is a towering figure who commanded the stage the second he stepped onto it. Never once did he drop character, and his subtext was laid out perfectly. Maybe because I have seen this musical (and have performed in it), I could see from the second he hit the stage Cochran's subtext so vividly. You could see he did not care at all for Adams or his "cause".

His facial expressions were riveting. I've seen some actors fall into the trappings of making him into the villain too quickly. Not Cochran. He oozes charm and great hospitality to his fellow members of congress. But always with a thin coating of ice cold resentment that no one could really break though. Throughout the evening my attention kept going back to Cochran to see how his "Dickinson" felt or reacted to what was being said on stage-and never once did he disappoint me. He consistently displayed his emotions and inner dialogue with a simple look, a twitch of a smile, or the lift of an eye brow. Cochran's stage presence is quite powerful and his portrayal of "Dickinson" was mesmerizing to say the least.

Aaron Lett delivers a lofty performance as "John Adams", the man who is told right off the bat to sit down and shut up. In one song he is often referred to the man who is most disliked in congress. Lett's Adams keeps his eyes on the prize, which is the declaration of independence. He does not stay on one level-that of the "agitator".

Instead this talented actor shows honest pain and confusion on why he's so disliked. Lett shows with his face what the wheels whirling in Adams' mind are saying. His most touching moments were with Atkins (as "Abigail") when he let down his guard as this staunch, bossy Politian. It was here were Lett displayed compassion and regret on how his political life overshadowed his marriage. Lett's subtext was always visible and never once disappeared.

Lett also allowed his comical side pop up when the scene or song required it. Such as his "one up" scene with Dickinson. "I went to Harvard" vs. "I went to William and Mary". He also was quite jovial during the discovery of Jefferson's high libido and the trio number "The Egg".

I don't know whose idea this was but I thought it was an excellent choice:

During Adams' big solo "Is Anybody There" it is always sung just by Adams. But when it came to the big crescendo within the music and on the lyrics "I see fireworks/I see the pageant/and Pomp and parade", the entire company sang with full voice from behind the house.

I though that was such a brilliant idea. Lett sang with such determination and how proud he would be of this country. But having the entire cast sing made you think of all Americans singing along with Adams' vision. As the main character of this musical, Aaron Lett was stellar from the first note to the curtain call.

1776 is a musical that is just not done often because of the many elements it requires, both in performance and design. To entertain an audience with a very wordy book is tough nowadays. They want dazzling sets, special effects, and big chorus numbers. None of these elements are in 1776.

But I still find the piece thoroughly entertaining, as is this production. Yes, Carnegie Players' version does have its flaws. But I commend them highly for even attempting this difficult piece. They could have done one of those old war horse musicals that make me want to push my head into a cement wall. Instead this community theater company challenged themselves artistically, and that deserves high recognition.

Reviewed by CHIEF SENIOR THEATER CRITIC John Garcia, THE COLUMN

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1776 - Musical by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone Based on a concept of Sherman Edwards The Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players through March 28, 2010

Shows: Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm, Sat./Sun mat. at 2:30pm

Ticket Prices: $12 for adults, $8 Student/Seniors. To make reservations call the box office at 817-648-9255

or go online at carnegieplayers.com

Location: Carnegie Theater, 201 N Caddo St., Cleburne, TX 76033

For more information go to carnegieplayers.com