Roll the drums and play the fifes!

Willows Theatre becomes Independence Hall in 1776

The amusing and fascinating musical 1776 is brought to life on the Willows Theatre stage

Previews begin May 22 - running through July 2, 2006: tickets on sale now 

Concord, CA.  April 28, 2006 – History – exciting and comically irreverent history set to music – will take over the stage of the Willows Theatre on May 26 when the company reprises its enormously popular production of 1776, the award-winning Broadway hit chronicling the squabbles and conflicts leading up to the creation of the Declaration of Independence.

Written by Peter Stone – winner of an Oscar for his screenplay for Father Goose, and an Emmy winner for his TV series The Defenders – with songs by Sherman Edwards, 1776 drew capacity audiences for three years in New York and was crowned with both a Tony award and a New York Drama Critics Circle award as best musical.  1776 was last presented on the Willows stage in 2000 and was the recipient of four Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle awards, including Best Musical.

The unusual aspect of 1776 is that it humanizes the personal and sectional conflicts that erupted in the Continental Congress as it dawdled up to the momentous decision to cut the American colonies loose from England and form a new nation.  In the history books, the members of Congress are usually painted in heroic poses as a band of foresighted, patriotic, and selfless statesmen, but 1776 depicts them somewhat differently – as flesh-and-blood men with a variety of strengths, problems, and weaknesses.  The show has fun with their bumblings, timidities, quirks of character, and spiky arguments before they managed to agree on and sign the document that gave birth to our country.

Fourteen songs in all carry the action forward, including John Adams’ disgusted commentary on the Congress’ annoying preoccupation with minutiae (“Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve”); the Congress’ rousing attempt to silence the irritating Adams (“Sit Down, John”); and the rousing comic song-and-dance in which Adams and Ben Franklin maneuver Virginia aristocrat Richard Henry Lee into furthering their cause (“The Lees of Old Virginia”.  And of course, there are the romantic ballads involving the wives of Thomas Jefferson and Adams.  But, as might be expected in a really original musical, there is nothing in 1776 so trite as a “title song.”

Willows Theatre Managing Director Andrew Holtz will direct the show, which opens May 26 and runs through July 2, 2006, at the Willows Theatre, 1975 Diamond Boulevard, Concord, CA.  Preview performances begin May 22.

THE CAST

Rick Williams (San Francisco) reprises his award-winning performance as John Adams, pushy and insistent on Independence and shouted down by his colleagues as “obnoxious and disliked.”  Mr. Williams last appeared on the Willows stage as Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha.

John Hetzler (Martinez) will play Benjamin Franklin, the foxy old gaffer with a bawdy bent of mind and a taste for witty epigrams and patriotism.  Mr. Hetzler recently appeared as Professor Higgins in DLOC’s production of My Fair Lady.

Noah James Butler* (Oakland) makes his Willows debut as Thomas Jefferson,  the ardent young husband so homesick for his wife that he can’t concentrate on drafting the Declaration until she is brought to Philadelphia to join him.

The cast of the show abounds in other famous Founding Fathers, engaged in passionate wrangles, poisonous insults, and even physical blows.  Greg Lucas (Fremont) will be seen as Edward Rutledge, the South Carolinian who threatens to block the Declaration unless an anti-slavery clause is removed.  Pat Sieler (Sunnyvale) will portray John Dickinson, the Pennsylvanian who held out for reconciliation with England.  Nick Thomas (Walnut Creek) appears as the rum-loving Samuel Hopkins of Rhode Island, and Chuck Dresel (Napa) will tackle the role of the buoyantly proud Richard Henry Lee of Virginia.

The other 13 Founding Fathers depicted in the play will be portrayed by Geotty Chapple (Dr. Lyman Hall), Ray Christensen (John Hancock), Gary Foley (Lewis Morris), David Hardie (Col. Thomas McKean), Gary Dailey (Rev. John Witherspoon), Kevin High (Samuel Chase), Russ Lorenson (James Wilson), Philip Lowery (Caesar Rodney), Christopher Mantione (George Read), Ron Pickett (Roger Sherman), Robin Taylor (Robert Livingston), Matthew Travisano (Josiah Bartlett), and Jasen Jeffrey (Joseph Hewes).

Two women make an incursion into this otherwise no-Eve debating and decision-making maelstrom.  Meghan Doyle (Oakland) will appear as Thomas Jefferson’s bride Martha; and Scarlett Hepworth (Oakland) portrays Abigail Adams, whose letters to her husband – and his in return – reveal John’s devotion to his wife, his passion for his cause, and his despair.

Jesse Caldwell* (Richmond) plays congressional custodian Andrew McNair; and Marc Murai (Walnut Creek) and Jonathan Spencer (Alameda) share the role of Secretary of the Congress Charles Thomson.  Rounding out the cast are Jeff Bryant as the Courier; and Andrew Moorhead and Alex Murphy sharing the role of the Leather Apron.

*Member, Actors’ Equity Association

PRODUCTION TEAM

Andrew Holtz (director) has staged over 25 productions for the Willows Theatre since 1989, and musical directed many more.  He has won Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle awards for his direction of the musical 1776 in 2000 and for his musical direction three years in a row for Brimstone, Dreamgirls, and In the Beginning at the Willows.  A graduate of Stanford University, Mr. Holtz studied music theory and composition at the Juilliard School, is the Managing Director of the Willows Theatre Company, and serves on the Board of the San Francisco Business Arts Council.  He received official recognition for “Outstanding Contribution to the Arts” from the Arts and Culture Commission of Contra Costa County (AC5) in October 2004.

The design team for 1776  includes Judy Potter (Properties & Set Dressing), Jarrod Fischer (Lighting Design), Jean-Francois Revon (Scenery), Melissa Torchia (Costumes), and John Koss (Sound Design).  Jon M. Marshall* is production stage manager.  John Butterfield is choreographer.

Ticket and Schedule Information

Tickets are $30-$35 with discounts for students (6-18), seniors (65+), and groups (10+).  To purchase tickets call (925) 798-1300 or visit the Willows Theatre Company Web site at www.willowstheatre.org.  Performances are Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 7:30 p.m., with matinees Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m.

The Willows Theatre is located at 1975 Diamond Blvd. next to CompUSA and REI in the Willows Shopping Center in Concord, across the street from the Concord Hilton and one block east of the Willow Pass Road exit off Highway 680.

The Willows Theatre Company daytime box office is located at 1425 Gasoline Alley, Concord, at the corner of Bisso Lane, one block north of Concord Avenue.  The daytime box office hours are Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday Noon-5 p.m.  The theatre box office and will-call window, located in the theater lobby, opens one hour prior to each performance. For more information call (925) 798-1300 or visit our Web site at www.willowstheatre.org.