Theater Review

Tom Titus

The birth of our nation has been celebrated several times locally in the

musical “1776,” but rarely has the occasion generated quite so much humor

as in the rendition now on stage at Orange Coast College.

Make no mistake, there is serious drama involved in this terrific

depiction of the Continental Congress as it struggles to create the

Declaration of Independence. But director Alex Golson also has endowed

the show, and many of the characters, with enough hysterics to balance

the historics.

The result is a thoroughly enjoyable production, brimming with superior

performances from Kurt I. Jarrard’s bulldog-tense John Adams to Hugh

Goodearl’s rum-fetching, window-opening custodian. It’s also an effective

history lesson for those unfamiliar with the creation of our republic.

Creators Peter Stone (book) and Sherman Edwards (music and lyrics) built

the music around the show, rather than vice versa, and utilized fewer

songs than most musicals. Thus, the drama plays out full force and only

occasionally breaks into lyrical emphasis. As a result, the numbers are

more pronounced and effective than if they were, say, in an all-musical

Andrew Lloyd Webber show.

Jarrard is an outstanding Adams, the Boston patrician who spearheaded

America’s campaign for independence and (at least in this show) goaded

Thomas Jefferson into penning the Declaration of Independence. Like

Jefferson, he longs to return to New England and his beloved Abigail, but

first he must overcome a recalcitrant Congress and preside at the birth

of a new nation, of which he will become the second president.

As the worldly, witty -- and frisky -- elder statesman Benjamin Franklin,

Mark Palkoner overcomes his youth and a rather tacky-looking skull cap to

flesh out the historical figure who’s arguably the most fondly remembered

of the Founding Fathers. Palkoner revels in the role, never missing an

opportunity to quote himself as a means of diluting a crisis.

His fellow Pennsylvania congressman, John Dickinson -- who nearly

single-handedly thwarted the forging of the Union -- is played with

seething hostility by Sean F. Gray, whose tirades recall Jay Robinson’s

mad emperor in “The Robe.”

Another superb voice in opposition is Russell Montooth as South

Carolina’s Edward Rutledge, forcing the inclusion of slavery in the

document and pounding home his message in the pulsating number, “Molasses

to Rum.”

Stephen Moore’s Jefferson is purely a supporting player in this drama,

but his written eloquence is vital to the patriots’ cause and he carries

off the role nicely. As “1776” would have it, his inspiration comes from

a conjugal visit by his wife (Anna Jackson), rendered amorous by the

congressman’s virtuosity on the violin.

In a show-stealing segment, Timothy Maurer rhapsodizes about “The Lees of

Old Virginia.” Courier John Stice brings the war home in his eerie solo

“Mama Look Sharp” and Danae Michelle Hanson as Abigail Adams vocalizes

warmly in long-distance duets with her husband.

Others making fine impressions in the OCC production are Patrick Rowley

as congressional president John Hancock, Tony Swagler as Maryland’s

Samuel Chase, P.J. Agnew as Delaware’s Thomas McKean, Richie Ruggiero as

Congress’ secretary who reads the bad news from the front and David

Brenneman as New Hampshire’s Josiah Bartlett. (And did anyone notice

that’s also the character name of Martin Sheen’s presidential character

on “The West Wing”?)

Musical director Bill Wolfe and his four-piece orchestra, unseen behind

the wall flats, keep up the spirit of ‘76, while Danielle Bearden-Mead’s

choreography is clever and creative.

Set designer David Scaglione’s work is impressive, and he also teamed

with Erik Lawrence and Tracy Weisberg to create an enormous number of

wigs employed in the production.

No matter how many times you’ve seen “1776,” the show has a way of

stirring the patriotic blood, and OCC’s excellent rendition, spiced by an

extra dose of humor, does so with gusto. It’s well deserving of the

standing ovation it received Saturday night.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews appear

Thursdays and Saturdays.

* WHAT: “1776”

* WHERE: Orange Coast College Drama Lab Theater, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa

* WHEN: Closing performances today through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at

2 p.m.

* HOW MUCH: $7 to $9

* PHONE: (714) 432-4880