‘1776’ helps dazed voters forget 2000

ELLSWORTH – Tired of all the campaign ads? Sick of the partisan bickering in Washington? Thinking about skipping the presidential election because it doesn’t matter whom you vote for, politicians are all the same?

A dose of “1776” at The Grand Auditorium will cure even the most cynical of citizens of the pre-election blues.

The musical tells the story of the writing of and wrangling over the Declaration of Independence during a steamy Philadelphia summer. Under the stage direction of Ken Stack and musical direction of Robert Bahr, this cast of community players performs at an almost professional level.

Sherman Edwards, a former history teacher, labored nearly a decade over the music and lyrics for “1776.” He teamed up with Peter Stone to write the book for the musical, creating a suspenseful and compelling story, despite the fact that the audience knows the ending.

“1776” opened on Broadway in 1969 and beat out “Hair” to win the Tony award that year. A revival two years ago, featured Brent Spiner – best known as the android Data on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” – as John Adams.

The musical opens with John Adams being shouted down by his fellow representatives to the Continental Congress. He urges them to “vote for independency,” while they argue over whether to keep the windows closed and forgo a breeze or open them and let in the pesky flies.

Adams’ closest ally in Congress is Philadelphia’s own Benjamin Franklin. While Franklin supports independence, he knows Adams’ personality and manner will never win the unanimous support they must have to declare independence. One of the few things all men in the chamber agree on is that “Adams is obnoxious and disliked – it cannot be denied.”

While Thomas Jefferson of Virginia will join these two in crafting the Declaration and persuading members of Congress to sign the revolutionary document, Adams and Franklin carry the play. Chuck Somers, in his first starring role, infuses Adams with a driving passion and energy. Somers singing voice makes up for his lack of acting experience.

In the songs “Piddle, Twiddle” and “Yours, Yours, Yours,” Somers captures Adams’ true fervor for the cause. His strong, clear voice resonated throughout the Grand and instilled the audience with a renewed sense of awe for the dream of the founding fathers.

Roland Dube, a middle school math teacher in Bangor, is Franklin. Dube is a natural comic and has performed with the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Hancock County and Bangor Community Theatre. His onstage experience shows, and Dube and Somers work well as a duo as if they’ve performed together before.

Dube’s Franklin is funny and shrewd, but not a buffoon. He creates a man who takes his cause, but not himself, seriously. Dube easily could have fallen back on shtick and silly characterization to portray Franklin. To the actor’s credit, he creates a man somewhere between the historians’ reality and the persona adopted by history.

Surprisingly, Jefferson’s role, while essential, is supporting in “1776.” Doug Meswarb, makes the most of every scene he is in. His final showdown over slavery with Edward Rutledge of South Carolina is mesmerizing, not only because of the actor’s excellent performance, but because the audience knows it will take another bloody conflict to settle the issue.

Sam Lanham is Rutledge, a courtly southern gentleman, who despises hypocrisy. A native Virginian, Lanham is a strong presence onstage and as Rutledge he chastises the northern states for denying they have anything to do with the slave trade. Intended as a lesson in the economics of slavery, Lanham infuses “Molasses to Rum” with a passion as fiery as Adams’.

It is not the members of Congress or the actors who portray them that stop “1776” in its tracks. It is the song of a young courier returned from the battlefield that brings the audience to tears.

Zachary Field, better known for his juggling act than his voice, sings “Mama Look Sharp,” the ballad of a dying soldier calling for his mother. Field’s clear tenor voice floods the Grand with emotion, reminding the audience that America was forged not only with Jefferson’s words, but with the lives of young soldiers as well.

With 25 men onstage, it is difficult for two women, Abigail Adams and Martha Jefferson, to make their presence known. It takes actresses and singers with great talent and charisma to pull off these roles. Anne Bahr and Kimberly Horn work hard at bringing Mrs. Adams and Mrs. Jefferson to life, but in the end, their work is not as memorable as that of their male colleagues.

Horn’s sweet soprano is lovely singing “He Plays the Violin,” but her Martha is undefined. Bahr brings to the stage a more fully rounded character in Abigail, but her voice is not up to task and sometimes her words can’t be heard over the orchestra.

Bahr’s costumes, however, are fantastic. The varied colors, textures and styles she puts on the actors tell the audience more about the background and character of the framers than most history books do. Stack’s set allows for fast and smooth scene changes so the pace of the production is never slowed. While the Congressional chamber is cramped, the actors manage to move relatively smoothly on the crowded stage.

Like much of this production, the orchestra is first rate. The 17 members understand their role is to accompany, rather than lead the singers onstage. They also send the audience home humming bits of Edwards’ songs.

The Grand’s production of “1776” is the perfect antidote to the modern political season. A dose of the passion that drove Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Rutledge and the rest of the Continental Congress, brought to life by this cast, is enough to make a theatergoer run out of the theater and into the voting booth.

“1776” will be performed at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. For tickets, call 667-9500.