When the Declaration of Independence was debated, women and persons of color were the last things on nearly all of the signers’ minds.
The national tour of 1776 on its way to Theatre Under the Stars seeks to rectify that. There are no males in the cast, white or otherwise.
“We are all female-identifying, non-binary and trans and non-gender-conforming artists playing these roles,” says Liz Mikel (last seen at TUTS in Spring Awakening). And before anyone hurries to say this is copycat Hamilton, Mikel points out that 1776 opened in 1969 and won a Tony Award for Best Musical then — albeit with an all white cast of all men with the exception of two women (Martha Jefferson and Abigail Adams). It began as a protest musical against the Vietnam War and was later made into a movie.
The two-act musical was revived in 2022 by directors Jeffrey L. Page and Diane Paulus (Waitress) and it was Paulus, according to Mikel, who decided in 2018 the cast should look more like the America of today. “She wanted to do a reimagining of the Founding Fathers and to make the Founding Fathers look like America today and really hone in on the fact that people who looked like the people she cast on the show would not have been even considered in the room when the Declaration was signed or when those decisions were made in Continental Congress, Mikel said.
This is the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University/Roundabout Theatre Company’s new production which has received accolades across the country. “The text is the same; the music is the same with some enhancement for music theater sensibilities in 2023, they just added some extra bells and whistles to fill out those beautiful tones from what you would haveheard in 1969,”Mikel said.
Mikel, a Texas native who was with the Dallas Theatre Company for 30 years, was in the Broadway production where she played John Hancock, but before that was over, the producers came to her and asked her to understudy the Ben Franklin role as well.
“When we got to rehearsals last year I was informed then I would also take on on the understudy role of Benjamin Franklin. I was very nervous. I’ve always been able to create a role and really put my own stamp on it but I’ve never had to come in behind someone else when they put their stamp on it and try to walk in their shoes so to speak.”
As it turned out, it all worked out for Mikel.
“Ultimately the lady who played that role on Broadway decided not to come on tour. It was a perfect opportunity for me to take this role on. As John Hancock I really didn’t get to sing and dance as much in this musical. Because I do a lot of musical theater I was missing that. When I got the role of Ben Franklin I got that opportunity.”
Originally Mikel wanted to be a ballet dancer, taking any number of lessons over the years. But after a while at Texas Southern University she changed her major from dance to theater.
Describing her character, Mikel said: “Wise, a little grumpy a little sleepy, and full of one line quips. He has a lot of wisdom but he also has a lot of humor.”
As for her all-ages audiences, Mikel said: ” I want them to lean into the history and the words and not get caught up in the bodies on the stage.
“We had an audience full of junior high kids. They were excited because history came to life for them — these people they have read about in books. They came to life and they don’t get hung up that we are not males or white males on the stage. We are humans being humans on that stage and that’s what draws them into the story.”
Performances are scheduled for July 20-22 at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday at the Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For more information, call 713- or visit tuts.com. $40-$135.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
