History comes to life in “1776”
The Fall 2018 season at the Ignatian Center kicked off with a wonderful exhibit in the Saladrigas Gallery followed by the Belen Jesuit Bands rocking the 70s in the Amphitheater. Now, as the colder weather moves in, we turn our attention to the stage for the musical production of “1776” in the Roca Theater.
This production is the true story of how our country nearly failed to come into being. From where we sit now, it often feels as if our political system is irreparably broken, as if contention favors compromise at every step of the way and the ideological divides amongst us are too great to make the country governable. So it is fascinating and perversely heartening to realize it has been ever thus. This musical play is a brilliant dramatization of the debate in Congress over American independence from Britain, pushed forward in the oppressive heat of a Philadelphia summer by a wildly high-strung John Adams, a lovelorn Thomas Jefferson, a gout-afflicted Ben Franklin, and a group of fractious congressional delegates. They are, of course, all famous founding fathers, but 1776 reminds us how far we have come since that fateful summer in Philadelphia. The show is both hilarious and heart-stopping, as values are compromised, power is adjudicated, and last-minute deals are made.
With the Founding Fathers of this country being all the rage on Broadway in Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical "Hamilton," audiences are well primed to revisit "1776," the unlikely musical comedy centered on the debate over colonial America's break with Great Britain and the creation of the Declaration of Independence. In addition to steadily pulling the audience members to the edge of their seats as we watch the calendar sheets torn off, moving toward July 4, director Francisco Padura pulls out the detailed color of each character in the play.
Ever since the premiere of "1776" on Broadway in 1969, Peter Stone's book has been considered one of the best of any contemporary musical. The show, "1776" might better be described as a historical drama accompanied by songs and doses of humor, rather than a musical comedy.
The show premiers Friday, November 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the Roca Theater. General admission tickets are $17 pre-sale or $20 the day of the show. Pre-sale tickets may be purchased at www.belenjesuit.org/rocatheater. For more information contact the ICA office at: 786-621-4624.
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the School property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit sits on a 30-acre site in western Dade County, only minutes away from downtown Miami.