Am I too on the nose here? Pretty much any time seems like a good time to reflect on the founding of the United States of America, but boy howdy, does this current time we're in seem like a specifically good time to do so. The musical "1776" is a not-quite-historically-correct dramatization of the drafting and ratification of the Declaration of Independence. It focuses on John Adams as the instigator, the leader who pushes a reluctant Continental Congress toward making a historic decision.

This is a show focused nearly-exclusively on men so it was fascinating and unexpected when Debra Clinton directed the 2016 Virginia Repertory Theatre production of the musical. Deb is an exceptional director (and actor and original show developer) and has some great insight into her experience of herding an oversized cast of alpha males toward a single artistic goal.

As always, please check out my website, ChasingPhantom.net, for video clips and more information related to "1776." This will be particularly useful if you want a push to consider watching (or rewatching) the movie version of this musical. Please reach out to me at [email protected] with suggestions, questions or feedback of any kind. Also, not that it will impact much of anything, this podcast stands with Ukraine.