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Facing the challenges of creating a nation in the face of what Franklin suggests are almost insurmountable odds, dealing with slavery, states' rights, financial uncertainty, an army in retreat, Adams, Jefferson and Franklin work their miracle and re-make world history. It is suspenseful, funny and marvelously exciting - you know the outcome and yet there are constant surprises along the way. Opened 3/16/1969 Ran for 1217 performances.           Version:     Broadway Version       Credits:     Book by Peter Stone Music by Sherman Edwards Lyrics by Sherman Edward       Type:     Book Show       Acts:     One       Rating:     G       Cast Size:     Large (over 20)       Orchestra Size:     Medium (12-17)       Chorus Required:     No      Dancing Required:     Yes, but minimal/optional      Difficulty:     Easy to learn Easy to sing       Style:     Broadway Americana       Category:     Drama Historical Period Piece       Ideal For:     Colleges Community Theatres Concerts Families Festivals Fund-Raising High Schools Regional Theatres Intimate Spaces       Cast Size:     Large (over 20)           25 Men & Women       Casting Notes:     Predominantly men Star vehicle - male      Characters:     John Adams, driven, dynamic, stubborn Abigail, Adams' devoted, practical wife Thomas Jefferson, handsome young delegate Martha, Jefferson's romantic young wife Benjamin Franklin, wry, whimsical sage Richard Henry Lee a Virginia dandy Edward Rutledge, imposing South Carolinan dissenter John Dickinson, Adams' main rival in Congress - leader of the cool, conservative men Roger Sherman, another delegate, a simple man Robert Livingston, cautious New York delegate John Hancock, cautious president of the Congress A young, war-shocked Courier (who sings Momma Look Sharp") Caesar Rodney, a decrepit, cancer-ridden delegate, a decent man Andrew McNair, the straggling custodian/ secretary "      Special Requirements:     This is essentially a one-set show. It is also a costume piece - it demands a full array of late 18th century costumes for men of wealth.      1776 Book by Peter Stone Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards   1.Overture   2.Sit Down, John   3.Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve   4.Till Then   5.The Lees of Old Virginia   6.But Mr. Adams   7.Yours, Yours, Yours   8.He Plays The Violin   9.Cool, Cool Considerate Men  10.Momma, Look Sharp  11.The Egg  12.Molasses To Rum  13.Yours, Yours, Yours (Reprise)  14.Is Anybody There?  15.Finale 1.Overture   2.Sit Down, John      Congress:    Sit down, John! Sit down, John!    For God's sake, John, sit down!    Sit down, John! Sit down, John!    For God's sake, John, sit down!    Someone oughta open up a window!    It's ninety degrees! Have mercy, John, please    It's hot as hell in Philadephia!    Someone oughta open up a window!    Adams:    I say vote yes! Vote yes! Vote for independency!    Congress:    Someone oughta open up a window!    Adams:    I say vote yes!    Congress:    Sit down, John!    Adams:    Vote for independency!    Congress:    Someone oughta open up a window!    No, no, no! Too many flies! Too many flies!    But it's hot as hell in Philadelphia!    Someone oughta open up a window!    Can't we compromise here?    Adams:    Vote yes!    Congress:    No, too many flies here!    Adams:    Vote yes!    Congress:    Oh for God's sake, John, sit down!    Adams:    Oh, good God! Consider yourself lucky that you have John Adams to abuse, for no sane man    would tolerate it!    Congress:    John, you're a bore; we've heard this before    Now for God's sake, John, sit down!    Adams:    I say vote yes!    Congress:    No!    Adams:    Vote yes!    Congress:    No!    Adams:    Vote for independency!    Congress:    Someone oughta open up a window!    Adams:    I say vote yes!    Congress:    Sit down, John!    Congress:    Vote for independency!    Congress:    Will someone shut that man up?    Adams:    Never! 3.Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve      Adams:    I do believe you've laid a curse on North America    A curse that we now here rehearse in Philadelphia    A second flood, a simple famine    Plagues of locusts everywhere    Or a cataclysmic earthquake    I'd accept with some despair    But, no, you sent us Congress.    Good God, sir, was that fair?    I say it with humility in Philadelphia    We're your responsibility in Philadephia    If you don't want to see us hanging    From some far-off British hill    If you don't want the voice of independency    Forever still    Then God, sir, get thee to it    For Congress never will    You see, we piddle, twiddle, and resolve    Not one damn thing do we solve    Piddle, twiddle, and resolve    Nothing's ever solved in    Foul, fetid, fuming, foggy, filthy    Philadephia!    They may sit here for years and years in Philadelphia.    These indecisive grenadiers of Philadelphia.    They can't agree on what is right and wrong    Or what is good or bad; I'm convinced    The only purpose this Congress ever had    Was to gather here specifically    To drive John Adams mad!    You see, we piddle, twiddle, and resolve    Not one damn thing do we solve    Piddle, twiddle, and resolve    Nothing's ever solved in    Foul, fetid, fuming, foggy, filthy    Philadephia!    Congress:    Someone oughta open up a window!    Adams:    Oh good God!    Abigail:    John, John, is that you carrying on, John?    Just tell the Congress to declare independency    Then sign your name, get out of there and    Hurry home to me    Our children all have dysentery    Little Tom keeps turning blue    Little Abbey has the measles    And I'm coming down with flu    They say we may get smallpox    Adams:    Madam, what else is new?    Abigail:    There's one thing every woman's missed in    Massachusetts Bay    Don't smirk at me, you egotist; pay    Heed to what I say    We've gone from Framingham to Boston    And we cannot find a pin    "Don't you know there's a war on?"    Say the tradesmen with a grin    Well, we will not make saltpeter    Until you send us pins!    Both:    Till then, till then    I am as I ever was and ever shall be    Yours, yours, yours, yours, yours    Adams:    Saltpeter, John    Abigail:    Pins, Abigail    Congress:    For God's sake, John, sit down 4.Till Then      NOT AVAILABLE! 5.The Lees of Old Virginia      Lee:    My name is Richard Henry Lee; Virginia is my home    My name is Richard Henry Lee; Virginia is my home    And my horses turn to glue if I can't deliver    Unto you a resolution on independency!    For I am FFV, the first family    In the sovereign colony of Virginia    Yes I am FFV, the oldest family    in the oldest colony in America    And may the British burn my land if I can't deliver    To your hand a resolution on independency!    You see it's here-a-Lee, there-a-Lee    And everywhere-a-Lee-a-Lee    Social-Lee, political-Lee, financial-Lee, natural-Lee    Internal-Lee, external-Lee, fraternal-Lee, eternal-Lee    The FFV, the first family    In the sovereign colony of Virginia    And may my wife refuse my bed if I can't deliver    As I said a resolution on independency    They say that God in heaven is everybody's God    I'll admit that God in heaven is everybody's God    But I tell you, John, with pride, God leans    A little on the side of the Lees, the Lees of old Virgina!    You see it's here-a-Lee, there-a-Lee    And everywhere-a-Lee-a-Lee    Here-a-Lee, there-a-Lee    And everywhere-a-Lee    Look out! There's Arthur Lee, Bobby Lee    And General Lighthorse Harry Lee    Willy Lee, Jesse Lee    Franklin:    And Richard H.!    Lee:    That's me!    And may my blood stop running blue if I can't deliver    Unto you a resolution on independency!    Yes sir, by God, it's here-a-Lee, there-a-Lee    Come on boys join in with me!    Here-a-Lee, there-a-Lee!    Franklin:    When do you leave?    Lee:    Immediate-Lee!    Here-a-Lee, there-a-Lee!    Franklin:    When will you return?    Lee:    Short-Lee!    Here-a-Lee, there-a-Lee!    And I'll come back triumphant-Lee!    Here-a-Lee, there-a-Lee!    Everywhere a-Lee-a-Lee    Forward ho! 6.But Mr. Adams      Franklin:    Mr. Adams, I say you should write it    To your legal mind and brilliance we defer    Adams:    Is that so? Well, if I'm the one to do it    They'll run their quill pens through it    I'm obnoxious and disliked, you know that, sir    Franklin:    Yes, I know    Adams:    So I say you should write it Franklin, yes you    Franklin:    Hell, no!    Adams:    Yes, you, Dr. Franklin, you    but, you, but, you, but    Franklin:    Mr. Adams, but, Mr. Adams    The things I write are only light extemporania    I won't put politics on paper; it's a mania    So I refuse to use the pen in Pennsylvania    Others:    Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, refuse to use the pen    Adams:    Mr. Sherman, I say you should write it    You are never controversial as it were    Sherman:    That is true    Adams:    Whereas if I'm the one to do it    They'll run their quill pens through it    I'm obnoxious and disliked, you know that, sir    Sherman:    Yes, I do    Adams:    So I say you should write it, Sherman, yes you    Sherman:    Good heavens, no!    Adams:    Yes you, Roger Sherman, you    but, you, but, you, but    Sherman:    Mr. Adams, but, Mr. Adams    I cannot write with any style or proper etiquette    I don't know a participle from a predicate    I am just a simple cobbler from Connecticut    Others:    Connecticut, Connecticut, a simple cobbler he    Adams:    Mr. Livingston, maybe you should write it    You have many friends and you're a diplomat    Franklin:    Oh, that word!    Adams:    Whereas if I'm the one to do it    They'll run their quill pens through it    Others:    He's obnoxious and disliked; did you know that?    Livingston:    I hadn't heard    Adams:    So I say you should write it, Robert, yes you    Livingston:    Not me, Johnny!    Adams:    Yes you, Robert Livingston, you    but you but you but    Livingston:    Mr. Adams, dear Mr. Adams    I've been presented with a new son by the noble stork    So I am going home to celebrate and pop the cork    With all the Livingstons together back in old New York    Others:    New York, New York, Livingston's going to pop a cork    Jefferson:    Mr. Adams, leave me alone!    Adams:    Mr. Jefferson, dear Mr. Jefferson    I'm only 41; I still have my virility    And I can romp through Cupid's Grove with great agility    But life is more than sexual combustibility    Others:    Combustibility, combustibility, combustibili...    Jefferson:    Mr. Adams, damn you Mr. Adams    You're obnoxious and disliked; that cannot be denied    Once again you stand between me and my lovely bride    Oh, Mr. Adams, you are driving me to homicide!    Others:    Homicide, homicide, we may see murder yet! 7.Yours, Yours, Yours      Abigail:    I live like a nun in a cloister    Solitary, celibate, I hate it    Adams:    I live like a monk in an abbey    Ditto, ditto, I hate it    Abigail:    Write to me with sentimental effusion    Let me revel in romantic illusion    Adams:    Do you still smell of vanilla and spring air?    And is my favorite lover's pillar still firm and fair?    Abigail:    What was there, John, still is there, John    Come soon as you can to my cloister    I've forgotten the feel of your hand    Adams:    Madam we shall walk in Cupid's Grove together    Both:    And we'll fondly survey    That promised land    Till then, till then    I am as I ever was and ever was    And ever shall be    Yours, yours, yours, yours, yours    Abigail:    Saltpeter, John 8.He Plays The Violin      Martha:    He plays the violin    He tucks it right under his chin    And he bows, oh he bows    For he knows, yes he knows    That it's hi-hi-hi-diddle diddle    It's my heart, Tom and his fiddle    My strings are unstrung    Hi-hi-hi-hi    I am undone    I hear his violin    And I get that feeling within    And I sigh, oh I sigh    He draws near, very near    And it's hi-hi-hi-diddle diddle    Goodbye to the fiddle    My strings are unstrung    Hi-hi-hi-hi    I'm always undone    When heaven calls to me    Sing me no sad eulogy    Say I die, loving bride    Loving wife, loving life    For it was hi-hi-hi-hi-diddle diddle    'Twixt my heart, Tom, and his fiddle    And ever 'twill be    Hi-hi-hi-hi    Through eternity    He plays the violin. 9.Cool, Cool Considerate Men      Dickinson:    Oh say do you see what I see?    Congress sitting here in sweet serenity    I could cheer; the reason's clear    For the first time in a year Adams isn't here    And look, the sun is in the sky    A breeze is blowing by, and there's not a single fly    I sing hosanna, hosanna    Hosanna, hosanna    And it's cool    Come ye cool cool conservative men    The likes of which may never be seen again    We have land, cash in hand    Self-command, future planned    Fortune flies, society survives    In neatly ordered lives with well-endowered wives    We sing hosanna, hosanna    To our breeding and our banner    We are cool    Come ye cool cool considerate set    We'll dance together to the same minuet    To the right, ever to the right    Never to the left, forever to the right    May our creed be never to exceed    Regulated speed, no matter what the need    We sing hosanna, hosanna    Enblazoned on our banner    Is keep cool    What we do we do rationally    We never ever go off half-cocked, not we    Why begin till we know that we can win    And if we cannot win why bother to begin?    Rutledge:    We say this game's not of our choosing    Why should we risk losing?    All:    We are cool    To the right, ever to the right    Never to the left, forever to the right    We have gold, a market that will hold    Tradition that is old, a reluctance to be bold.    Dickinson:    I sing hosanna, hosanna    In a sane and lucid manner    We are cool    All:    Come ye cool cool considerate men    The likes of which may never be seen again    With our land, cash in hand    Self-command, future planned    And we'll hold to our gold    Tradition that is old, reluctant to be bold.    We say this game's not of our choosing    Why should we risk losing?    We cool, cool, cool    Cool, cool, cool    Cool cool men. 10.Momma, Look Sharp      Courier:    Momma, hey momma, come lookin' for me    I'm here in the meadow by the red maple tree    Momma, hey momma, look sharp, here I be    Hey, hey, momma look sharp    Them soldiers, they fired. Oh ma, did we run    But then we turned round and the battle begun    Then I went under, oh ma, am I done?    Hey, hey, momma look sharp    My eyes are wide open, my face to the sky    Is that you I'm hearin' in the tall grass nearby?    Momma come find me before I do die    Hey, hey, momma look sharp    All:    I'll close your eyes, my Billy    Them eyes that cannot see    And I'll bury you, my Billy    Beneath the maple tree    Courier:    And never again will you whisper to me    Hey, hey, momma look sharp 11.The Egg      Adams:    It's a masterpiece, I say!    They will cheer every word, every letter    Jefferson:    I wish I felt that way    Franklin:    I believe I can put it better    Now then attend, as friend to friend    On our Declaration Committee    For us I see immortality    All:    In Philadelphia City    Franklin:    A farmer, a lawyer, and a sage    A bit gouty in the leg    You know it's quite bizarre    To think that here we are    Playing midwives to an egg    All:    We're waiting for the chirp, chirp, chirp    Of an eaglet being born    We're waiting for the chirp, chirp, chirp    On this humid Monday morning in this    Congressional incubator    Franklin:    God knows the temperature's hot enough    To hatch a stone, let alone an egg    All:    We're waiting for the scratch, scratch, scratch    Of that tiny little fellow    Waiting for the egg to hatch    On this humid Monday morning in this    Congressional incubator    Adams:    God knows the temperature's hot enough    To hatch a stone    Jefferson:    But will it hatch an egg?    Adams:    The eagle's going to crack the shell    Of the egg that England laid    All:    Yes, so we can tell, tell, tell    On this humid Monday morning in this    Congressional incubator    Franklin:    And as just as Tom here has written    Though the egg may belong to Great Britain,    The eagle inside belongs to us!    All:    And as just as Tom here has written    We say to hell with Great Britain!    The eagle inside belongs to us! 12.Molasses To Rum      Rutledge:    Molasses to rum to slaves, oh what a beautiful waltz    You dance with us, we dance with you    Molasses and rum and slaves    Who sails the ships out of Boston    Ladened with bibles and rum?    Who drinks a toast to the Ivory Coast?    Hail Africa, the slavers have come    New England with bibles and rum    And its off with the rum and the bibles    Take on the slaves, clink, clink    Hail and farewell to the smell    Of the African coast    Molasses to rum to slaves    'Tisn't morals, 'tis money that saves    Shall we dance to the sound of the profitable pound    In molasses and rum and slaves    Who sails the ships out of Guinea    Ladened with bibles and slaves?    'Tis Boston can coast to the West Indies coast    Jamaica, we brung what ye craves    Antigua, Barbados, we brung bibles and slaves!    Molasses to rum to slaves    Who sail the ships back to Boston    Ladened with gold, see it gleam    Whose fortunes are made in the triangle trade    Hail slavery, the New England dream!    Mr. Adams, I give you a toast:    Hail Boston! Hail Charleston!    Who stinketh the most? 13.Yours, Yours, Yours (Reprise)      NOT AVAILABLE! 14.Is Anybody There?      Adams:    Is anybody there?    Does anybody care?    Does anybody see what I see?    They want to me to quit; they say    John, give up the fight    Still to England I say    Good night, forever, good night!    For I have crossed the Rubicon    Let the bridge be burned behind me    Come what may, come what may    Commitment!    The croakers all say we'll rue the day    There'll be hell to pay in fiery purgatory    Through all the gloom, through all the gloom    I see the rays of ravishing light and glory!    Is anybody there? Does anybody care?    Does anybody see what I see?    I see fireworks! I see the pagaent and    Pomp and parade    I hear the bells ringing out    I hear the cannons roar    I see Americans - all Americans    Free forever more    How quiet, how quiet the chamber is    How silent, how silent the chamber is    Is anybody there? Does anybody care?    Does anybody see what I see? 15.Finale