1776

Neither particularly entertaining nor historically accurate, this is a musical attempt at reconstructing the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. The founding fathers are depicted as a less than exemplary lot, given to weakness and vices but nonetheless committed to liberty. At least, most of them are, and none more than John Adams (William Daniels), the Second Continental Congress' prime advocate of independence from England. Adams' abrasive personality works against his cause, however, and his colleague Benjamin Franklin (Howard Da Silva) suggests that the more popular Richard Henry Lee (Ronald Holgate) do the talking. Ultimately, though, Thomas Jefferson...