Lyric foments Revolution in '1776'
Spiro Veloudos has shown a master touch in mounting large-cast musicals in the Lyric Stage Company's modest space, winning awards and kudos for ``A Little Night Music," "Sunday in the Park With George," and "Urinetown."
But the size of those casts doesn't compare to what's coming up. The Peter Stone- Sherman Edward s musical ``1776," which begins previews tonight , has 26 actors (24 of them men), wearing wigs, breeches, and clunky shoes. Luckily, he says, there are only two blowout production numbers, and he's not going for complicated scene changes.
``1776" is a musical Veloudos has wanted to direct for 30 years. ``It's the synthesis of three things that are deep to my heart: It's musical theater, it's great drama, and it's American history," he says.
One thing Veloudos says he always tells people about the piece is that everyone knows how it ends, with the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
``But I defy anybody to watch this play and not feel there might be a possibility it might not get signed," he says. ``It's such a well-crafted play that it builds tension in a very interesting way."
"1776" won several Tony Awards in 1969, a time of political ferment. Veloudos appreciates the musical for its current political overtones.
``There were conservatives in Congress that did not want to upset the apple cart with England, most from the mid-Atlantic and Deep South," he says. ``Then of course there was the fact of war going on in the midst of this. One of the great quotes was from Benjamin Franklin: `A person who gives up a little of his liberty to attain some security deserves neither liberty nor security.' I've heard that often since 9/11, and we hear it every day as more and more of our rights are taken away."
``1776" runs through Oct. 14. Tickets: $25-$50. 617-585-5678, www.lyricstage.com. The rest of Lyric Stage's 2006- 07 season is as follows: ``Nine Parts of Desire," by Heather Raffo, Oct. 20-Nov. 18 ; ``Avner the Eccentric's Exceptions to Gravity," by Avner Eisenberg, Nov. 24-Dec. 23 ; ``See What I Wanna See," by Michael John LaChiusa, Jan. 5-Feb. 3 ; ``Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins," by Stephen Temperley, Feb. 16-March 17 ; ``Miss Witherspoon," by Christopher Durang, March 23-April 21 ; George Bernard Shaw's ``Arms and the Man," May 4-June 2.
