The national tour of the recent Broadway revival of 1776 is currently playing Philadelphia's Forrest Theatre through February 26 before heading to Chicago's CIBC Theatre.
Gisela Adisa leads the all-female, transgender, and non-binary company as John Adams after understudying the role on Broadway. She shares the stage with Shelby Acosta as Sec. Charles Thomson, Nancy Anderson as Thomas Jefferson, Tiffani Barbour as Andrew McNair, Dawn Cantwell as Col. Thomas McKean, Julie Cardia as Stephen Hopkins, Amanda Dayhoff as a Standby, Sara Gallo as a Standby, Joanna Glushak as John Dickinson, Anissa Marie Griego as Roger Sherman, Kassandra Haddock as Edward Rutledge, Shawna Hamic as Richard Henry Lee, Lisa Karlin as a Standby, Connor Lyon as Martha Jefferson/Dr. Lyman Hall, Liz Mikel as Benjamin Franklin, Oneika Phillips as John Hancock, Lulu Picart as Samuel Chase, Kayla Saunders as a Standby, Ariella Serur as Judge James Wilson, Brooke Simpson as the Courier, Sav Souza as Dr. Josiah Bartlett, Lillie Eliza Thomas as a Standby, Tieisha Thomas as Abigail Adams/Rev. Jonathan Witherspoon, Jill Marie Vallery as Caesar Rodney, Zuri Washington as Robert Livingston, Gwynne Wood as George Read, and Candice Marie Woods as Joseph Hewes.
The reimagined revival of the Sherman Edwards-Peter Stone musical completed a Broadway run via Roundabout Theatre Company January 8. Read reviews for the Broadway bow here.
As on Broadway, Jeffrey L. Page and Diane Paulus co-direct the musical about the founding fathers on the brink of signing the Declaration of Independence. The production played a run at A.R.T.'s Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, before Broadway.
The musical features choreography by Page, set design by Scott Pask, costume design by Emilio Sosa, lighting design by Jen Schriever, sound design by Jonathan Deans, and projection design by David Bengali. Ryan Cantwell is leading the music team as music supervisor and music director, with original music supervision by David Chase, orchestrations by John Clancy, and vocal design by AnnMarie Milazzo. Casting is by Stewart/Whitley, and Genevieve Kersh is production stage manager.
1776 premiered on Broadway in 1969, earning Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Featured Actor (Ronald Holgate as Richard Henry Lee), and Best Direction (Peter Hunt). Roundabout Theatre Company also produced the musical's first Broadway revival in 1997.
For the complete creative and producing team as well as the touring itinerary, visit 1776Musical.com.
Check out a few photos from the tour below:
Liz Mikel, Nancy Anderson, and Gisela Adisa in 1776
Gisela Adisa in 1776
Company of 1776
