1776 (musical): Difference between revisions

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''Good God, sir, was that fair?'' }}

 

* [[David Versus Goliath]]: A comical version in "But, Mr. Adams," seeing as how Ken Howard (Jefferson) stands a full eleven inches taller than William Daniels.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Mostly Franklin, but Adams and Jefferson get their moments in.

'''Jefferson:''' [beat] [[Answers to The Name of God|Someday, you must tell me how you did it.]]<br />

'''Adams:''' Disgusting. Look at him, Franklin -- Virginia's most famous lover!<br />

'''Jefferson:''' [dryly] Virginia abstains. }}

** Dickinson, too.

'''Dickinson''': Somewhere between New York and Pennsylvania. }}

* [[Dead Presidents]]

* [[Distant Duet]]: John and Abigail's songs basically dramatize their letters to each other.

* [[The Eeyore]]: George Washington, through his dispatches.

* [[Evil Lawyer Joke]]: Seeing [[Volleying Insults]] below; ironic in that the participants in the volley, Adams and Dickinson, were both lawyers.

* [[Foregone Conclusion]]: Thomas Jefferson is going to write the declaration, and it's going to be signed. It speaks to the musical's worth that even though the audience obviously knows how it's going to end, there is still actual conflict and suspense found in ''how'' it's going to be done.

* [[Gallows Humor]]: Before signing the Declaration, and thereby committing treason, for which they very well could end up on a gallows.

* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: ''Barely''.

But life is more than sexual combustibility! }}

* [[The Ghost]]: [[George Washington]].

* [[I Want My Mommy]]: done heartbreakingly with "Mama Look Sharp".

* [[Incoming Ham]]: Richard Henry Lee.

'''Lee:''' HELLLLOOOOO, JOHNNY! }}

* [[It's Personal]]: Lewis Morris of New York abstains ("Courteously!") from every vote since New York never told him what to vote for. Then when it comes time to sign the Declaration of Independence he finds out the British have seized and destroyed his home, his family has fled their state and his eldest sons have joined the Continental Army to fight the invaders. "To hell with New York. I'll sign it anyway!"

** Rutledge's song "Molasses to Rum" plants him firmly in ham territory.

** Ben Franklin cannot sit down without doing so in a noteworthy manner.

* [[Lower Deck Episode]]: Well, scene: MacNair, his assistant and the courier sitting in the chamber by themselves, including the song "Look Sharp".

* [[Minor Character, Major Song]]: Ron Holgate as Richard Henry Lee, who has just one major scene and a minor one, but carries some great big wonderful slabs of roast pork while he's singing "The Lees of Old Virginia."

* [[Nothing Exciting Ever Happens Here]]: The members of the Congress are so bored that everybody rushes to the window when MacNair announces that the fire wagon has arrived nearby.

* [[Oh Crap]]

** Moments earlier, when Rutledge takes the floor, Franklin murmurs to Adams, "Look out."

* [[The Oner]]: In the movie, the opening scene of Adams descending the staircase from the bell tower, entering the Continental Congress, and delivering his opening monologue before the first song is all one take. The filmmakers note in the DVD commentary how difficult it was building a camera rig that would give a smooth transition from descending from the ceiling into the Congress chamber. There's a noticeable bump as the camera is wheeled off the extending platform used to film the stairs part of the shot.

** New York abstains -- courteously!

*** This becomes a [[Berserk Button]] for John Hancock.

*** Jefferson borrows the phrase, for "Virginia abstains," in a slightly different context.

** The absence of the New Jersey delegation (it's "somewhere between New York and Pennsylvania").