One More Thing About The Fourth Of July ...

... and that is that it is (or, for this year, was) the perfect opportunity to watch the film version of one of my favorite Broadway musicals, "1776."  It always amazes me that so many people can be put off, initially, by the idea of a musical about the Declaration of Independence--and then see the film (or a production of the stage show) and think "Hey, that's not as bad as I thought it would be.  In fact, it's pretty good."

It is more than that, in my opinion.  It truly is a show that is more than the sum of its parts.  The songs range rather widely in quality, and much of the humor is scatological (the statement "Rhode Island passes" is made when a delegate from that state is out visiting the "necessary).  But it tells the story surrounding the Declaration in such a way that it actually feels suspenseful, even though everyone knows the outcome.  And it serves as a reminder that our independence was achieved as much by politics as it was by principles.  The line in the show that best sums it up is said by Benjamin Franklin:  "What will posterity think we were, anyway--demi-gods?  We're men--no more, no less, trying to get a nation started against greater odds than a more generous God would have allowed."  Franklin is played by Howard da Silva, who ironically was blacklisted during the McCarthy era.  He is also a holdover from the Broadway run of the show, one of many in the cast.  It's a tragedy that Hollywood hasn't done this more often; it would have spared us such embarrassments as Lucille Ball in "Mame."

The show also features a number, "Cool, Cool Considerate Men," that clarifies an important fact obscured by modern politics:  the patriots were the liberals and the Tories were the conservatives.  This number was cut out of the film's initial release, at the request of the Nixon Administration, who didn't want that point being made during his re-election campaign.  Remember that fact the next time you get a lecture from some right-wing mouthpiece about political correctness.

My only quibble with the show?  It requires a nearly all-male cast.  But, apparently, there are ways to get around that.  I can think of no greater compliment for any show than the fact that it can be re-worked this way, and still work.