Cast Set for the Broadway-Bound 1776 at A.R.T.

The Broadway-bound revival of 1776 has announced its full cast and creative team for the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) production set to begin performances at Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, MA May 17. Co-presented with Roundabout Theatre, the show will begin performances at Roundabout's American Airlines Theatre on Broadway in September 2022, and then set off on a U.S. tour in February 2023.

Jeffrey L. Page and Diane Paulus co-direct the production about the founding fathers on the brink of signing the Declaration of Independence. Page will also choreograph.

The musical features music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone, based on a concept by Sherman Edwards.

The cast, comprised fully of performers who identify as female, non-binary, and trans, includes Gisela Adisa as Robert Livingston, Nancy Anderson as George Read, Becca Ayers as Col. Thomas McKean, Tiffani Barbour as Andrew McNair, Allison Briner Dardenne as Stephen Hopkins, Allyson Kaye Daniel as Abigail Adams/Rev. Jonathan Witherspoon, Elizabeth A. Davis as Thomas Jefferson, Mehry Eslaminia as Charles Thomson, Joanna Glushak as John Dickinson, Shawna Hamic as Richard Henry Lee, Eryn LeCroy as Martha Jefferson/Dr. Lyman Hall, Crystal Lucas-Perry as John Adams, Liz Mikel as John Hancock, Patrena Murray as Benjamin Franklin, Oneika Philliips as Joseph Hewes, Lulu Picart as Samuel Chase, Sara Porkalob as Edward Rutledge, Sushma Saha as Judge James Wilson, Brooke Simpson as Roger Sherman, Salome Smith as the Courier, Sav Souza as Dr. Josiah Bartlett, Jill Vallery as Caesar Rodney, and Grace Stockdale and Imani Pearl Williams serving as standbys.

“This new production of 1776 is giving me the opportunity to not only see, but also contextualize, myself in a history that has historically occluded me and people who look like me—to realize history in a new way, and to find it in our country,” says Page. “As I’ve worked with Diane, we’ve explored the unsaid, unspoken, and unwritten history, and as a result I have found myself inside of the important piece of art, inside of American history, and I have learned something new about both.”

“Jeffrey and I are fascinated by the idea that history isn’t the clear or linear story we read in our textbooks, but instead, a predicament that we must grapple with in order to understand our past so that we can move forward together,” adds Paulus.

David Chase will serve as the production's music supervisor, with Ryan Cantwell as music director. Orchestrations are by John Clancy. AnnMarie Milazzo is the vocal designer.

The creative team includes a scenic design by Scott Pask, costume design by Emilio Sosa, lighting design by Jennifer Schriever, sound design by Jonathan Deans, projection design by David Bengali, and hair, wig, and makeup design by Mia Neal. Alfredo Macias is the production stage manager and Genevieve Kersh and John Meredith are assistant stage managers. Casting is by Stephen Kopel. Brisa Areli Muñoz is associate director. Tamar Climan is supervising producer.

See Inside the First Rehearsal Below: