Since the 4th of July is one of the worst days for traffic accidents, we tend to hang around the house. I’m celebrating in my usual style: Working while “1776” plays in the background on my DVD player. The John Adams bear (signed by William Daniels) that I won at the Broadway Bears auction is watching as well.
I still find it fascinating that the entire song “Cool, Considerate Men,” a hymn to right-wing thinking, was cut from the release at the behest of Richard Nixon who told his pal, Jack Warner, that he thought it made conservatives look bad. Truth hurts, I guess. At least the song was properly restored in the laserdisk and DVD versions.
PAD
• 
On my blog today I link to an uncut version of “Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve” which you’ll probably like. Also, Mark Evanier links to a video of the opening stage number from the ’98 Tonys.
My fiancee and I will celebrate by running the spotlight and running the light board (respectively) for a performance of 1776. If you were anywhere near the coast of Texas before the end of July, I’d comp ya, but I’m betting that’s unlikely, isn’t it?
1 I love this show–I designed the costumes and lights for a college production and played Stephen Hopkins in another production. Did you play Franklin once?
Hope all is well. Are you going to Chicago in August?
I watched the DVD version this time, which amazingly seems to be “missing” stuff since there’s more in the laserdisc copy I usually watch.
1When I did 1776 WAY back when I was still acting (in the mid 1970’s), I played the representative from New York (I courteously abstain from using his name here, as it was a long time ago, and I’m not quite certain any more. Lewis Morris?). The gent who played him in the movie lived near by and came to the second performance. As he had also played Major Hochstetter on “Hogan’s Heroes,” the only possible reaction when he came backstage afterward was “What is this man doing here!?” A fond memory of a fun show.
Why they don’t play it on TV for the 4th every year is a mystery to me.
I’ve had a fondness for “1776” ever since I was first exposed to it in a high school history class – unfortunately, due to the darth of female roles, I was never able to work on a production of “1776” in any educational environment. But I’d have loved a shot at Ben Franklin, the gammy-legged ladies man. =)
I was a little young to catch the original Broadway run, but I did see the late ’90s revival with Brent Spiner as Adams – I knew of his musical theater background, but considering I’d only ever actually seen him perform as a yellow-skinned plot contrivance, I was all the more impressed with his performance. And in an ironic twist, Bob Dole was in the audience, about 6 rows in front of me in the orchestra.
Amazing — my wife has a tradition of watching 1776 on the 4th, but I thought she was the only one. It’s an incredible show. Guys & Dolls edges it out as my favorite musical, but only just.