Slightly Off Key, '1776' Still Hits High Notes

Even at zero hour of a great political enterprise, you have to cope with the flies. That's one of the many disarming insights in "1776," the witty tribute to American history by composer-lyricist Sherman Edwards and book writer Peter Stone.

Now on view in a musically dicey but otherwise enjoyable production at the Church Street Theater, "1776" relates the precarious birthing of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress. As representatives bicker, conspire and hash out compromises, while complaining about the sweltering Philadelphia summer, John Hancock handles the group's pest control needs with a large fly swatter.

Down it comes -- thwack!-- in the hand of actor Todd Baldwin, who plays Hancock in the Church Street production, presented by the Keegan Theatre in association with Runyonland Enterprises (an area company that mounted a version of "1776" a few years ago). The energy of the blow exemplifies the gusto of this production, which can be unpolished even in its nonmusical portions, but which still manages to channel the bracingly irreverent humor of Stone's book (a contributing factor in the 1,217-performance run of the Broadway original, which premiered in 1969).

Peering behind the Founding Father mythology that most of us take for granted, "1776" shows us an American Revolution that nearly failed because of the incompatible agendas and personalities of its statesmen. Many of these idiosyncratic personalities come robustly to life in the Keegan production, as directed by the company's producing artistic director, Mark A. Rhea.

Portraying the central character of John Adams, Mick Tinder is suitably dry and fervent -- striding around the stage, irritably banging a walking stick on a table, a veritable Energizer bunny of New England idealism. And Robert Leembruggen brings a jovial rakishness to Benjamin Franklin, a chronic slinger of bon mots who cannot resist ogling Thomas Jefferson's beautiful wife (Carolyn Agan; James Finley is a callow Jefferson).

Kevin Adams and Dave Jourdan lend gravitas to, respectively, the Loyalist Pennsylvanian John Dickinson and South Carolina's vehement proponent of slavery, Edward Rutledge -- each of whom nearly deep-sixes American independence before it's even off the ground.

As these and other visionaries feud, the Continental Congress carries on with its routine: Quills scratch, gossip circulates, tankards of rum are ordered and consumed. And committees form: There's a fife-and-drum committee and a "a committee formed to keep secrets" (Adams's song "Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve" drives home the point about congressional ineffectiveness and political posturing).

Rhea does a nice job of underscoring this sense of restless, mundane life: His 20-plus actors move, group and, when appropriate, fidget convincingly on the handsome set (designed by Tinder), with its wooden chairs, candle-equipped tables and Puritan white columns. Costumers Emily Riehl-Bedford and Patricia Tinder enhance the atmosphere with impressively detailed period garb: satin coats, breeches, lace ruffs, buckled shoes, the works. (Wig mistress Lorraine Magee also rises to the occasion.)

On a musical level, the production is less successful. Most of the singing is neither confident nor well supported, and the pitches aren't always dead-on. True, the two female performers (Patricia Tinder plays Abigail Adams) can be reasonably strong vocalists, but among other disappointments, the dramatically crucial song "Molasses to Rum" -- Rutledge's paean to slavery -- is insufficiently chilling in Jourdan's wavering rendition. And the musical accompaniment -- recordings engineered by sound designer Tony Angelini and others and supplemented by a live violinist and percussionist -- sounds jingly and electronic.

But then life is a mixed bag, as Edwards and Stone demonstrate so eloquently in "1776," which acknowledges the historically momentous and the personal, the trivial and the comic -- from the huge and world-changing to the flyspeck of the mundane.

1776, concept, music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards; book by Peter Stone. Directed by Mark A. Rhea; musical direction, JoEllen Borton; choreography, Elena Velasco; lighting design, Dan Martin. With Joe Cronin, Jim Howard, Tim Lynch, Doug Wilder and others. About three hours. Through July 1 at the Church Street Theater, 1742 Church Street NW. Call 703-892-0202 or visit http://keegantheatre.com.