250 Years Since the Signing of the Declaration of Independence

Apr 12, 2026 by Two Sues On the Aisle

By Two Sues on the Aisle, Susie Rosenbluth and Sue Weston

July 4, 2026, marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In honor of this milestone, 1776, the Broadway musical will be playing at the Paper Mill Playhouse until May 2. 1776 is a historic fiction, set in Philadelphia during the hot June and July of 1776, in a fly-infested room, where the 21 founding fathers struggle to decide whether to break away from England. The performance shows politics at work as John Adams [Will Blum] and Benjamin Franklin [John Treacy Egan] advocate for freedom from England, while John Dickinson [Edward Watts], a representative from Pennsylvania, objects, preferring to maintain the status quo.

Many of the debates are relevant today, including social justice, and the need to balance the interests of different states and interest groups. The Framers of the Declaration of Independence demonstrate the value of compromise and collaboration by focusing on the issues at hand. To quote Franklin, “The issue here is independence! Maybe you can’t see it, but it’s the only issue. If we don’t get it, then we’re nothing but British subjects. If we do get it, then we can worry about the rest later.”

Credit Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Relatable and Memorable

1776 begins with John Adams, who is “obnoxious and disliked ranting, “I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress,” which had the entire audience laughing and sets the tone for the show. Adams is critical of Congress’s inability to accomplish anything, or even to grasp the urgency of the situation. The other members of Congress are shown distracted, napping, and complaining about flies and the heat.

Credit Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Adams is a typical loud-mouth politician, a master orator determined to convince his fellow delegates to act and support Independence. His demands are answered, “For God’s sake, John, sit down!” So, Franklin proposes a different approach and convinces Richard Henry Lee [Bryant Martin] of Virginia to champion a resolution from Virginia that forces Congress to take the matter seriously. Once a floor vote for independence becomes inevitable, a committee is formed to draft a formal document. Adams pressures a young homesick Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration, which is heavily debated and edited (removing the anti-slavery clause from the document). Ultimately, it was unanimously approved, but only because Pennsylvania’s James Wilson [Alec Lusacka] did not want to be remembered as the man who voted against independence.

The Making of a Musical

A former schoolteacher, Sherman Edwards, conceived the musical 1776 in 1959 while researching the American Revolution. Edwards wrote both the music and the original libretto. His research began at the Morristown Public Library, the Pennsylvania Historical Society’s libraries, and the Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Book Division of the New York Public Library. Edwards collaborates with producer Stuart Ostrow and writer Peter Stone.

1776 premiered on Broadway on March 16, 1969, and was nominated for six Tony Awards, winning three, including Best Musical.

The show contains dialogue taken from the letters and journals of the Founding Fathers, including correspondence between Adams and his wife, Abigail. But some of the details were imagined for the stage, for example, most delegates didn’t sign it until August 2, and Martha Jefferson never visited Philadelphia during the summer of 1776. While Lee is shown as a country-bumpkin to provide comic relief, in reality, he was a sophisticated, highly respected orator.

1776 is a unique musical, containing only 13 musical numbers, giving it a low song-to-dialogue ratio. It holds the record for the longest time without a single note of music, which happens during the internal debates. These healthy discussions share the delegates’ differing perspectives and their States’ priorities, which are influenced by messages received from George Washington detailing the state of his troops and the British advance.

Credit Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

A Timeless Classic

1776 is a family-friendly musical that educates and entertains (recommended for children 10 and older). The performance is a bit long, with a running time of about 2 hours and 50 minutes (including one 15-minute intermission). Everything about this performance was perfectly orchestrated, from the period-appropriate costumes to the ingenuous set-design and, of course, the large cast of talented performers.

Despite the long break between musical numbers and the fact that we already knew how the debate would end, 1776 is a captivating performance with a healthy dose of comedic relief.

American history never felt so compelling, or complicated. 1776 is the perfect show to commemorate our 250 years of progress and to remind us of the aspirations of our founding fathers.

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Two Sues on the Aisle bases its ratings on how many challahs (1-5) it pays to buy (rather than make) to see the play, show, film, book, or exhibit being reviewed.

1776 is at the Paper Mill Playhouse through May 2, and received 4 challahs

Running time of approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes (including one 15-minute intermission)