(Cover Photo: John Alzapiedi as "John Adams" dances with Tori Torres as "Martha Jefferson" in a moment from "1776" by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone, Greater Worcester Opera now playing through June 7, 2026 at Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. Photo Credit Laura Crane)

By Kevin T. Baldwin

METRMAG Reviewer

# 774-242-6724

“Oh, Mr. Dickinson, I'm surprised at you! You should know that rebellion is always legal in the first person, such as 'our' rebellion. It is only in the third person, 'their' rebellion, that it is illegal."     

                                               - (“Benjamin Franklin”) / Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone 

Greater Worcester Opera

at Calliope Productions 

Presents the Musical

"1776"

Limited Engagement!

Book by Peter Stone

Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards

Based on a Concept by Sherman Edwards

Original Production Directed by Peter Hunt

Originally Produced on the Broadway Stage by Stuart Ostrow

Stage Director Richard Monroe

Music Director Aldo Fabrizi

Choreographer Paige Fowler

Executive Producer Elaine Crane 

Cast Includes:  John Alzapiedi as "John Adams," John Leslie as "Benjamin Franklin," Sean Connaughton as "Thomas Jefferson," Tom Frates as "Richard Henry Lee," David Adams as "Edward Rutledge," Joseph Antognoni as "John Dickinson," Ben Morse as "Roger Sherman," Tom Ostrowski as "Robert Livingston," Edgardo López as "Samuel Chase," Larry Seiler as "Caesar Rodney," David Nestelbaum as "Thomas McKean," Kenan Oktay as "James Wilson," Chris Schmitt as "Dr. Josiah Bartlett," Brad Amidon as "Lewis Morris," Ed Savage as "Rev. John Witherspoon," Santo Mammone as "George Read," Joel Hersh as "Stephen Hopkins," Ben Roberts as "Joseph Hewes," John Bausch as "Dr. Lyman Hall," Tori Torres as "Martha Jefferson," Elaine Crane as "Abigail Adams," Rob Lynds as "John Hancock," Doug Hubbard as "Charles Thomson," Craig Cormier as "Andrew McNair," Xavier Cormier as "Courier," Benjamin Harrington as "Leather Apron," George Oliver as "The Painter."

Additional Creative Team:

Stage Manager - Katelyn Geary; Set Design and Painting - Charles Crane; Calendar and Tally Board Design/Build - Richard Bennett; Additional Set Work - Asher Crane, Taylor Crane, Taylor Lawton; Costume Design - Elaine Crane; Costume Team - Babette Antognoni, Elaine Crane, Paige Fowler, Jaqueline Haney, Carol Leschke, Holland McLaughlin; Lighting Design - Matt Valeri, Dave Ludt; Makeup Design – Cast; Hair and Wig Design and Styling - Carol Leschke; Props - Deidre Bergeron, Elaine Crane, Aldo Fabrizi, Jacqueline Haney, Mark Leibold, The Cast; Photography - Laura Crane; Program Design - Elaine Crane; Social Media Marketing - Paige Fowler, Elaine Crane; Stage Crew - Rebbeca Adams, The Cast; Front of House - Betsy Fiedler, Alicia Boucher; Rehearsal Accompanists - Olga Rogach, Daniel Padgett. 

Additional Thanks - Andrea Moore, Amy McGowan, The Lady and the Leopard, New Life Fine Arts, Jack Wickwire, Taylor Crane, Santo Mammone, Dave Ludt, Richard Duckett, Hank Stolz, Laura Green, Phyllis Jordan, Emily Crane and those who ushered.

Performances:

June 4, 2026 through June 7, 2026

(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)   

Calliope Theatre, 150 Main Street, in Boylston, MA.

TICKETS:

www.greaterworcesteropera.org/tickets

BUY TICKETS

COVID 19 PROTOCOLS

Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.

(Warning: The following review contains spoilers)

Greater Worcester Opera (GWO) commemorates America’s 250^th Anniversary with an enthusiastic production of the musical "1776" live on the Calliope Productions’ stage in Boylston. 

Featuring music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone, "1776" is a character’s actor’s “dream show” and there is a plethora of great parts being well-played in this GWO production by some well-known local talent. 

It is always a pleasure to see a good production of "1776" as it does not often get staged, for the simple reason it is difficult to cast any musical requiring this many talented male performers. 

The voices in the GWO production blend well and there are numerous exceptional individual performances by those involved. 

Based on the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, "1776" conveys a dramatized version of events regarding the efforts of John Adams (played here for GWO by John Alzapiedi) to persuade his colleagues in the Continental Congress to secede from the rule of Great Britain and vote for American Independence. 

"1776" debuted on Broadway in 1969 where it was an instant smash, receiving wide critical acclaim and winning three Tony Awards including one for Best Musical. 

The musical would continue on Broadway until 1972 where it closed after playing a whopping 1,217 performances. 

The show’s construct is groundbreaking for its (in)famous “Scene Three” which holds the record for the longest time in any musical (averaging 30 minutes) where not one single note of music is played or sung between "The Lees of Old Virginia" and "But Mr. Adams." 

Having seen and performed "1776" numerous times over the decades, I defy anyone to show me where a song could logically be inserted in that scene (the duel between Dickinson and Adams, perhaps? Or maybe when Hopkins runs back into Congress after a much-required potty break?). 

The original production of "1776" starred William Daniels as “John Adams,” Ken Howard as “Thomas Jefferson” and Howard Da Silva as “Benjamin Franklin” and marked the Broadway debut of future Broadway icon Betty Buckley, who portrayed “Martha Jefferson.” 

In 1972, remaining mostly faithful to the original staged production, "1776" was adapted for the big screen with Daniels, Howard, and Da Silva reprising their roles and Blythe Danner taking over the role of “Martha.” 

If you grew up in Massachusetts during the 70s, for many years the filmed version of "1776" would be broadcast every July 4^th on WBZ-TV Channel 4. 

This was long before the film was released in its completed form (which happened first on Laserdisc prior to VHS and then later the DVD release) the print shown was atrocious with insulting edits and many deleted scenes. 

Post-Bicentennial but pre-cable TV, the airtime of this movie would be pushed out later and later on Channel 4. 

Also, since VCRs were not quite as common in households yet, most folks (okay, me) would find themselves watching "1776" until four or five in the morning. 

Watching it was mandatory as it was only shown during this time – So, if you admired it as many folks did, you WOULD watch it. 

Such admiration continues in the well-staged GWO "1776" production as there is so much to admire in this show. 

From the score by Edwards to the story by Stone, this GWO cast obviously has actors who enjoy presenting the material just as much as those in the audience enjoy watching it.   

"1776" has inspired numerous Broadway revivals including a 2022 Broadway production (which began locally at the American Repertory Theatre) featuring a diverse cast that included actors who identify as female, trans, or non-binary. 

While there had been other musicals that attempted to cover this pivotal era of American history, Stone and Edwards’ "1776" was the one to establish how it should be told, decades before the emergence of a little-known musical entitled “Hamilton.” 

The show has occasionally been derided for inaccuracies, for taking liberties with the historical timeline or in how certain historical figures are represented. 

You know what? Get over it.   

"1776" is a musical dramatization, not a Ken Burns documentary - plus, it’s just a hell of a lot of fun. 

As seen in this entertaining GWO production, "1776" was the first time anyone took heretofore one-dimensional American historical figures out of sanitized history textbook summaries and showed us what these “proud, accomplished men” may have more realistically been like…especially while singing and dancing. 

Joking aside, "1776" was the first time these men of this country’s original 13 colonies were unveiled to mainstream American audiences as “not-so-perfect.” 

Instead, these so-called “cream of their colonies” (as alluded to by Ben Franklin in the show) were finally seen as a little more human, complete with human foibles, faults and frailties and together making not-so-perfect decisions that still impact America and Americans to this day. 

Physicians, attorneys, landlords, agriculturalists, capitalists, cobblers, judges, scientists, religious leaders, statesmen, internationalists – but, for better AND worse, all very much representative of their time.  

And yet, it is that very irreverence which many actors find appealing if not irresistible when portraying these characters. 

(Photo: John Alzapiedi as "John Adams" stands before members of the Continental Congress in a scene from "1776" by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone, Greater Worcester Opera now playing through June 7, 2026 at Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. Photo Credit Laura Crane)

As astutely staged by GWO director Richard Monroe, supported by music director Aldo Fabrizi and choreographer Paige Fowler, from the moment we hear the GWO musical’s opening number "Sit Down, John” we know the kind of show we are in for.   

Stone’s book has most of the action taking place at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall where debate rages among the delegates as John Adams (well-performed by Alzapiedi), the opinionated, obnoxious and disliked delegate from Massachusetts, must try to persuade all 13 colonies to vote for Independence. 

Adams condemns his Congressional colleagues in the song "Piddle, Twiddle, and Resolve" which transitions into "Till Then" as Adams engages in an imaginary correspondence with his wife Abigail (Elaine Crane), who manages their family farm back in Massachusetts.   

In truth, the correspondence between John and Abigail Adams is not imaginary as the words were transcribed and transformed musically from their actual letters. 

The affection shared in these exchanges comes across as genuine and earnest thanks to the performances of Alzapiedi and Crane.  

Adams conspires with elder Pennsylvania delegate Benjamin Franklin (John Leslie) who advises Adams to let another delegate propose the resolution on Independence. 

Leslie is very much in his element as the ever-mischievous yet equally ever-astute Franklin. 

Enter outrageous Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee (Tom Frates) who is maneuvered by Franklin to head back to the Virginia House of Burgesses and return with a pro-Independence resolution. 

Featuring Frates in fine form as Lee, during the musical number "The Lees of Old Virginia" Lee enthusiastically agrees to do just that.

(Photo: "Cool, Considerate" members of the Continental Congress listen to Doug Hubbard as "Charles Thomson" in a scene from "1776" by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone, Greater Worcester Opera now playing through June 7, 2026 at Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. Photo Credit Laura Crane)

Shifting to the Congressional chamber in Philadelphia where most of the story takes place, Congress is presided over by its President, the man with the big signature, John Hancock (Rob Lynds). 

As new delegate of Georgia Dr. Lyman Hall (John Bausch) arrives, he is (and we are) introduced to his fellow members of Congress, beginning with the curmudgeonly Congressional custodian Andrew McNair (Craig Cormier) and Rhode Island’s enthusiastic “self-delegated” drinker Stephen Hopkins (Joel Hersh). 

We also get introduced to other members of Congress including separatist Edward Rutledge (David Adams) of South Carolina, Delaware’s triumvirate delegation of cancer-struck Caesar Rodney (Larry Seiler), boisterous Scotsman Colonel Thomas McKean (David Nestelbaum) and conservative sot George Read (Santo Mammone). 

The collective performances in "1776" showcase a shared commitment by this GWO cast to execute the material well, which is difficult given the somewhat claustrophobic spacing on stage – but they do succeed.   

Costumes and wigs are all exceptional and in keeping with the time-period.   

The music for  "1776" is from a recording and occasionally the sound levels and vocals do not always seem balanced, but as a whole the cast meticulously knows when to come into and out of some of the more difficult cues in the recorded score.  

Occasionally entering Congress is a travel-weary Courier (Xavier Cormier), who brings gloomy dispatches from the never-seen (cue drumroll) George Washington, commander of the Continental Army.   

These dispatches are read aloud by Secretary Charles Thomson (Doug Hubbard). 

In a later scene, McNair, the Courier and a "leather apron" workman (Benjamin Harrington) find themselves alone in the chamber, and Cormier as the Courier recounts the loss of his two closest friends in battle at Lexington in the somber yet emotionally charged "Momma Look Sharp.” 

As Richard Henry Lee returns successful with his resolution for Independence, Adams moves to debate the resolution while staunch conservative and Royal apologist John Dickinson (Joseph Antognoni) of Pennsylvania opposes all debate, supported and ill-seconded by Pennsylvania’s third congressman Judge James Wilson (Kenan Oktay). 

Antognoni delivers the best performance in the entire GWO show, showing Dickinson as less one-dimensional antagonist but instead more layered, lacing his comments, debates and exchanges with a sense of (albeit misguided) reason and pragmatism. 

(Photo: John Alzapiedi as "John Adams" dances with Tori Torres as "Martha Jefferson" in a moment from "1776" by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone, Greater Worcester Opera now playing through June 7, 2026 at Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. Photo Credit Laura Crane)

The new delegation from New Jersey arrives, with leader the Reverend John Witherspoon (Ed Savage). 

New York's delegate, Lewis Morris (Brad Amidon), explains that the New York Provincial Congress is so inept he received no instructions on how to vote…on anything. 

As debate continues, Dickinson moves to require that ANY vote for Independence MUST be unanimous, forcing Adams to postpone the vote for a Congressional draft a Declaration of Independence to supposedly “build support abroad for the cause” when, in actuality, this is nothing more than a stall tactic. 

Hancock appoints a committee of Adams, Franklin, Roger Sherman (Ben Morse) of Connecticut, Robert Livingston (Tom Ostrowski) of New York, and Lee to draft the declaration, but Lee backs out and is replaced by another Virginian Thomas Jefferson (Sean Connaughton). 

Connaughton is quite good as Jefferson, who is forced into writing the Declaration in one of the show's most entertaining numbers "But, Mr. Adams."    

However, the brilliant writer, long apart from his wife, is suffering from a severe case of (writer’s) block. 

To inspire Jefferson to complete his task, Adams sends for Jefferson’s wife Martha (Tori Torres),who describes her husband to Adams and Franklin in the lilting "He Plays the Violin."  

Torres is an absolute delight as Martha, bringing enthusiasm to the above number which, unfortunately, also suffers slightly due to spacing constraints.   

Oddly enough, one GWO number that does not suffer from spacing issues takes place back in the Congressional chamber, as Dickinson leads his conservative allies in song in the smartly staged "Cool, Cool Considerate Men." 

(Photo: "Cool, Considerate" members of the Continental Congress in a moment from "1776" by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone, Greater Worcester Opera now playing through June 7, 2026 at Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. Photo Credit Laura Crane)

The first act is interminably long – a whopping one hour, 30 minutes – not the fault of GWO but rather how the show was constructed (it actually is written that "1776" could be performed without an intermission, although it is doubtful one will ever see that). 

Countering this the second act moves along briskly, mostly dealing with arguments over the Declaration and its many changes demanded – on both sides of the aisle - to achieve a unanimous vote. 

The shorter second act closes out the show with some of its best numbers including "The Egg" sung quite nicely by Alzapiedi, Leslie and Connaughton, "Molasses to Rum" magnificently sung by David Adams as Rutledge, and the wistful yet defiantly hopeful "Is Anybody There?" rendered by Alzapiedi.

Even if you are not a fan of American history, politics or musical theatre, there is much to enjoy in GWO's "1776."       

It is a pure, enjoyable narrative showing us individuals that all seem to care, uniting in a common purpose to achieve a goal they understand is higher, greater, loftier than themselves.   

Come to think of it, that IS American history, politics and musical theatre…or at least, until recently, it used to be.

This limited engagement of GWO's "1776" by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone continues at Calliope Productions in Boylston until June 7th, 2026.

For tickets, visit www.greaterworcesteropera.org/tickets

BUY TICKETS

Approximately two hours, 45 minutes with one intermission.  

Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)

@MetrmagReviews 

@Theatre_Critics 

ABOUT THE SHOW

It is a long hot summer in Philadelphia, and the Continental Congress is an exhausted, annoyed, quarrelsome collection of men, at each other’s throats over the burning question of independence from Great Britain. 

John Adams, the passionate crusader for rebellion, races against time: if the congress does not agree to throw off the yoke of tyranny, General Washington’s painfully outnumbered army will have no ideal for which to fight. 

But Adams is obnoxious and disliked -- no one will listen to his arguments. 

They might have a chance if Thomas Jefferson, that silver wordsmith, would write a Declaration -- but Jefferson, frustrated by his long absence from lovely wife Martha, is in no mood to be creative. 

Under these conditions, how will America ever achieve Independence? 

Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards’"1776" is a brilliant imagining of American history, a grand tale which manages to feel both intimate and epic at once, bringing humor and humanity to the account of twenty men, three months, and one incredible argument, in which the fate of nations is decided. 

The score includes such famous tunes as the romantic “He Plays the Violin,” the comedic “The Lees of Old Virginia” and that plaintive memorial to young patriots, “Momma, Look Sharp” (STAGEAGENT).

ABOUT GREATER WORCESTER OPERA

GREATER WORCESTER OPERA (GWO) is a regional opera company based in Central Massachusetts.  A non-profit organization, GWO produces mainstage opera, concerts, touring opera for students, and a variety of other musical events utilizing the talents of the area's finest professionally trained singers and musicians. 

www.greaterworcesteropera.org