1776 (musical)/Characters

John Adams (William Daniels)
Our Hero, so to speak. A Boston revolutionary who really hates shutting up, Adams' abrasive nature belies his good intentions and brilliant mind.


 * Anti-Hero: Type III
 * Catch Phrase: Good God!
 * Composite Character: The playwrights rolled aspects of his cousin Sam Adams into the character.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Happily Married
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Dead Presidents

Benjamin Franklin (Howard da Silva)
Exactly What It Says on the Tin.

A description of the character goes here.


 * Chessmaster
 * Dirty Old Man: and still quite the charmer.
 * Eccentric Mentor
 * The Obi-Wan

Thomas Jefferson (Ken Howard)
Adams wants him to write the Declaration. Jefferson, however, has much more important things on his mind - namely, his wife.


 * Gentleman Snarker
 * Happily Married
 * Refusal of the Call
 * The Quiet One
 * Sickeningly Sweethearts
 * Dead Presidents

Abigail Adams (Virginia Vestoff)
Our Hero's sensible, level-headed wife. Also wants pins - the sewing kind.


 * Closer to Earth
 * Happily Married

John Dickinson (Donald Madden)
Our Antagonist, so to speak. A Philadelphia gentleman, Dickinson revels in being cool and conservative. The only man in Congress able to match wits with Adams. Dead-set against Independence, but "regards America no less than does Mr Adams." Proves it.


 * Gentleman Snarker
 * Worthy Opponent: he gets a standing ovation when he leaves Congress - instigated by Adams, of all people.

Edward Rutledge (John Cullum)
A Southern plantation owner from South Carolina. Gives possibly the most epic What the Hell, Hero? known to musical theatre in the form of "Molasses to Rum." The youngest man in Congress - except for Ben Franklin.


 * Gentleman Snarker: there really is no other way to be in these times!
 * Large Ham
 * Southern Gentleman
 * What the Hell, Hero?: "Molasses to Rum" is this, in song form, to Adams.
 * Show Stopper: "Molasses to Rum" will do this.

Richard Henry Lee (Ron Holgate)
A Large Ham of epic proportions. Performs this role magnificent-Lee.


 * One-Scene Wonder: enough that it got him a Tony.
 * Verbal Tic: Why, natural-Lee.
 * Large Ham
 * Show Stopper: "The Lees of Old Virginia," which explains the Tony nod mentioned above.
 * Minor Character, Major Song
 * "I Am" Song: And how.

John Hancock
The long-suffering president of Congress. Too hot - literally. Philadelphia is baking in the summer.


 * Reasonable Authority Figure

Caesar Rodney
Delegate from Delaware. Staunch defender of independence.


 * Badass Grandpa: rode 80 miles overnight to cast the deciding vote for Delaware while suffering from debilitating cancer

Judge James Wilson
Dickinson's toady. Continuously forgets that Pennsylvania cannot second its own motion.


 * History Marches On: when the play was written, it was considered as good an interpretation of the historical record as any. Then new sources became available, and it turns out Wilson was probably hedging his bets the same way Lyman Hall was.
 * Yes-Man: To Dickinson, but see History Marches On.

Dr. Lyman Hall
New delegate from Georgia.


 * Chekhov's Gunman: he seems to be just a vehicle to introduce the other main characters. He's not.
 * Naive Newcomer: he expects the Congress to be more impressive than it actually is.

Col. Thomas McKean
A loud Scotsman. Also from Delaware. His loud voice belies his soft heart.


 * Boisterous Bruiser: not a very effective one, granted.

George Read
A description of the character goes here.

Joseph Hewes
A description of the character goes here.

Josiah Bartlett
A description of the character goes here.


 * Name's the Same: The great-grandson of his great-grandson would later become president of the United States.

Rev. James Witherspoon
A description of the character goes here.


 * Preacher Man

Stephen Hopkins
The oldest man in Congress -- except for Ben Franklin.

"It's a medicinal fact that rum gets a man's heart started in the morning."
 * The Alcoholic
 * Drunken Master: Claims that drinking rum helps him.


 * Grumpy Old Man

Charles Thomson
The Congressional secretary, who is called on to take roll, conduct votes, and read motions, legislation and declarations. Appears to be little more than a Living Prop at first... but turns out to have Hidden Depths.


 * Adaptational Badass: Inverted.  The historical Thomson was an active patriot leader and a bit of a brawler, as opposed to the quiet, almost effeminate figure we see in the play.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse: Gets much love from 1776 fans for his "I stand with the General" speech and not-quite-solo.
 * Historical Domain Character: Just like the more famous members of the cast, Thomson was a real person.

Samuel Chase
A description of the character goes here.


 * Big Eater

Roger Sherman
A description of the character goes here.

Lewis Morris
A description of the character goes here.


 * Catch Phrase: "New York abstains courteously!"
 * It's Personal: After
 * My Country, Right or Wrong - Well, more like his state, but states were considered similar to countries at the time anyway; he abstains from voting because New York didn't actually give him instructions on whether or not to vote for independence.

Robert Livingston
A description of the character goes here.

The Courier
A description of the character goes here.


 * No Name Given
 * Bearer of Bad News: seeing as how he's always carrying distraught messages from George Washington.
 * One-Scene Wonder: he walks in and out a few times but has no dialogue. Then, in comes 'Mama, Look Sharp' and he's one of the most remembered charecters in the play.

Andrew McNair
The Congressional Custodian. Seems to spend most of his time getting rum for Stephen Hopkins (and is glad when he no longer has to). Has strong feelings about what countries should be named.

"If you be wantin' anything at all, just holler out 'McNair!' as all the others do and there won't be too long to wait."
 * Catchphrase: "Suh-weet Jesus!"
 * Historical Domain Character: Just like the more famous members of the cast, Andrew McNair was a real person.
 * Living Prop: Other than having the first lines in the play, the scene when he introduces Dr. Lyman Hall to the workings of Congress, and his final lines where he objects to "The United States of America" as a name for a new country, McNair has surprisingly little to do for so memorable a character.  Most of the time he's simply tearing sheets off the calendar on the wall.
 * Only One Name: His first name is used only once -- when he introduces himself to Dr. Lyman Hall.  Everyone addresses him by his last name, and he even encourages Dr. Hall to do so:

Martha Jefferson (Blythe Danner)
Tiny, wasp-waisted wife of Thomas Jefferson. Given how easily (and wittily) she banters with both Franklin and Adams, it's clear she's her husband's intellectual equal. Clever, beautiful, a skilled dancer, and utterly besotted with her husband.


 * Acceptable Breaks From Reality: She never visited hubby in Philadelphia.
 * Happily Married
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Absolutely miniature in comparison to the six-foot-plus Jefferson.
 * One-Scene Wonder: well, Two-Scene Wonder. We see her snogging Jefferson, and then she sings "He Plays the Violin" before she goes off to snog Jefferson again.
 * Pimped-Out Dress: The absolutely gorgeous white gown she wears during "He Plays the Violin".
 * Sickeningly Sweethearts: Snogs Jefferson long enough to completely forget and completely ignore ever meeting Franklin and Adams until the next day.

George Washington
An obscure figure from the Revolution no one has heard of since. Never appears on stage. Sends depressing letters to Congress.


 * The Eeyore
 * The Ghost
 * Dead Presidents