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1776 (Theatre)

1038 statements
205 feature instances
171 referencing feature instances

1776 (Theatre)	type	TVTItem
1776 (Theatre)	label	1776 (Theatre)
1776 (Theatre)	page	SeventeenSeventySix
1776 (Theatre)	comment	1776 is the name of a 1969 Broadway play by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone, and its 1972 film adaptation, featuring William Daniels in the role that made him a star. It's a mostly accurate depiction of the hurdles and loopholes that the Founding Fathers went through in order to separate from Great Britain... well, once you take out the all-singing, all-dancing part, it is, anyway.It could be said that one of the greatest battles during The American Revolution didn't take place on any battlefield, but in Philadelphia's Independence Hall amongst the delegates of the Second Continental Congress, as they debated over how (and whether) to approve the Declaration of Independence and establish the United States as a separate nation.Daniels plays John Adams (later the first-ever Vice President and second President of the United States), a Boston revolutionary who spearheads the effort for the American Colonies to break from Britain and form a new independent nation. All sorts of reasons are brought up for this, including taxation without representation and the alienation that the Atlantic Ocean brings. With the help of Yoda-like Benjamin Franklin and a heel-dragging Thomas Jefferson — who is so homesick he can barely write the Declaration of Independence — he puts forth these reasons... which are almost immediately savaged. It takes a minor miracle just to get the whole thing to a spot where it can be voted on, much less ratified; that would require unanimity.Though light-hearted in many parts (it's almost impossible to get through the number about who will write the Declaration without laughing), it also contains poignant looks at how difficult decisions had to be made (the South viewed slavery as an economic necessity and walked out en masse upon hearing Jefferson, a fellow Southerner, condemn it). In addition, a report from a soldier on the front (the haunting "Mama, Look Sharp" number) drives home just how much, and yet how little, the piece of paper will mean.The musical got a 1997 revival on Broadway, starring Brent Spiner as Adams. A Gender Flip production consisting entirely of women and non-binary, transgender, and genderqueer actors of various ethnicities directed by Diane Paulus had a Broadway premiere in 2021.Not to be confused with a 300 parody made by Robot Chicken, or with Jon Bois' 17776.
1776 (Theatre)	fetched	2023-10-20T06:44:29Z
1776 (Theatre)	parsed	2023-10-20T06:44:29Z
1776 (Theatre)	processingComment	Dropped link to Bowdlerise: Not a Feature - ITEM
1776 (Theatre)	processingComment	Dropped link to Foil: Not a Feature - IGNORE
1776 (Theatre)	processingComment	Dropped link to HistoricalDomainCharacter: Not a Feature - IGNORE
1776 (Theatre)	processingComment	Dropped link to SelfDeprecatingHumor: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
1776 (Theatre)	processingUnknown	SelfDeprecatingHumor
1776 (Theatre)	isPartOf	DBTropes
1776 (Theatre) / int_14180452	type	Instantly Proven Wrong
1776 (Theatre) / int_14180452	comment	Instantly Proven Wrong: Just as John Adams is extolling the condition of the Continental Army ("Never has training been more spirited, never have spirits been higher"), a courier arrives with a message from General Washington describing the deplorable condition of the army, the raucous behavior, disrespect, and general unsuitability of the average colonial soldier.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_14ed6ab7	type	Does This Remind You of Anything?
1776 (Theatre) / int_14ed6ab7	comment	Does This Remind You of Anything?: When Martha sings "He Plays the Violin", about how Jefferson wooed her despite not speaking much, she's definitely only talking about his musical skill. Not any other sort of prowess.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_15b2cab3	type	Tempting Fate
1776 (Theatre) / int_15b2cab3	comment	Tempting Fate: When Adams tries to convince Chase of Maryland that they can win the war against England, he lays it on a little too thick.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_17ce80aa	type	All There in the Manual
1776 (Theatre) / int_17ce80aa	comment	All There in the Manual: There is a souvenir program out there that shows pictures from the movie and some behind-the-scenes stuff, including the names of the rest of the delegates seen in the movie (mostly Southerners to fill out the dance line in "Cool Considerate Men") For example, the man that yelled "Will someone shut that man up?" during "Sit Down, John", is Georgia delegate George Walton.note In the stage version, where Walton and the other "extra" delegates don't appear, that line is sung by Robert Livingston of New York. The screenplay was later published in paperback format with an extensive afterword.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_18150c85	type	Democracy Is Flawed
1776 (Theatre) / int_18150c85	comment	Democracy Is Flawed:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_1869b4b1	type	Unreliable Narrator
1776 (Theatre) / int_1869b4b1	comment	Vast amounts of dialogue and even song lyrics were lifted intact from the writings of the various Founding Fathers. In particular, "obnoxious and disliked" is a paraphrase of John Adams' own description, many decades after the fact, of how he felt he was viewed by the Founders and the nation in general note Adams claimed that he said "I am obnoxious, suspected and unpopular" while trying to convince Jefferson that he should be the one to write the Declaration. (although many historians feel he was an Unreliable Narrator in this respect), and his duets and discussions with the mental image of his wife Abigail are composed of passages from their letters to each other — including the "Saltpeter!"/"Pins!" Running Gag. Some of the most poetic passages, including "write to me with sentimental effusion", are direct quotes.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_19d1c1ae	type	Always Someone Better
1776 (Theatre) / int_19d1c1ae	comment	Always Someone Better: When Adams fetches up against conservative powerhouse John Dickinson, he gets creamed by the man's powerful personality, charisma, and general ability to get people to like him. Dickinson, in turn, backs down when Franklin sighs, finally gets out of his chair and turns the finest wit in the colonies on his ass.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_1b3b48f3	type	David Versus Goliath
1776 (Theatre) / int_1b3b48f3	comment	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. In real life, the height disparity between Jefferson (6'2") and Adams (5'7") was certainly notable though not as dramatic as in the film — Daniels is indeed 5'7", but Howard stands at a particularly impressive 6'6".
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1776 (Theatre) / int_1ba17583	type	The Ghost
1776 (Theatre) / int_1ba17583	comment	The Ghost: Your Obedient <drumroll> G. Washington.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_1ccad9a3	type	Villain Song
1776 (Theatre) / int_1ccad9a3	comment	Villain Song: "Cool, Considerate Men" fits, "Molasses to Rum" defines.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_1da5941e	type	The Quiet One
1776 (Theatre) / int_1da5941e	comment	The Quiet One: Thomas Jefferson. He speaks a fair bit; he is certainly not a mute like most examples of this Trope. He just doesn't have as much dialogue as Adams or Franklin despite being about as important to the plot as them. When he DOES speak, it MATTERS.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_1e5df5	type	Heh Heh, You Said "X"
1776 (Theatre) / int_1e5df5	comment	Heh Heh, You Said "X": When Thomson calls for the vote on the debate, the Rhode Island delegate is out using "the necessary". When he then states, "Rhode Island passes," Congress breaks out laughing.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_1f250372	type	I Need a Freaking Drink
1776 (Theatre) / int_1f250372	comment	I Need a Freaking Drink: With the southerners ready to vote them down, the other delegates immediately start calling for McNair to fetch the rum. Even Rhode Island's Stephen Hopkins is frequently in the mood for a tankard of rum throughout the play/film.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_1f799027	type	Obstructive Bureaucrat
1776 (Theatre) / int_1f799027	comment	Obstructive Bureaucrat: Subverted. Hancock seems this, especially when he concurs for the requirement of unanimity. He is actually following the Rules of Order to the letter, giving Adams' faction every legal opportunity to advance the cause of Independence.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_20613a2a	type	Victorian Novel Disease
1776 (Theatre) / int_20613a2a	comment	Victorian Novel Disease: Played very straight with Delaware delegate Caesar Rodney, who had skin cancer that was killing him at the time of the Continental Congress, although it's dramatically underplayed with the small patch covering his cheek — in truth, Rodney was missing literally half of his face due to primitive surgery/cauterization treatments and kept the afflicted area hidden under a green kerchief wrapped around his head. However, he was not quite so near his deathbed as depicted here. His eighty-mile ride during a thunderstorm, suffering the effects of the cancer and asthma, is no less impressive, but he was absent because he was trying to stiffen the spines of his fellow Delawareans. The cancer itself took his life in 1784.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_21889507	type	A House Divided
1776 (Theatre) / int_21889507	comment	A House Divided: The utopian Adams refuses to budge on the slavery issue, foreseeing a future cataclysm if they don't stop it here and now (To be fair, he's right, and in real life he predicted it all but to the year). But the Southerners, led by Rutledge, promise to kill the Declaration if the government tries to abolish slavery. In the end, even Jefferson admits they have to strike it. This is John Hancock's reason for breaking the tie, in favor of requiring unanimity for the vote for independence. If Independence passes with less than a unanimous vote, Hancock fears the possibility that Britain will press the militias of the dissenting states into serving the British Army, and thus pitting brother against brother in the war that's certain to come, and already is happening.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_21e53d92	type	Shouting Free-for-All
1776 (Theatre) / int_21e53d92	comment	Shouting Free-for-All: Not actually seen, but Lewis Morris describes meetings of the New York legislature as everyone speaking very fast and loud without listening to anyone else as he apologetically explains to the congress why his delegation has never received any instructions from said legislature.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_21f3aa44	type	Good Is Not Nice
1776 (Theatre) / int_21f3aa44	comment	Good is Not Nice: Adams ordering a dying Caesar Rodney to be dragged out of bed to vote.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_22cf536c	type	Chekhov's Gun
1776 (Theatre) / int_22cf536c	comment	Chekhov's Gun: The absence of the delegation from New Jersey is repeatedly brought up, which keeps their arrival from being a deus ex machina. Just when the South has walked out and Adams has lost all hope, the saltpeter that he requested from Abigail early on arrives unexpectedly, giving him the spirit to rally Franklin and Jefferson for one more try at winning over the needed delegates.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_22cfbf14	type	Answers to the Name of God
1776 (Theatre) / int_22cfbf14	comment	Answers to the Name of God: Inverted, when Adams complains that in the earth was created in the same amount of time it took for Jefferson not to write a draft of the declaration.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_237404cc	type	Ironic Echo
1776 (Theatre) / int_237404cc	comment	Ironic Echo: Abigail complains that John called her, among other things, pigeon-toed. John responds, "Well, there you have me. You are pigeon-toed." Later, when John complains that he's pig-headed, Abby says, "Well, there you have me, John. You are pig-headed." Both smile.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_237a1777	type	Exploding Calendar
1776 (Theatre) / int_237a1777	comment	Exploding Calendar: Downplayed due to the pages being removed by hand to show the passage of time.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_2439b588	type	As the Good Book Says...
1776 (Theatre) / int_2439b588	comment	As the Good Book Says...: Quoth Jefferson, regarding the slavery debate, "These people shall be free." Dickinson strikes back with a misquoting of one of the Gospels when he leads the southern delegates in a walkout, just as Chase, the Maryland delegate, decides to vote for independence.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_2554f670	type	Smite Me, O Mighty Smiter
1776 (Theatre) / int_2554f670	comment	Smite Me, O Mighty Smiter: John denouncing God for stranding him in Philly with these idiots.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_259d5879	type	Anachronism Stew
1776 (Theatre) / int_259d5879	comment	Anachronism Stew: A muddied example with the song "Cool, Cool Considerate Men" and its line "Never to the left, forever to the right". The concept of Left and Right Wing politics came about due to the French Revolution, more than a decade later, which would make this terminology an anachronism under normal circumstances. In-Universe, however, they are referring to the sliding board used to track their votes, which would bring it back into historical accuracy... if said board itself were not an invention of the play. The labeling of the anti-independence faction as "conservative" was itself an anachronism. Every man in the Continental Congress was a liberal in the classical sense. The true conservative position in English politics at the time was vehemently pro-monarchy and would have found the idea of an unauthorized congress distasteful no matter what they were discussing. However, they do represent the relatively conservative position within the Continental Congress at the time. Adams and Franklin waltz with Martha Jefferson in "He Plays the Violin." At the time, the waltz was a highly scandalous European dance.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_267ce120	type	Dirty Old Man
1776 (Theatre) / int_267ce120	comment	Benjamin Franklin usually maintains a somewhat-facile demeanor of a jocular, randy older gentleman. It's when he drops the act and becomes earnest is when all stop to listen. Emphasized when, in debate with Dickinson, Franklin passionately describes the new people Americans have become and how they need a new nation: Dickinson, for once, is rendered momentarily speechless.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_26ce6ea7	type	Title by Year
1776 (Theatre) / int_26ce6ea7	comment	Title by Year: A 1969 Broadway play, named after the year it takes place in.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_26d1f65f	type	Verbal Tic
1776 (Theatre) / int_26d1f65f	comment	Richard Henry Lee's addiction to adverbs. He uses them constant-LEE!
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1776 (Theatre) / int_27b83210	type	Hufflepuff House
1776 (Theatre) / int_27b83210	comment	Hufflepuff House: Some of the thirteen colonies represented at the convention have less prominence than others. About ninety percent of the North Carolina spokesman's dialogue is announcing that he'll yield to whatever position the South Carolina delegation is taking. His only other memorable line is a brief comment about how the Declaration of Independence should mention fishing rights. The delegates from Connecticut and New Hampshire have a decent number of lines, but are mainly Satellite Characters who rarely if ever talk about their states.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_2dc0d2bf	type	Hidden Depths
1776 (Theatre) / int_2dc0d2bf	comment	Hidden Depths: Franklin is surprised to learn that Adams is an excellent dancer.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_2e121b44	type	Southern Gentleman
1776 (Theatre) / int_2e121b44	comment	Southern Gentleman: Edward Rutledge is this, very much.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_2fa32e08	type	Make-Out Kids
1776 (Theatre) / int_2fa32e08	comment	Make-Out Kids: Tom and Martha. When Martha arrives in Philadelphia, she and Tom immediately lock lips; they're completely oblivious to John's attempt to introduce himself and Franklin to the lady. The next day, Tom's only good-morning is a written message telling Adams and Franklin to go away because he wants to take Martha back to bed. John is quite scandalized.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_303e9b7e	type	Blood on the Debate Floor
1776 (Theatre) / int_303e9b7e	comment	Blood on the Debate Floor: Adams — dear Mr. Adams — and Dickinson calmly talking out their differences. With canes. Secretary Thomson recorded several stick fights during congressional debates, but didn't name the participants.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_3149c4b0	type	It Will Never Catch On
1776 (Theatre) / int_3149c4b0	comment	It Will Never Catch On: MacNair doesn't think that "The United States of America" is a good name for the new country. Nobody listens to him because he's not actually a member of the Congress.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_33029735	type	Dies Wide Open
1776 (Theatre) / int_33029735	comment	Dies Wide Open: "Mama, Look Sharp!" is mostly sung by a dying minuteman. The last verse, sung by the now-dead minuteman's mother, talks about closing his body's eyes before she buries him.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_34889673	type	Gender Flip
1776 (Theatre) / int_34889673	comment	Gender Flip: There is a 2021 Broadway revival, the cast consisting of all women.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_38d02d44	type	Batman Gambit
1776 (Theatre) / int_38d02d44	comment	Batman Gambit: Franklin asking John Hancock to poll the Pennsylvania delegation, a double Gambit in which both levels depend on Wilson's milquetoast personality. With Pennsylvania voting last for independence, by polling them individually, this makes Wilson the last vote of the entire movement for independence. Franklin bets that Wilson will not want to be the man who singlehandedly denied America their independence when every other state agreed to it. As there seems to be no protocol to the order in which the delegates were polled (if it were alphabetical, Dickinson would've come before Franklin), Franklin is also betting that the secretary will call the least prominent delegate - Wilson, by far - last. Wilson proves Franklin correct, votes in favor of it, and creates a unanimous vote.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_3929e0db	type	You Need to Get Laid
1776 (Theatre) / int_3929e0db	comment	You Need to Get Laid: Jefferson spends a week struggling with Writer's Block. His wife arrives, and suddenly all is well. It's heavily implied that John Adams' obnoxious attitude is at least somewhat due to his not being able to be with Abigail. Another piece of trivia lifted straight from history; John openly admitted in an early letter to Abigail that the longer he's apart from her, the crankier he gets, and he'd been away from her for quite awhile by the time the musical is set.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_3a79543	type	One Scene, Two Monologues
1776 (Theatre) / int_3a79543	comment	One Scene, Two Monologues: The Continental Congress segments of "Sit Down, John" are a rare occasion on which this trope is pulled off well with singing.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_3bc88a7f	type	Foregone Conclusion
1776 (Theatre) / int_3bc88a7f	comment	Foregone Conclusion: Of course, it's a matter of historical record that 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.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_3d038b36	type	Rhetorical Question Blunder
1776 (Theatre) / int_3d038b36	comment	Rhetorical Question Blunder: "But, Mr. Adams" —
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1776 (Theatre) / int_3d5c5deb	type	Flat Character
1776 (Theatre) / int_3d5c5deb	comment	Flat Character: Hewes, Bartlett, and Read are perhaps the most prominent examples of this. Hewes, in particular, has practically all of his actions decided by fellow southerner Rutledge — and the relationship is not explored nor developed like it is with Hall.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_3d5c5deb	featureConfidence	1.0
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1776 (Theatre) / int_3e2c9d95	type	Rock Bottom
1776 (Theatre) / int_3e2c9d95	comment	"Law practice down the pipe. Farm mortgaged to the hilt. At a stage when most men prosper, I am reduced to living in Philadelphia." (This could also be considered an example of Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking.)
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1776 (Theatre) / int_3e8d9cd3	type	Historical Hero Upgrade
1776 (Theatre) / int_3e8d9cd3	comment	Historical Hero Upgrade: Inverted. James Wilson, portrayed in the film and musical as a non-entity who voted for independence because he didn't want the notoriety of being the one who voted it down, was in fact a committed independence man who delayed his vote until after he checked with his constituents to make sure they agreed with him — and to do so, was partially responsible for the postponement that the film shows as engineered by Adams and Franklin. Chalk this up to the availability of information in the 1960s; both Wilson's and Adams' roles in the process were considered rather inconsequential. Played straight with Secretary Thomson. While he is a genuine historical figure, very little was known about him then or since— and what little is known is far from flattering— so the authors were either free or forced to flesh out his character to fit the story. For that matter, the John Adams in the play is a bit of a composite of the historical John Adams and his more radical cousin Sam. Both Adams and Franklin are portrayed as staunch opponents of slavery. Franklin claims to have started one of the first anti-slavery associations in America. This is not true, though he did speak out against slavery in the last years of his life. His final public act was in the form of a petition asking Congress to abolish slavery and the slave trade. (For his part, while he was still incredibly racist by modern standards, John Adams did dislike the practice of slavery, employed free men throughout his life even when slaves would've been cheaper, and ultimately helped ensure Massachusetts was one of the first states to abolish slavery when he helped rewrite the state constitution in 1780.)
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1776 (Theatre) / int_3e95582f	type	The Greatest Story Never Told
1776 (Theatre) / int_3e95582f	comment	The Greatest Story Never Told: Adams seemed resigned to the fact that history books wouldn't remember his contributions to American independence, assuming they would only mention Franklin and Washington.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_40cc0c7e	type	Bittersweet Ending
1776 (Theatre) / int_40cc0c7e	comment	Bittersweet Ending: The film ends with the Declaration signed and independence declared — and years of a turbulent and desperate war that did not look winnable ahead of them. As Washington had mentioned, his army was in terrible shape, his money and credit were all gone, and the British had the strongest navy in the world. That bit in the Declaration about pledging "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor" wasn't just emotionalism. Notably, the finale music played as Thomson summons the various delegates for their signatures and the Liberty Bell tolls isn't triumphant and hopeful but discordant and chilling.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_43a46119	type	Surrounded by Idiots
1776 (Theatre) / int_43a46119	comment	Surrounded by Idiots: John Adams' lament up until near the end, echoed by George Washington's dispatch about the "reek of stupidity" among his officers. Ben Franklin straightens him out by telling him that his fellow congressmen are "not ribbon clerks to be ordered about. They're proud, accomplished men; the cream of their colonies ... Now either learn how to live with them, or pack up and go home!"
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1776 (Theatre) / int_440fc032	type	Drum Roll, Please
1776 (Theatre) / int_440fc032	comment	Every letter from the army is from your obedient — drumroll — G. Washington.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_44fc28e8	type	Honor Before Reason
1776 (Theatre) / int_44fc28e8	comment	Honor Before Reason: John Hancock all but promises Adams that he will do whatever Adams wants him to do, because he is from Massachusetts like Adams. Adams tells him to remain neutral as President of Congress; otherwise, any victory for independence would be tainted. This is also why Hancock breaks the tie vote on the Declaration; he is bound by debate rules to bring the unity vote to the floor. By giving Adams and company time to get the Declaration written (and approved), he keeps the resolution alive where it would have died early. (It was the best he could do in the situation.)
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1776 (Theatre) / int_4604fd4d	type	Worthy Opponent
1776 (Theatre) / int_4604fd4d	comment	Worthy Opponent: When Dickinson says "I regard America no less than does Mr Adams," he's not kidding; Adams and Dickinson are portrayed as both fundamentally good men and true patriots who merely differ on what they believe is best for their country. As Dickinson resigns from Congress, unable to sign the Declaration in good conscience, and sadly leaves to join the Army, Adams leads the delegates in rapping the tables with their knuckles (in the German tradition) in salute. Dickinson would later go on to sign the United States Constitution.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_469e3e2f	type	In-Universe
1776 (Theatre) / int_469e3e2f	comment	A muddied example with the song "Cool, Cool Considerate Men" and its line "Never to the left, forever to the right". The concept of Left and Right Wing politics came about due to the French Revolution, more than a decade later, which would make this terminology an anachronism under normal circumstances. In-Universe, however, they are referring to the sliding board used to track their votes, which would bring it back into historical accuracy... if said board itself were not an invention of the play.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_4766ca14	type	Volleying Insults
1776 (Theatre) / int_4766ca14	comment	Volleying Insults: "Coward!" "Madman!" "Landlord!" "Lawyer!"
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1776 (Theatre) / int_4781adbb	type	Jerk with a Heart of Gold
1776 (Theatre) / int_4781adbb	comment	Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Adams. He does have a heart of gold. Somewhere. For instance, he really does love his wife, even if he makes fun of her for being pigeon-toed (fortunately, she gives as good as she gets). And he really does want the best for his country and its people. Unfortunately, he's also pedantic, condescending, and a loose cannon, endangering the vote for independence even as he stumps for it. After Jefferson is strongly persuaded to write the Declaration and comes up with nothing due to writer's block and being away from Martha for so long, Adams makes arrangements for Martha to come to Philadelphia so she can inspire Jefferson to start writing effectively.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_47e9e5c6	type	Smart People Know Latin
1776 (Theatre) / int_47e9e5c6	comment	Smart People Know Latin: Edward Rutledge, although in this context it's more a marker of social class. Col. McKean mistakes it for French.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_48cffdb7	type	I Want My Mommy!
1776 (Theatre) / int_48cffdb7	comment	I Want My Mommy!: Done heartbreakingly with "Mama, Look Sharp," about a young militiaman (not even a soldier, really) dying alone.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_4e7c4536	type	Wham Line
1776 (Theatre) / int_4e7c4536	comment	Wham Line: "Just a moment. I ask that the delegation be polled." "I'm sorry, John — my vote is 'yea.'" The moment that gives Adams his second wind:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_4fdd0d29	type	Place Worse Than Death
1776 (Theatre) / int_4fdd0d29	comment	Place Worse Than Death: The City of Brotherly Love, which Adams reports on as "foul, fetid, fuming, foggy, filthy Philadelphia." Adams also mentions "At a stage in life when other men prosper, I'm reduced to living in Philadelphia." Ben Franklin's home base was Philly, which doubtlessly colored the envious Adams' impressions of it.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_5037b961	type	Et Tu, Brute?
1776 (Theatre) / int_5037b961	comment	Et Tu, Brute?: After Rutledge denounces Adams, the other delegates leave in disgust for the evening. When Franklin encourages John to remove the slavery clause, John thinks Franklin should have left along with the pro-slavery delegates. After a heated remark, Franklin denounces Adams' stubbornness, urging John to show some cooperation with the others in spite of their differences in order to convince the others to support independence.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_51d8f2e3	type	Not-So-Omniscient Council of Bickering
1776 (Theatre) / int_51d8f2e3	comment	Not-So-Omniscient Council of Bickering: Continental Congress is pretty dysfunctional at the beginning of the show. Also a pretty accurate description of the New York Legislature:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_54367e5d	type	Mathematician's Answer
1776 (Theatre) / int_54367e5d	comment	Mathematician's Answer: When inquiring about the absence of the New Jersey delegates:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_54fdbff5	type	The Eeyore
1776 (Theatre) / int_54fdbff5	comment	The Eeyore: George Washington, through his dispatches. He's always commenting on the things that are going wrong (which admittedly are plentiful). Whenever a dispatch comes in, the Congress knows that they're in for something discouraging and Adams gets a very dismayed look when one arrives while he's trying to convince Chase that the American "military" is capable of standing up to that of Britain.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_583ec33e	type	Snark-to-Snark Combat
1776 (Theatre) / int_583ec33e	comment	Snark-to-Snark Combat: This exchange between Franklin & Dickinson:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_58db779e	type	Letting the Air out of the Band
1776 (Theatre) / int_58db779e	comment	Letting the Air out of the Band: When his wife comes to visit, Jefferson starts to reprise "He Plays the Violin" on his ... violin. It quickly peters out as Adams and Franklin listen in.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_5b565147	type	Meaningful Background Event
1776 (Theatre) / int_5b565147	comment	Meaningful Background Event: Some productions have Richard Henry Lee return for the final scene so that he can sign the Declaration as he did in real life, but they keep him hidden among the ensemble so that his boisterous personality doesn't take away from the gravitas of the moment.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_5ce2c9c6	type	Suddenly Shouting
1776 (Theatre) / int_5ce2c9c6	comment	Suddenly Shouting; John Hancock is prone to this, when Wilson seconds Dickinson's motion that the vote on the resolution of independence are to be unanimous.note To be fair, this is the second time in 15 minutes that Wilson has attempted to second his own colony's motion, which is a pretty basic no-no Hancock has another such moment when the tally is deadlocked 6-6 and once again:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_5d753b19	type	The Smurfette Principle
1776 (Theatre) / int_5d753b19	comment	The Smurfette Principle: These are, after all, the Founding Fathers. As far as the cast of characters is concerned, the only women present are Martha Jefferson and Abigail Adams, the latter only appearing in dream sequences, speaking her letters to John.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_61b8f9e2	type	Bunny-Ears Lawyer
1776 (Theatre) / int_61b8f9e2	comment	Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Richard Henry Lee, of the Lees of Old Virginia.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_63c6a75c	type	Evil Lawyer Joke
1776 (Theatre) / int_63c6a75c	comment	Evil Lawyer Joke: Seeing Volleying Insults below; ironic in that the participants in the volley, Adams and Dickinson, were both lawyers.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_65331274	type	Flynning
1776 (Theatre) / int_65331274	comment	Flynning: The brief stick-fight between Adams and Dickinson in the Congressional chamber is rather unconvincing flynning when it's not just the two men grappling.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_65bdfe8f	type	Hot Potato
1776 (Theatre) / int_65bdfe8f	comment	Hot Potato: The responsibility of writing the Declaration of Independence; visually lampshaded in the Broadway production and film, with the Declaration Committee actually passing around a quill pen in classic hot-potato style during "But, Mr. Adams."
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1776 (Theatre) / int_67d9a51	type	Big "NEVER!"
1776 (Theatre) / int_67d9a51	comment	Big "NEVER!": Adams does a few of these.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_680bb6b1	type	Hot-Blooded
1776 (Theatre) / int_680bb6b1	comment	Hot-Blooded: John Adams is so hot-blooded that the temperature can shoot up to ninety degrees when he's around.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_69065de	type	Naval Blockade
1776 (Theatre) / int_69065de	comment	Naval Blockade: In the first scene Adams includes blockading the colonies' ports in his list of British atrocities while trying to spur Congress to action.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_6b05b601	type	Jerkass Has a Point
1776 (Theatre) / int_6b05b601	comment	Jerkass Has a Point: "Molasses to Rum", so very much. Sure, Edward Rutledge is arguing for slavery, but when he points out that Jefferson himself owns slaves, and that Adams's Boston is the main home of the traders who bring the slaves in from Africa — a slave trade which is, in a way, even more horrifying than slavery itself — he not only has a point, but it's historically accurate. To a lesser degree, Dickinson raises a fair point that open revolution is hardly the final option on the negotiating table with Great Britain; moreover, challenging England's military supremacy is a rather suicidal idea (even Franklin concedes this is true). The original cut of the movie paints Dickinson in a more sympathetic brush by deleting the scene where he croons "Cool, Considerate Men", which all but spelled out that he is a commissar protecting his business interests. Though Dickinson's insistence that the vote should be unanimous is portrayed as another tactic to kill the bid for independence, Hancock agrees with him and casts the tiebreaker vote in favor of unanimity. He explains this is because to do otherwise would force the loyalist states to fight the independent ones, putting the new nation on a foundation of fratricide and immediately branding the new nation with "the Mark of Cain."
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1776 (Theatre) / int_6d3dbe0e	type	Midword Rhyme
1776 (Theatre) / int_6d3dbe0e	comment	Midword Rhyme: Several examples, including "Sit Down, John":
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1776 (Theatre) / int_6f4af3e5	type	AcCENT upon the Wrong SylLABle
1776 (Theatre) / int_6f4af3e5	comment	AcCENT upon the Wrong SylLABle: "The Lees of Old Virginia", uh, prominent-Lee uses this trope. Even after the song, Richard Henry Lee continues to make Lee-based puns. During one of the dispatches it is announced that Washington's troops are carousing in the "Rar-uh-TAN" River. New Jersians who live not far from said river know it as the "Rar-uh-tin" River. One to modern ears. In the show, "Maryland" is pronounced "Mary Land," rather than the modern pronunciation of "Marilynd," as is appropriate to the time period.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_7043a964	type	Grammar Nazi
1776 (Theatre) / int_7043a964	comment	Grammar Nazi: John Adams, dear Mr. Adams, insists that it's "unalienable," not "inalienable". He relents when Jefferson refuses to change it, but assures that he'll "speak about it with the printer later". Funny thing is, he did! Jefferson used inalienable in his draft, but unalienable was used on the published declaration. Whether or not John Adams actually was the source of this is unknown, but he did use "unalienable" in his personal handwritten copy.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_7315fd38	type	Covers Always Lie
1776 (Theatre) / int_7315fd38	comment	Covers Always Lie: The posters and DVD cover for the film version seem to imply that there is going to be a major romantic plot point involving John and Abigail. They do have many scenes in the movie, but not enough to justify being displayed quite so prominently. The DVD cover also features one-scene-wonder Richard Henry Lee — in fact, one Lee on each side of Jefferson and Martha's embrace, which dominates the cover. Protagonist John Adams does not appear at all, which is either ironic (given that this show helped to raise his profile after being ignored by historians for a couple hundred years) or fitting (given Adams' accurate prediction that history would forget him in favor of Franklin and Washington).
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1776 (Theatre) / int_754df088	type	Put on a Bus
1776 (Theatre) / int_754df088	comment	Richard Henry Lee gets elected governor of Virginia and leaves for good after his short time in the show. This never happened in real life, but it was a necessity because his comedic nature would have heavily undercut the show's drama, so they had to get him out to keep the tension intact. Some productions have Lee return for the ending to sign the Declaration as he did in real life, but they keep him in the back so that he doesn't overshadow the event.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_75987da9	type	Ragtag Bunch of Misfits
1776 (Theatre) / int_75987da9	comment	Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits: The Founding Fathers definitely qualify. General Washington describes the Continental Army this way almost verbatim. Franklin also uses these exact words:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_76dc3807	type	Alone in a Crowd
1776 (Theatre) / int_76dc3807	comment	Alone in a Crowd: After Wilson flips and votes Yea, the independence motion passes. Dickinson, who was trying to talk him into voting Nay, is left the only man on his feet, in the middle of the room with everyone staring at him, as his isolation becomes clear.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_77b009ea	type	Phrase Catcher
1776 (Theatre) / int_77b009ea	comment	Phrase Catcher: Adams, dear Mr. Adams, is "obnoxious and disliked".
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1776 (Theatre) / int_7b4240c8	type	Your Little Dismissive Diminutive
1776 (Theatre) / int_7b4240c8	comment	Your Little Dismissive Diminutive: Addressing Jefferson, Edward Rutledge refers to the Declaration of Independence as "your little paper there."
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1776 (Theatre) / int_7b6e47a5	type	Armor-Piercing Question
1776 (Theatre) / int_7b6e47a5	comment	Armor-Piercing Question: Jefferson, speaking of black slavery, says that "the rights of man are deeply wounded by this infamous practice!" And Rutledge utterly nails him with, "Then see to your own wounds, Mr. Jefferson, for you are a practitioner! Are you not?!" Jefferson is clearly shaken by this; publicly, he commits to freeing all of his slaves when the time is ripe. He doesn't. Jefferson couldn't stay solvent even with slaves, but nobody with an estate as big as his could stay solvent without them. And at the end of "Molasses to Rum," a musical number about how it's New England sea traders who buy and sell the South's slaves in the first place, Rutledge concludes: "Mr. Adams, I give you a toast! Hail Boston! Hail Charleston! Who stinketh the most?!"
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1776 (Theatre) / int_7d89315b	type	"The Reason You Suck" Speech
1776 (Theatre) / int_7d89315b	comment	"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Franklin rebukes Adams' being even more obnoxious and disliked than usual when the delegates walk out of Independence Hall after Rutledge points out that a lot of slave traders are from Boston:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_7db984b1	type	Rule-Abiding Rebel
1776 (Theatre) / int_7db984b1	comment	Rule-Abiding Rebel: Played for drama and comedy, as many of the delegates (or even most) are not at all sure whether they are intending to rebel against the crown permanently. And John Adams isn't necessarily the best ambassador of his cause.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_7de0bcc4	type	Overused Running Gag
1776 (Theatre) / int_7de0bcc4	comment	Over Used Running Gag: Lampshaded at the end of the "Lees of Old Virginia" reprise. Lee would keep going, if only Franklin and Adams were not forcib-Lee removing him from the stage. (All subsequent puns are met with John Adams reacting exasperated-Lee.)
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1776 (Theatre) / int_7e74d66f	type	Politically Correct History
1776 (Theatre) / int_7e74d66f	comment	Politically Correct History: See Executive Meddling; even so, the film is a remarkable paragon of historical accuracy and thus counts as an aversion.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_7fbb2a3	type	Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!
1776 (Theatre) / int_7fbb2a3	comment	Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: John Adams's stubbornness in insisting that the anti-slavery clause remains in the Declaration results in the delegates from Georgia and the Carolinas walking out of the convention until the offending passage is removed, which almost makes Samuel Chase's of Maryland's decision to vote for independence pointless.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_7febc23b	type	Establishing Character Moment
1776 (Theatre) / int_7febc23b	comment	Richard Henry Lee's first scene. In the opening number, Lee darts his eyes around and suggests opening a window, and is shouted down. Seeing his position is unpopular with the chorus, he prompt-Lee joins in.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_8042e814	type	Actually Pretty Funny
1776 (Theatre) / int_8042e814	comment	Actually Pretty Funny: When Franklin compares being called an Englishman without the full rights of one to calling an ox a bull, "He's thankful for the honor, but he'd much rather have restored what's rightfully his," to gales of laughter from the congress, Dickinson simply retorts, "When did you first notice they were missing, sir?" Even Franklin bursts out laughing at that. (Ironically, this is because Howard da Silva, who originated the role, was irritated that Dickinson's final line was added, and wanted Franklin to "win" by showing he was above getting riled.)
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1776 (Theatre) / int_808cbaeb	type	Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking
1776 (Theatre) / int_808cbaeb	comment	Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Played for laughs with John Adams during "Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve":
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1776 (Theatre) / int_823c6e3e	type	Large Ham
1776 (Theatre) / int_823c6e3e	comment	Large Ham: Richard Henry Lee, Jefferson's fellow Virginian. Rutledge's song "Molasses to Rum" plants him firmly in ham territory. Ben Franklin cannot sit down without doing so in a noteworthy manner.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_854601b3	type	Government Procedural
1776 (Theatre) / int_854601b3	comment	Government Procedural: The entire musical is one long attempt to jockey for votes.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_85557b38	type	Reality Is Unrealistic
1776 (Theatre) / int_85557b38	comment	Reality Is Unrealistic: In the DVD Commentary recorded many, many years later, the play's writer revealed that he originally intended Adams to note that if they leave in the slavery clause, war would break out in about a century, in yet another example of lifting dialogue directly from the founders' writings. He used only the second half of the quote, "posterity will never forgive us," because he was afraid people would think it was him speaking in hindsight, rather than an actual historic observation by (Sam) Adams. In something of a meta-example (and another use of Adams' own writings), Adams' comment to Franklin about history forgetting him and focusing exclusively on Franklin and Washington (and Washington's horse) is dead-on — until well into the twentieth century, Adams' pivotal role in getting the Declaration passed and signed was almost systematically overlooked by historians besotted with the more traditionally heroic Washington and the poly-competent Franklin. The horse was an embellishment of the writers', however. Roger Ebert (and probably others) blasted the film version in his review calling it "an insult to the real men who were Adams Jefferson, Franklin and the rest" for being an unrealistic portrayal, unaware just how much of the conflict was true.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_867f06de	type	Duck Season, Rabbit Season
1776 (Theatre) / int_867f06de	comment	"Saltpeter!"/"Pins!"
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1776 (Theatre) / int_87504252	type	The Big Board
1776 (Theatre) / int_87504252	comment	The Big Board: A slider board showing the vote tally. There is also a tear-off calendar counting down to July 4th. Both were invented by the playwrights for dramatic expedience.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_875615dd	type	Truth in Television
1776 (Theatre) / int_875615dd	comment	Truth in Television: Vast amounts of dialogue and even song lyrics were lifted intact from the writings of the various Founding Fathers. In particular, "obnoxious and disliked" is a paraphrase of John Adams' own description, many decades after the fact, of how he felt he was viewed by the Founders and the nation in general note Adams claimed that he said "I am obnoxious, suspected and unpopular" while trying to convince Jefferson that he should be the one to write the Declaration. (although many historians feel he was an Unreliable Narrator in this respect), and his duets and discussions with the mental image of his wife Abigail are composed of passages from their letters to each other — including the "Saltpeter!"/"Pins!" Running Gag. Some of the most poetic passages, including "write to me with sentimental effusion", are direct quotes. Similarly, every motion made on the floor of Congress, and every modification proposed or made to the Declaration (including the briefly heard objection about it not mentioning deep-sea fishing rights!) come directly from either the Congressional minutes or Jefferson's own notes from the revision of the Declaration into its final form. The five dispatches read during the play are all composed of snippets taken from General Washington's actual dispatches. Thomson recorded the final vote as 12 to nothing, with one abstention, but his records don't state if it was indeed New York. And even though the passage of the Declaration did not in actuality work out to a nail-biting final vote the way the movie portrays, Judge Wilson did in fact switch sides at the very last minute, changing Pennsylvania's vote from "nay" to "yea"; his reason for this has been debated by historians for decades.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_8831e97	type	Tritagonist
1776 (Theatre) / int_8831e97	comment	Tritagonist: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson on the side of independence from Britain. Dickinson and Rutledge, in favor of having the colonies remaining as British territories, can be considered the deuteragonists and foils to Adams, Jefferson and Franklin. The closest thing the "villains" have to a third member would be Wilson.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_88a97dd4	type	Stiff Upper Lip
1776 (Theatre) / int_88a97dd4	comment	The New York legislature gets it particularly hard. New York only ever abstains ("Courteously!") when called upon to vote, because the New York Legislature had never bothered to give the New York delegation any instructions, as "they all talk very loud, and very fast, and nobody listens to anybody else, with the result that nothing ever gets done." This was just as true in 1972 as it was in 1776, and as any New Yorker will tell you, it's still true today. In the show's Broadway debut, this line got the biggest laugh out of all of them.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_89ed9b94	type	Gentleman Snarker
1776 (Theatre) / int_89ed9b94	comment	Gentleman Snarker: The most eloquent of Congressmen have learned the English Parliament-style trading of witty, well-mannered barbs quite well, but being "rougher, simpler, and more violent" than the English they occasionally degenerate into shouting and even one physical fight.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_8c78872	type	Writer's Block
1776 (Theatre) / int_8c78872	comment	Jefferson spends a week struggling with Writer's Block. His wife arrives, and suddenly all is well.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_8cb259f4	type	Overshadowed by Awesome
1776 (Theatre) / int_8cb259f4	comment	Overshadowed by Awesome: James Wilson of Pennsylvania is, unfortunately, a victim of this. While he is one of the more plot-relevant characters in the musical's ensemble cast, it's hard to be as memorable with the deuteragonist and the main antagonist in the same delegation as he. While he does get a scene of his own to shine in at the show's climax, he's quickly overshadowed by the other Pennsylvanians once more. He casts the deciding vote for independence, only for his name not to be called up to sign the Declaration in favor of Dr. Franklin.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_8dfc21ee	type	Slave Market
1776 (Theatre) / int_8dfc21ee	comment	Slave Market: The song "Molasses to Rum" is all about the "Triangle Trade", and more specifically the hypocrisy of how Northerners profit from (and participate in) the slave trade while condemning Southern slaveowners; in the middle of the song, there's a spoken-word reenactment of a slave auction.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_90b330ab	type	No-Respect Guy
1776 (Theatre) / int_90b330ab	comment	The DVD cover also features one-scene-wonder Richard Henry Lee — in fact, one Lee on each side of Jefferson and Martha's embrace, which dominates the cover. Protagonist John Adams does not appear at all, which is either ironic (given that this show helped to raise his profile after being ignored by historians for a couple hundred years) or fitting (given Adams' accurate prediction that history would forget him in favor of Franklin and Washington).
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1776 (Theatre) / int_90e31482	type	Laser-Guided Karma
1776 (Theatre) / int_90e31482	comment	Laser-Guided Karma: Dickinson, the leader of the Tories, begins the play by ganging up on John Adams. In the end, Dickinson stands utterly alone.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_94680696	type	Shaped Like Itself
1776 (Theatre) / int_94680696	comment	Shaped Like Itself is combined with They're Called "Personal Issues" for a Reason: Inverted in the song "Cool, Cool Considerate Men", several verse lead-ins resemble patriotic songs that then change into the song exhorting the desire to protect what they have and not "risk losing". Benjamin Franklin later comments "Those who would give up essential liberties for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
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1776 (Theatre) / int_950329d8	type	Dynamic Entry
1776 (Theatre) / int_950329d8	comment	Dynamic Entry: As it looks like the question of debating independence will be a close vote, Stephen Hopkins from Rhode Island sneaks out "to visit the necessary." He comes back to a 5 to 5 tie (New Jersey absent, and New York having abstained ...courteously). Richard Henry Lee gallops up to the steps of Congress and bursts in through the doors bearing Virginia's proposal for independence.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_950bbfa7	type	Take a Third Option
1776 (Theatre) / int_950bbfa7	comment	Take a Third Option:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_95a4c6df	type	Wild Card
1776 (Theatre) / int_95a4c6df	comment	Wild Card: Lyman Hall, the new delegate from Georgia. Cautiously, he sticks to the party line of the southerners, but overrules them by the end.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_95e5155e	type	I'm Going to Hell for This
1776 (Theatre) / int_95e5155e	comment	I'm Going to Hell for This: Downplayed for laughs when Adams and Franklin go to investigate the situation in New Brunswick:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_97980a6e	type	First Law of Tragicomedies
1776 (Theatre) / int_97980a6e	comment	First Law of Tragicomedies: Played straght, but downplayed by making the transition rather gradual, and including some humor, even if it is a bit dark, all the way through.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_984ef9ef	type	"Not So Different" Remark
1776 (Theatre) / int_984ef9ef	comment	"Not So Different" Remark: When Adams and Bartlett condemn the slave trade, Rutledge reminds them, brutally, that it's northern sailors and businessmen who carry slaves to the South in the first place.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_99ff79ee	type	Heat Wave
1776 (Theatre) / int_99ff79ee	comment	The Heat Wave, and whether or not they should open the windows.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_9dfd7154	type	Fridge Logic
1776 (Theatre) / int_9dfd7154	comment	Fridge Logic: In-universe, when Martha Jefferson explains that she and Tom dance to his violin playing (and uses Franklin to demonstrate), Adams is perplexed and wants to know who is playing the violin.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_a0db7803	type	It's Personal
1776 (Theatre) / int_a0db7803	comment	It's Personal/Papa Wolf: Lewis Morris of New York abstains ("Courteously!" as always) 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!"
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1776 (Theatre) / int_a10d8339	type	The Show Must Go On
1776 (Theatre) / int_a10d8339	comment	The Show Must Go On: Real-life example: Howard da Silva insisted on doing all three of the opening "press" performances right after his heart attack, although he could barely walk.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_a188ac4b	type	Overly Long Gag
1776 (Theatre) / int_a188ac4b	comment	Overly-Long Gag: The cards Hopkins had printed up, of which Franklin wants a dozen — "Dear sir: You are, without any doubt, a rogue, a rascal, a villain, a thief, a scoundrel and a mean, dirty, stinking, sniveling, sneaking, pimping, pocket-picking, thrice double-damned no-good son-of-a-bitch."
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1776 (Theatre) / int_a1b141f4	type	My God, What Have I Done?
1776 (Theatre) / int_a1b141f4	comment	My God, What Have I Done?: When Washington's final missive comes through and the Congress learns that he's preparing to fight the 25,000 strong British army with a force of only 5,000 men, the congressmen are sobered by the knowledge that their committal to the declaration will not only mean their possible deaths, but the certain deaths of many thousands of other men.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_a32c4e5d	type	Chessmaster
1776 (Theatre) / int_a32c4e5d	comment	Chessmaster: Franklin. The director's commentary points out that Franklin is often staged in the background of the big debate scenes, observing.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_a4c37cbe	type	Mood Whiplash
1776 (Theatre) / int_a4c37cbe	comment	Mood Whiplash: After the members of Congress leave for the evening, McNair, his assistant and the Courier are able to relax, enjoy some rum and poke fun at the various delegates...and then when he's asked if he's seen any fighting, the Courier cheerfully says that he saw his two best friends get shot dead on the very same day. Thus begins "Mama, Look Sharp", one of the saddest songs in Broadway history.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_a4c8e609	type	Glad You Thought of It
1776 (Theatre) / int_a4c8e609	comment	Glad You Thought of It: Franklin uses this ploy to make the blustery Richard Henry Lee do his bidding. First, he asks how to get the proposal for independence moving again, and Lee realizes that someone else should make the claim, which Franklin already counted on. The Pennsylvanian then makes a big show of wondering who could possibly have enough power in Virginia to sway the House of Burgesses to draft a resolution on the subject, and an eager Lee declares that he himself is the perfect choice. Quoth Franklin: "Oh, why didn't I think of that?"
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1776 (Theatre) / int_a5096c48	type	Joisey
1776 (Theatre) / int_a5096c48	comment	During one of the dispatches it is announced that Washington's troops are carousing in the "Rar-uh-TAN" River. New Jersians who live not far from said river know it as the "Rar-uh-tin" River.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_a588c1cf	type	Cool Horse
1776 (Theatre) / int_a588c1cf	comment	Cool Horse: Lee's horse, especially during "The Lees of Old Virginia". It begins when Lee remarks "may my horses turn to glue..." — at which point the horse nudges Lee in the chest. And it ends when Lee rides away — because any horse capable of standing still whilst someone runs up behind him (in his blind spot, no less) and leaps onto his back without bucking, rearing, or bolting automatically qualifies for the description. You can see the clip here, with the nudge at 1:05, and the leap onto its back in the final 15 seconds. (Incidentally, Ron Holgate had never so much as sat on a horse prior to filming. It doesn't show.)
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1776 (Theatre) / int_a61fc28e	type	Desperate Plea for Home
1776 (Theatre) / int_a61fc28e	comment	Desperate Plea for Home: In the song "Mama, Look Sharp", a wounded soldier calls for his mother to bring him home so he can die of his injuries there.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_a6cda066	type	Rule of Three
1776 (Theatre) / int_a6cda066	comment	Rule of Three: "I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace, that two are called a law firm, and three or more become a Congress!!" "Law practice down the pipe. Farm mortgaged to the hilt. At a stage when most men prosper, I am reduced to living in Philadelphia." (This could also be considered an example of Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking.)
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1776 (Theatre) / int_a7e47a11	type	Your Approval Fills Me with Shame
1776 (Theatre) / int_a7e47a11	comment	Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Edward Rutledge's "Molasses to Rum to Slaves" number praises the Northern states' commerce of bibles and rum, and their importation of slaves, which makes it possible for Southern landowners to have slaves in the first place. New Hampshire's Josiah Bartlett eventually becomes disgusted by Rutledge's hammy singing of the slave auctioneer's cries, and asks Rutledge to cease.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_a8b5a55e	type	Welcome Episode
1776 (Theatre) / int_a8b5a55e	comment	Welcome Episode: Dr. Lyman Hall's arrival at Congress allows the audience to meet all the remaining (important) members of the cast.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_aca32000	type	Armor-Piercing Response
1776 (Theatre) / int_aca32000	comment	Armor-Piercing Response: As Adams is trying to explain the need for a declaration, one of the other members of Congress asks what its purpose would be. Thomas Jefferson gets up and says, "To place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent." Congress is silent for several seconds after that.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_acf33d00	type	Nice Job Fixing It, Villain
1776 (Theatre) / int_acf33d00	comment	Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: When Judge Wilson (though not really a Villain but definitely an antagonist) gives John Adams and Benjamin Franklin the means to delay the vote on Independence until the Declaration is written by mentioning earlier that they had to "define the nature of the beast."
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1776 (Theatre) / int_ad1db87c	type	Oh, Crap!
1776 (Theatre) / int_ad1db87c	comment	Oh, Crap!: When Rutledge takes the floor, Franklin murmurs to Adams, "Look out." A moment later, he earns this reaction from Jefferson: Jefferson in "But, Mr. Adams" when he realizes he's the only one left to take the quill.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_ae3d6438	type	Deadpan Snarker
1776 (Theatre) / int_ae3d6438	comment	Deadpan Snarker: Mostly Franklin, but Adams and Jefferson get their moments in. Dickinson provides some good Snark-to-Snark Combat.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_b01abe4f	type	Catchphrase
1776 (Theatre) / int_b01abe4f	comment	Catchphrase MacNair: "Suh-weet Jesus!", echoed at least once by Franklin. Adams: "Oh good God" and "Incredible." "Obnoxious and disliked" is both this and a Phrase Catcher for Adams. Morris: "New York abstains, courteously."
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1776 (Theatre) / int_b09c818	type	"Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word
1776 (Theatre) / int_b09c818	comment	"Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: Dickinson takes this stance as his defense when Adams attempts to denounce Dickinson's preservation of personal property:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_b10d7e8e	type	Head-in-the-Sand Management
1776 (Theatre) / int_b10d7e8e	comment	Head-in-the-Sand Management: Adams's frequent insult towards Dickinson and his supporters: that their wealthy lifestyles have made them out-of-touch with the average Americans they represent, and that they drastically underestimate the bad blood that's been stored up by the rebellion.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_b4a6ae4c	type	Everyone Has Standards
1776 (Theatre) / int_b4a6ae4c	comment	Everyone Has Standards: Benjamin Franklin has very little love for his (literal) bastard child William, the Royalist Governor of New Jersey. However, upon hearing that William has been arrested, the very first thing out of Dr. Franklin's mouth is a genuinely concerned question: "Tell me, is he unharmed?" Opposing views or not, that's still his son.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_b53077b3	type	Take That!
1776 (Theatre) / int_b53077b3	comment	Take That!: "I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace, that two are called a law firm, and three or more become a Congress!!" This is never, ever, not relevant. The New York legislature gets it particularly hard. New York only ever abstains ("Courteously!") when called upon to vote, because the New York Legislature had never bothered to give the New York delegation any instructions, as "they all talk very loud, and very fast, and nobody listens to anybody else, with the result that nothing ever gets done." This was just as true in 1972 as it was in 1776, and as any New Yorker will tell you, it's still true today. In the show's Broadway debut, this line got the biggest laugh out of all of them.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_b707726f	type	Hypocritical Humor
1776 (Theatre) / int_b707726f	comment	Hypocritical Humor: Richard Henry Lee's first scene. In the opening number, Lee darts his eyes around and suggests opening a window, and is shouted down. Seeing his position is unpopular with the chorus, he prompt-Lee joins in. When Ben Franklin and John Adams leave Thomas and Martha to have their long-anticipated reunion (Ben was born in Boston and lived there until age 17 when he fled to Philadelphia):
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1776 (Theatre) / int_b99f51b2	type	An Odd Place to Sleep
1776 (Theatre) / int_b99f51b2	comment	An Odd Place to Sleep: After delivering Martha to Thomas Jefferson, Adams imagines talking with his own wife Abigail, falling asleep at the bottom of the stairs to Jefferson's room. He even freshen up the next morning using a nearby rain barrel.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_bc00493f	type	Precision F-Strike
1776 (Theatre) / int_bc00493f	comment	Precision F-Strike: When Morris abstains courteously and the vote on independence is deadlocked:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_bc74ef27	type	Berserk Button
1776 (Theatre) / int_bc74ef27	comment	This becomes a Berserk Button for John Hancock.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_bcc9f4f7	type	Realpolitik
1776 (Theatre) / int_bcc9f4f7	comment	Realpolitik: Why Jefferson's clause about the slavery issue is removed from the Declaration of Independence; yes, it's hypocritical and everyone knows it, but the Southern states have based much of their economy on slavery and the Declaration can't get their support unless the reference to slavery is struck out. When Adams demurs at removing the clause, Franklin, after mentioning his own anti-slavery credentials, gives him a "The Reason You Suck" Speech (see below) about how gaining independence is impossible without compromising their principles.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_bdbfd01c	type	Perfectly Cromulent Word
1776 (Theatre) / int_bdbfd01c	comment	Perfectly Cromulent Word: "Unalienable" versus "inalienable."
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1776 (Theatre) / int_bdffd1cf	type	Alliterative List
1776 (Theatre) / int_bdffd1cf	comment	Alliterative List: When Adams is singing "Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve":
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1776 (Theatre) / int_bec0417c	type	Happily Married
1776 (Theatre) / int_bec0417c	comment	Happily Married: John and Abigail Adams, Thomas and Martha Jefferson. Both of them, incidentally, are Truth in Television. The Adamses, in particular, were desperately in love with each other both before and during all fifty-four years of their marriage, and wrote some of the spiciest love letters known to history during their long separations. The title of "Yours, Yours, Yours" was lifted directly from several of John's letters to Abigail, and whole passages from those letters (including "write to me with sentimental effusion") were taken almost intact from their letters as well. If anything, the musical slightly underplays the depths of trust, love, and affection between them. Sadly, despite how much in love they were, Jefferson and his wife didn't have nearly as much time together, as Martha died tragically young. (The Martha Jefferson listed as Jefferson's First Lady is actually his daughter.) Jefferson never remarried, and continued to mourn his wife for the rest of his life.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_c132c0c5	type	I Have No Son!
1776 (Theatre) / int_c132c0c5	comment	I Have No Son!: "Son? What son?", says Franklin when he's asked about his son William, the royal governor of New Jersey, and when he learns William's been captured, the first words out of his mouth (once he's sure his son is unharmed) are a delighted inquiry about why exactly the Continental Army has arrested "the little bastard." In Real Life, Franklin met his son only once in the last 15 years of his life after William came out for Britain—and William was a bastard in the sense of his parents being unmarried.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_c2299d6e	type	Cutting the Knot
1776 (Theatre) / int_c2299d6e	comment	Cutting the Knot: Franklin asking that the Pennsylvania delegation be polled. That leaves Wilson as the swing vote. He instantly buckles and votes with the majority.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_c2d40139	type	Girls Like Musicians
1776 (Theatre) / int_c2d40139	comment	Girls Like Musicians: "He Plays the Violin" explains how soft-spoken Thomas Jefferson managed to win over his beloved wife.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_c4286511	type	For Doom the Bell Tolls
1776 (Theatre) / int_c4286511	comment	For Doom the Bell Tolls: The eerie bell-ringing that accompanies the signing and final tableau. The delegates are signing a document that they know could hang them for treason.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_c6078997	type	New England Puritan
1776 (Theatre) / int_c6078997	comment	New England Puritan: John Adams is viewed as this by his peers. Specifically, his seen as moralistic for his unwavering stance on independence and later defending the anti-slavery clause in the declaration.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_c75df49a	type	Shout-Out
1776 (Theatre) / int_c75df49a	comment	Shout-Out: In-universe, Jefferson has one for Thomas Paine in his reason to have a declaration, "To place before mankind the Common Sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent". An odd one, in the opening credits drum section, right after "Presented by Columbia Pictures": a quote of the drum sequence opening to 20th Century Fox.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_c809bb38	type	Song of Prayer
1776 (Theatre) / int_c809bb38	comment	Song of Prayer: After storming out of Congress following "Sit Down, John", Adams pauses outside and begins singing/complaining to God about Congress, how they do nothing and if the Lord is going to put a curse on them, couldn't it be something more tolerable? Like a cataclysmic earthquake?
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1776 (Theatre) / int_c9597a03	type	Self-Deprecation
1776 (Theatre) / int_c9597a03	comment	"I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace, that two are called a law firm, and three or more become a Congress!!" This is never, ever, not relevant.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_ca03acbc	type	Freudian Slippery Slope
1776 (Theatre) / int_ca03acbc	comment	Freudian Slippery Slope: Adams introducing himself to a post-coital Mrs. Jefferson.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_ca85e684	type	Power Trio
1776 (Theatre) / int_ca85e684	comment	Power Trio: Adams as id, Franklin as superego, Jefferson as ego.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_cb7fda55	type	Minor Character, Major Song
1776 (Theatre) / int_cb7fda55	comment	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 in "The Lees of Old Virginia." "Mama, Look Sharp", sung by an unnamed character who barely — if ever — so much as speaks through the rest of the play, and yet is one of the most gut-wrenching songs ever performed on stage. Martha Jefferson's "He Plays the Violin". Martha is the only character in the musical to only appear in one scene, but she refuses to be forgotten.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_cbdd9a55	type	We ARE Struggling Together
1776 (Theatre) / int_cbdd9a55	comment	We ARE Struggling Together: One of the big, big takeaways from the play is that independence was a Foregone Conclusion only in the hindsight of history. Moreover, the victory of the independence movement was built on a lot of backroom dealing and hustling. And what's more, the new nation's ability to back the Declaration was and would remain in serious question for at least half a decade.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_cbe32f62	type	Decided by One Vote
1776 (Theatre) / int_cbe32f62	comment	Decided by One Vote: Even within the context of unanimity. James Wilson of Pennsylvania must break the tie between pro-independence delegate Franklin and anti-independence delegate Dickinson. Guess which way he votes ... Played with in the case of New York's Lewis Morris: by frequently abstaining courteously, his abstinence gives John Hancock tie-breaking power, and he usually makes favorable decisions. Otherwise, some decisions might have been defeated if Morris had voted nay.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_cc107e3b	type	Introdump
1776 (Theatre) / int_cc107e3b	comment	Intro Dump: After John and Abigail Adams, Franklin, and Richard Henry Lee are introduced in the opening scenes, the arrival of Dr. Lyman Hall of Georgia provides an opportunity to introduce most everyone else in Congress to both Hall and the audience.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_cc28f3bf	type	Not That Kind of Doctor
1776 (Theatre) / int_cc28f3bf	comment	Not That Kind of Doctor: Averted with Bartlett (though it's not touched on at all), as well as Hall. When asked if his doctorate was in medicine or theology, Hall cheerfully answers that it's actually both and asks Rodney which may be of service to him. Played straight with Franklin, though, whose doctorate is an honorary one.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_ce515b47	type	Musical World Hypotheses
1776 (Theatre) / int_ce515b47	comment	Musical World Hypotheses: Largely Alternate Universe, if John Adams yelling at his fellow committee members to stop singing But Mr. Adams and getting embarrassed when Lyman Hall catches him singing Is Anybody There? are to be considered, but Adams' duets with Abigail are a clear case of All In Their Heads, being Adams' Imagine Spot of his correspondence with his wife back in Braintree.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_ceabe589	type	Incoming Ham
1776 (Theatre) / int_ceabe589	comment	Incoming Ham: Richard Henry Lee.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_d1e7f24a	type	Big "SHUT UP!"
1776 (Theatre) / int_d1e7f24a	comment	Big "SHUT UP!": The opening number, "Sit Down, John," is this in song form. It even ends with one man crying "Will someone shut that man up?" Adams, to Franklin, Livingston, and Sherman after Adams chooses Jefferson to write the Declaration, at the end of "But Mr. Adams."
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1776 (Theatre) / int_d2ccb43e	type	Delicious Distraction
1776 (Theatre) / int_d2ccb43e	comment	Delicious Distraction: In the 1972 film adaptation, when Adams is addressing Chase:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_d39e327f	type	What the Hell, Hero?
1776 (Theatre) / int_d39e327f	comment	What the Hell, Hero?: All the damn time to Adams. And he always deserves it, too. Even long-suffering Franklin gets tired of Adams' holier-than-thou antics when he crosses the line and impugns Franklin's anti-slavery "credentials". Kindly light-hearted old Ben lets him have it with both barrels: "Molasses to Rum" is this for the entire North, noting that despite opposing the issue of slavery, northerners participate in and support the slave trade at all levels.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_d442f9d1	type	ToiletHumor
1776 (Theatre) / int_d442f9d1	comment	Toilet Humor: "Rhode Island passes"; also the "calling an ox a bull" exchange.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_d4689f3	type	Sarcasm Failure
1776 (Theatre) / int_d4689f3	comment	Sarcasm Failure: At the beginning:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_d52d28b6	type	Hypocrite
1776 (Theatre) / int_d52d28b6	comment	Hypocrite: When Adams objects to slavery as being an offense against God and man in in the service of "filthy purse strings", Rutledge points out how the northern colonists have profited considerably from importing slaves into the American colonies despite not owning any themselves:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_d5a1770a	type	British Stuffiness
1776 (Theatre) / int_d5a1770a	comment	British Stuffiness: John Adams demonstrated something akin to this, reflecting the Puritan ethos imported with the original Plymouth settlers that reigned supreme in Massachusetts in his day and for a long time thereafter. For example, he prudishly expresses astonishment that Mister and Mrs. Jefferson would conjugate at an improper time of day.note Ironic considering that Adams and his wife were deeply in love and hot for one another.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_d5f31c75	type	Rabble Rouser
1776 (Theatre) / int_d5f31c75	comment	Rabble Rouser: Adams is not one, but Dickinson tries to portray him as one in his efforts to turn the congress against independence.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_d6042336	type	Lower-Deck Episode
1776 (Theatre) / int_d6042336	comment	Lower-Deck Episode: The Lower Deck Scene where MacNair, his assistant and the courier sit in the chamber by themselves and snark about Congress just before the courier's song, "Mama, Look Sharp".
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1776 (Theatre) / int_d7fc9fd0	type	Vitriolic Best Buds
1776 (Theatre) / int_d7fc9fd0	comment	Vitriolic Best Buds: Franklin is as embarrassed by John's blowhard attitude as everybody else in Congress, but does his level best to save Adams's bacon whenever he can. Adams is put off by Franklin's libertine lifestyle even as he recognizes Franklin to be the brain trust of his revolution, a harsh truth which diminishes his own contributions; in a droll scene, he predicts Franklin will wind up taking credit for the whole thing. But, at the end of the day, their constant sniping is generally affectionate, and the two men manage to cooperate and collude enough to get the Declaration made and signed. Adams and Jefferson. Adams is loud, demanding, and abrasive to Jefferson, while Jefferson quietly snarks back when they're in private. But Jefferson smoothly saves the floundering Adams by providing the justification for the Declaration, even winking to let him know he's got this, and Adams is sympathetic enough to him to send for his wife when he can't go home to visit her. The historical Adams and Jefferson were close friends up until their presidencies, when their political differences got too bitter, but they eventually reconciled. Adams' last words, spoken the evening of his death in Quincy, MA on July 4, 1826, were reported to be "Thomas Jefferson survives" — unaware that Jefferson had died earlier that same day at Monticello in Virginia.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_dc9b1fe9	type	Cue the Sun
1776 (Theatre) / int_dc9b1fe9	comment	Cue the Sun: In his song, Dickinson delights that it happens anytime Adams is gone.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_dcbe8a6e	type	Chekhov's Gunman
1776 (Theatre) / int_dcbe8a6e	comment	Chekhov's Gunman: James Wilson is far from the protagonist, mainly providing comic relief as Dickinson's toady — until he has to cast the deciding vote on independence at the show's climax.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_dd6ce5db	type	Artistic License
1776 (Theatre) / int_dd6ce5db	comment	Artistic License: Since they didn't have transcripts of the actual events beyond the basic parliamentary records of Congressional activity, putting all the notes and diaries into a narrative required this. Many historical figures were dropped from the production, as the entire complement of the Congress would have been too unwieldy for Broadway (particularly as some, like John Adams' firebrand cousin Samuel, would have been crying out for a signature scene or song). Of the 65 delegates in the actual Congress, only 30-35 are ever shown. The debate over American Independence did not boil down to an argument over the phrasing of the Declaration and whether slavery ought to be condemned, as it more or less does in the movie. While the wording of the Declaration was debated, Congress had, in a surprisingly lucid moment, decided to vote on the issue first and argue the wording of the document after the fact, i.e. Congress had already voted in favor of independence before making changes to the Declaration.note The Lee Resolution for independence, the vote that mattered, was on July 2. John Adams later incorrectly anticipated the United States celebrating July 2 as Independence Day. The fictionalized debate did serve to make the musical more politically correct by modern standards, and more dramatic since it added an element of "what are you willing to compromise?" to the mix. And it set up one of the musical's most profound comments on American Politics, Franklin's "Whether you like it or not, John, these men will become part of the country you hope to create" (a very, very significant line in this era where phrases like "un-American" are used so frequently in political debate). Still, historically speaking, slavery was not in any way the point on which the issue of independence hinged. It probably could have been, but the Revolutionary leaders, as a whole and by silent agreement, passed the buck for the next generation to deal with.note Prophetically, Adams wrote in a letter that the Slavery Issue would tear the country apart in a century. As admitted in the DVD Commentary, Martha Jefferson never visited her husband in Philadelphia. There was no vote mandating that a motion for independence had to be unanimous ... but, as Hancock acknowledges in the play, there was an understanding that acting on anything less than unanimity risked a fatal split in the colonies. Thomas McKean was born in Pennsylvania to parents who emigrated from Ireland as children. He may have been an Ulster Scot by descent, but it's highly doubtful that he had such a prrronounced accent. (As it happens, Pennsylvania delegate James Wilson did have a pronounced Scottish accent — he was born in Carskerdo, Scotland — but is here portrayed as mostly Overshadowed by Awesome compared to his colleagues Ben Franklin and John Dickinson.) Richard Henry Lee gets elected governor of Virginia and leaves for good after his short time in the show. This never happened in real life, but it was a necessity because his comedic nature would have heavily undercut the show's drama, so they had to get him out to keep the tension intact. Some productions have Lee return for the ending to sign the Declaration as he did in real life, but they keep him in the back so that he doesn't overshadow the event.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_e16217f8	type	Historical Villain Upgrade
1776 (Theatre) / int_e16217f8	comment	Historical Villain Upgrade: Mostly averted. Rutledge and Read do come around, and while Dickinson does not sign the Declaration, he still joins the American army and is given a standing ovation when he leaves Congress. However, Dickinson is changed from a reasonable moderate to a conservative hardliner specifically to serve as the major antagonist of the piece. The real Dickinson served with distinction and returned to play a key role in the Constitutional Convention. If approached from the real Adams' point of view, this Rutledge is definitely upgraded. Adams thought Rutledge was a waste of political space ("jejune, inane, and puerile," among other things); likewise, he thought Dickinson was "very modest, delicate, and timid" — quite a difference from the political steamroller in the play/movie. He was much more impressed by Richard Henry Lee (whom the stage/movie version of Adams apparently considers an idiotic blowhard).
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1776 (Theatre) / int_e35ab565	type	Indy Ploy
1776 (Theatre) / int_e35ab565	comment	Indy Ploy: The entire struggle for a motion on independence. (Note especially that Adams makes up the whole concept of a declaration of independence purely to stall for time.)
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1776 (Theatre) / int_e4965307	type	Composite Character
1776 (Theatre) / int_e4965307	comment	Composite Character: The John Adams in this musical is something of an amalgam of the real John Adams and his cousin, Samuel Adams.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_e563bf09	type	Insistent Terminology
1776 (Theatre) / int_e563bf09	comment	Morris: "New York abstains, courteously."
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1776 (Theatre) / int_e7cb46d3	type	Satellite Character
1776 (Theatre) / int_e7cb46d3	comment	The delegates from Connecticut and New Hampshire have a decent number of lines, but are mainly Satellite Characters who rarely if ever talk about their states.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_e7e558	type	The Oner
1776 (Theatre) / int_e7e558	comment	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. Look for it when Adams stops to adjust his jacket.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_e83f211c	type	O.O.C. Is Serious Business
1776 (Theatre) / int_e83f211c	comment	O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Benjamin Franklin usually maintains a somewhat-facile demeanor of a jocular, randy older gentleman. It's when he drops the act and becomes earnest is when all stop to listen. Emphasized when, in debate with Dickinson, Franklin passionately describes the new people Americans have become and how they need a new nation: Dickinson, for once, is rendered momentarily speechless. And then, of course, there’s “The issue here is independence!” About that same time (the low point for the Independence supporters)... This being the same John Hancock who briefly suspended Hopkins' rum privileges for abuse of them, a bostonian no less proper than John Adams himself
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1776 (Theatre) / int_eb0df85e	type	Ham-to-Ham Combat
1776 (Theatre) / int_eb0df85e	comment	Ham-to-Ham Combat: The exchange of wits where Franklin complains about the noise Dickinson is making. The heated exchange when Dickinson and Adams resort to exchanging insults.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_eb81c601	type	Big Damn Heroes
1776 (Theatre) / int_eb81c601	comment	Big Damn Heroes: Reverend John Witherspoon's arrival in Congress before the resolution on independence is struck down, a somewhat understated one since (despite the stakes) it's a lighthearted scene. Caesar Rodney riding eighty miles in failing health to show up just in time for the vote (a real event, famous enough that it's on the Delaware quarter). Abigail's saltpeter arriving after the Southern walkout, renewing Adams' determination.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_eba6a077	type	Cain and Abel
1776 (Theatre) / int_eba6a077	comment	Though Dickinson's insistence that the vote should be unanimous is portrayed as another tactic to kill the bid for independence, Hancock agrees with him and casts the tiebreaker vote in favor of unanimity. He explains this is because to do otherwise would force the loyalist states to fight the independent ones, putting the new nation on a foundation of fratricide and immediately branding the new nation with "the Mark of Cain."
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1776 (Theatre) / int_ee7a60e9	type	One-Steve Limit
1776 (Theatre) / int_ee7a60e9	comment	One-Steve Limit: Very much averted; three of the five biggest characters (Adams, Dickinson, and Hancock) are all named John; plus, there's Jonathan Witherspoon. Also, we have two Thomases (Jefferson and McKean), and, if we're counting The Ghost, two Georges (Washington and Read). Played somewhat straight, however, since the men use their last names most of the time.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_eea09b27	type	Political Correctness Is Evil
1776 (Theatre) / int_eea09b27	comment	Political Correctness Is Evil: A clear demonstration that this attitude has been a part of American culture for longer than American culture has been American. Jefferson is eventually obliged to remove all mention of a war, the British parliament, and, more dramatically, slavery. He does draw the line at not calling the king a tyrant. The entire Congress's threshold snaps in a very different place, when a North Carolina delegate objects that nowhere in Mr. Jefferson's declaration does he mentions deep-sea fishing rights. John Adams even lampshades this:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_f0c4ce7d	type	The Lost Lenore
1776 (Theatre) / int_f0c4ce7d	comment	Sadly, despite how much in love they were, Jefferson and his wife didn't have nearly as much time together, as Martha died tragically young. (The Martha Jefferson listed as Jefferson's First Lady is actually his daughter.) Jefferson never remarried, and continued to mourn his wife for the rest of his life.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_f16f631d	type	Crowd Song
1776 (Theatre) / int_f16f631d	comment	Crowd Song: No one in Congress likes John Adams, apparently. "Sit down, John!" (He is obnoxious and disliked, though.)
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1776 (Theatre) / int_f1d6144a	type	War Is Hell
1776 (Theatre) / int_f1d6144a	comment	War Is Hell: "Mama, Look Sharp." A young militiaman, not even a soldier, dies alone and calling for his mother. Thomson, who has been unfailingly dull throughout the story, chokes back tears when reading Washington's lament over sending so many boys to their deaths.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_f25493f4	type	Nothing Exciting Ever Happens Here
1776 (Theatre) / int_f25493f4	comment	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. This is probably historically accurate. The appearance of a fire wagon attracted children and adults to the loud noises and interest in which building had caught fire.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_f2c895f	type	Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters
1776 (Theatre) / int_f2c895f	comment	Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: Discussed quite a bit. Dickinson claims that it's always Boston starting the troublenote and to be fair, they could get pretty nasty and views independence as a road to anarchy and mob rule, while he prefers to reconcile with Mother England. Franklin also provides a couple of pithy quotes:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_f432c6bf	type	Glad I Thought of It
1776 (Theatre) / int_f432c6bf	comment	Glad I Thought of It: Played for Laughs. Adams is happy to take the credit for the Declaration and uses this trope as why:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_f46fb603	type	Pungeon Master
1776 (Theatre) / int_f46fb603	comment	Pungeon Master: Lee using his name in place of "-ly." He does it extensive-Lee!
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1776 (Theatre) / int_f4d8befd	type	Tableau
1776 (Theatre) / int_f4d8befd	comment	Tableau: The final moments of the film — and the play — reproduce this painting◊.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_f6004e3e	type	HollywoodNight
1776 (Theatre) / int_f6004e3e	comment	Hollywood Night: Both averted and not. The "Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve" number is clearly shot at night in front of the Independence Hall facade, but the later duet where John and Abigail walk across their farm at "night" is obviously a blue-filtered daytime shot. Then again, it is an imaginary/dream sequence, and the filter use may have been an intentional stylistic decision to emphasize that.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_f765e2d3	type	Dying Alone
1776 (Theatre) / int_f765e2d3	comment	Dying Alone: "Mama, Look Sharp!" is sung from the perspective of a young militiaman who dies before his mother finds him.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_f8a4527f	type	Sitting on the Roof
1776 (Theatre) / int_f8a4527f	comment	Sitting on the Roof: John Adams can be found in the bell steeple whenever he's most upset.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_f91d1d4f	type	Darkest Hour
1776 (Theatre) / int_f91d1d4f	comment	Darkest Hour: This musical does not end on the triumphant note you'd expect. The British have landed at New York, the newly formed U.S. of A. is facing the British Royal Navy at a time when it was the biggest, best, most dominant navy in the world, over a quarter of the colonists are on the British side, and every man in that room is at risk of being hanged for treason. Nobody expected to win that war. For Doom the Bell Tolls indeed...
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1776 (Theatre) / int_f9f2c33	type	Running Gag
1776 (Theatre) / int_f9f2c33	comment	Running Gag: Several, with different scopes: John Adam's being obnoxious and disliked being the most obvious — and, like many of the others, historically accurate. Thomson's repeated interruptions. Benjamin Franklin invented the stove. The musical makes sure we know it. The Heat Wave, and whether or not they should open the windows. "Saltpeter!"/"Pins!" 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 (because it's stuck somewhere between New York and Pennsylvania) Hopkins and the rum gags, hollering out for MacNair to fetch him something. John Hancock joins in once. "... Except for Ben Franklin." Every letter from the army is from your obedient — drumroll — G. Washington. Subverted by James Wilson of Pennsylvania, who, in an attempt to keep the Congress from ignoring him, keeps seconding fellow Pennsylvanian John Dickinson's motions even though each delegation only has one vote. Until the moment he breaks with Dickinson to cast the deciding vote on independence in a poll of the Pennsylvania delegation. Franklin deliberately points out that now all eyes are on him, "every mapmaker in the world is waiting for your decision," and he can't bring himself to agree with Dickinson and go down in history as the man who prevented American independence. Richard Henry Lee's addiction to adverbs. He uses them constant-LEE! John Hancock's flyswatter.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_fc151e9d	type	Department of Redundancy Department
1776 (Theatre) / int_fc151e9d	comment	Department of Redundancy Department: The several committees in a "A committee formed to address (subject), designated as the (subject) committee format:
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1776 (Theatre) / int_fcd9b657	type	Gallows Humor
1776 (Theatre) / int_fcd9b657	comment	Gallows Humor: The Congress engages in a bit of quite literal gallows humor before signing the Declaration and thereby committing treason against the English crown, for which they very well could end up on a gallows. Shown Their Work: In real life, Franklin did indeed say something like the words attributed to him during the actual signing of the Declaration. McKean's joke about hanging faster than Read is paraphrased from a quote by Declaration signer Benjamin Harrison. note Father of 30-day president William Henry Harrison and great-grandfather of his namesake, President Benjamin Harrison. Caesar Rodney indulges a bit earlier when he asks if Lyman Hall's doctorate is in medicine or theology.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_ff9e9596	type	DVD Commentary
1776 (Theatre) / int_ff9e9596	comment	In the DVD Commentary recorded many, many years later, the play's writer revealed that he originally intended Adams to note that if they leave in the slavery clause, war would break out in about a century, in yet another example of lifting dialogue directly from the founders' writings. He used only the second half of the quote, "posterity will never forgive us," because he was afraid people would think it was him speaking in hindsight, rather than an actual historic observation by (Sam) Adams.
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1776 (Theatre) / int_ffad4e9f	type	Shown Their Work
1776 (Theatre) / int_ffad4e9f	comment	Shown Their Work: A book on the play notes what parts were accurate, what parts were left out, and what parts were admittedly fudged for the sake of the narrative. Considering how much of this they actually got right, this musical remains the Trope Codifier for stage-based Historical Fiction - most of what we see is accurate, even if there are a few uses of Artistic License – History for the sake of drama. In a more minor example, when the delegates rush outside to see where the fire wagon is going, one speculates that the City Tavern might be on fire (much to Stephen Hopkins's consternation). This was a real establishment in Philadelphia with that exact name (it is not a reference to a generic "city tavern") and was located in the direction that everyone is looking - four blocks east and a block south of Independence Hall. "Cool, Considerate Men" was a phrase used by Caesar Rodney at the time to describe Dickinson and the conservative faction.
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1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Big "SHUT UP!" / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Blood on the Debate Floor / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Break Them by Talking / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Breakthrough Hit / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Burning the Ships / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Calm Before the Storm / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Cerebus Syndrome / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Chekhov's Gunman / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Crowd Song / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Curtain Call / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Darkest Hour / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	David Versus Goliath / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Dawson Casting / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Decided by One Vote / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Deliberate Values Dissonance / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Delicious Distraction / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Delivery Stork / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Democracy Is Flawed / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Desperate Plea for Home / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Divided We Fall / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Doves Mean Peace / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Drum Roll, Please / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	During the War / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Dying Alone / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Eagleland / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Egocentrically Religious / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Estrogen Brigade / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Evil Lawyer Joke / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Externally Validated Prophecy / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Fatal Flaw / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	First Law of Tragicomedies / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Flynning / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	For Doom the Bell Tolls / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Freakier Than Fiction / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Future Imperfect / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Gallows Humor / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Gentleman Snarker / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Girls Like Musicians / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Glad I Thought of It / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Glad You Thought of It / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Got Volunteered / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Government Procedural / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Grammar Correction Gag / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Grammar Nazi / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Gratuitous Latin / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Happily Married / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Heat Wave / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Historical Downgrade / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Historical Hero Upgrade / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Hot Potato / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	"I Am" Song / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	I Have No Son! / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	I Need a Freaking Drink / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	I Take Offense to That Last One / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	I Want My Mommy! / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Incoming Ham / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Indy Ploy / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Insufferable Genius / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	It's Personal / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Ivy League for Everyone / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Jerkass Has a Point / int_3840524e
JohnAdams	seeAlso	1776 (Theatre)
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Joisey / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Letting the Air out of the Band / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Love Letter / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Lower-Deck Episode / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Make-Out Kids / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Mathematician's Answer / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Midword Rhyme / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Minor Character, Major Song / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Mister X and Mister Y / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Musical World Hypotheses / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Musicalis Interruptus / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Naval Blockade / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Neutral No Longer / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	New England Puritan / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	No Hero to His Valet / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	NO INDOOR VOICE / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Noble Bird of Prey / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Not-So-Omniscient Council of Bickering / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Not That Kind of Doctor / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Oh, Crap! / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	One-Liner, Name... One-Liner / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	One-Steve Limit / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Original Cast Precedent / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Original Position Fallacy / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Our Acts Are Different / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Overly Narrow Superlative / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Patriotic Fervor / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Phrase Catcher / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Picture-Perfect Presentation / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Place Worse Than Death / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Pungeon Master / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Quarreling Song / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Quoting Myself / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Ragtag Bunch of Misfits / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Reality Is Unrealistic / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Reasonable Authority Figure / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Sarcasm-Blind / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Sarcasm Failure / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Screw the War, We're Partying / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Shouting Free-for-All / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Show Stopper / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Shut Up, Kirk! / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Signature Scent / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Silence, You Fool! / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Simple Solution Won't Work / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Sitting on the Roof / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Slave Market / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Smart People Know Latin / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Smite Me, O Mighty Smiter / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Song of Prayer / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Sour Supporter / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Southern Gentleman / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Suddenly Shouting / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Surrounded by Idiots / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Sympathetic Slave Owner / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Take a Third Option / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Tall Is Intimidating / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	The '60s / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	The Big Board / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	The Ditherer / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	The Eeyore / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	The McCoy / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	The Oner / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	The Pete Best / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	The Show Must Go On / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	The Vicar / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Title by Year / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Toilet Humour / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Token Enemy Minority / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Very Loosely Based on a True Story / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Villain Has a Point / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Villainy-Free Villain / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Volleying Insults / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	We ARE Struggling Together / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Welcome Episode / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	World of Ham / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Worthy Opponent / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Writer's Block / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Writer's Block Montage / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Yes-Man / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	You Make Me Sic / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	You Need to Get Laid / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	You Said You Couldn't Dance / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Your Little Dismissive Diminutive / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Audience Monologue / int_3840524e
1776 (Theatre)	hasFeature	Sickeningly Sweethearts / int_3840524e
seventeenseventysix	sameAs	1776 (Theatre)

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