There’s no escaping the impetus for the stirring revival of “1776” at Ford’s Theatre, which welcomes its actors onstage not as quarreling Founding Fathers but as tourists celebrating the nation’s 250th birthday.
Director-choreographer Luis Salgado seems to tacitly acknowledge that the 1969 Tony-winning musical is something of a museum piece by billing its Independence Hall set as a “special interactive exhibit” (complete with America 250 branding) and introducing its diverse cast in contemporary street clothes (the waistcoats and breeches come later). Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone’s “1776” is 57 years old, after all, and the decades have offered plenty of time to both deify and scrutinize their work.
At its best, their dramatization of the Second Continental Congress proves rousing and riveting. But the 2022 Broadway revival, featuring a multiracial cast of female, nonbinary and transgender actors, was an admirable misfire that laid bare the material’s shortcomings. The show — saddled with odd pacing, underwritten female characters and an uneven score — has always been imperfect.
“1776” has that in common with the American icons it seeks to demystify. “What would posterity think we were? Demigods?” Benjamin Franklin asks. “We’re men — no more, no less.” By first presenting his actors as everyday museumgoers, Salgado emphasizes our shared history and asks his audience to consider their own place in this 250-year-old democracy. The framing device lines Salgado’s vibrant vision of the past with an astute emphasis on the present.
It helps that these performers sublimely step into their characters’ larger-than-life shoes. Jonathan Atkinson expertly conveys John Adams’s oppressive pluck; he’s likable enough that you root for the guy and overbearing enough that you get why the other delegates can’t stand him. Derrick D. Truby Jr. plays Franklin with appealing warmth and mischievousness, and Jake Loewenthal nimbly navigates Thomas Jefferson’s reluctant path to immortality. Kanysha Williams and Justine “Icy” Moral leave outsize impressions in fleeting appearances as Abigail Adams and Martha Jefferson, respectively.
Salgado delivers many a stylish set piece: the spirited “Sit Down, John,” the heartbreaking “Momma Look Sharp,” the exhilarating “Is Anybody There?” Yet “1776” is at its best during a music-free stretch in Act 1, when we witness a ping-ponging exercise in debate and decorum, and an Act 2 interlude about striking Jefferson’s antislavery passage from the Declaration of Independence. A depiction of America that is alternately inspiring and infuriating? Perhaps “1776” is no museum piece at all.
1776 Through May 16 at Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. About 3 hours. fords.org.
‘Young John Lewis’
Where “1776” opens with solemn respect, “Young John Lewis: Prodigy of Protest” leads with tragedy-transcending exuberance. For all the hardship that defines this new musical at Mosaic Theater Company, about the late congressman’s time on the front lines of the civil rights movement, director Reginald L. Douglas delivers a joyful celebration of Lewis’s life all the same. Case in point: the preshow dance party, in which Douglas’s exceptional ensemble sways to the rhythms of DJ Jabulani’s record-spinning grooves.
Prolific D.C. theatermaker Psalmayene 24 wrote the book and lyrics for this uplifting call to action, which follows Lewis (Michael Bahsil-Cook) from age 15 to 28, starting with the lynching of Emmett Till (Christian Emmanuel) and ending with the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (a scene-stealing Solomon Parker III). Along the way, Psalmayene 24 unearths the origins of Lewis’s “good trouble” mantra — and digs at the moments that tested his commitment to nonviolence.
Psalmayene 24 could stand to smooth over some overly expository scenes. But his propulsive plotting is ideally attuned to the genre-hopping score by D.C. hip-hop artist Kokayi, who boarded the show after its world premiere last summer in Atlanta. Anchored in rap but weaving in threads of funk, reggae, soul and R&B, the songs smartly set Lewis’s mid-century activism to timeless rhythms. The highlights are many: “Boom Kapow (Four Little Girls)” wrenches. “One Foot (in Love)” inspires. “Say Their Names” haunts. “Good Trouble” galvanizes. Livening the tunes are Tony Thomas’s mesmerizing choreography and Zavier Augustus Lee Taylor’s crisp projection design.
Of course, it would all be for naught without the right actor channeling Lewis’s understated conviction. Fortunately, Bahsil-Cook — who originated the role in Atlanta, then relearned it with a new score for this production — is up to the task. Whether he’s spitting rhymes or crooning ballads, he doesn’t miss a beat. It’s unclear what the future holds for this show beyond its Mosaic run, but one can only hope that Bahsil-Cook isn’t done with Lewis quite yet.
Young John Lewis: Prodigy of Protest Through May 3 at Mosaic Theater Company, 1333 H St. NE. About 1 hour 40 minutes. mosaictheater.org.
‘Appropriate’
Think of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s “Appropriate” as the excavation of a decaying family tree. Directed by Jason Loewith, this searing Olney Theatre Center revival boasts an impeccable cast and intimate staging worthy of Jacobs-Jenkins’s incisive text. Even if you caught 2023’s Tony-winning Broadway revival, Olney has served up a must-see production about the fractured bonds and uncomfortable truths that surface as a Southern White family confronts its racist roots after the death of its patriarch.
Kimberly Gilbert plays Toni, the Lafayette clan’s indignant oldest sibling, as a tornado of tirades. Cody Nickell exudes over-it energy as middle child Bo. Jamie Smithson’s black sheep Franz will make you squeal and squirm. Brigid Wallace Harper delights as Franz’s free-spirited fiancée, and Dina Thomas is dynamite as Bo’s Type A wife.
You’ll practically sweat in the Arkansas heat as Jacobs-Jenkins turns up the temperature on this dysfunctional family from hell. Scenic designer Nadir Bey amplifies the effect by transforming Olney’s Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab — entryway and all — into an overgrown Arkansas plantation. And Matthew M Nielson, the sound designer and composer, envelops the space in the ever-present hum of cicadas, plus a discordant score worthy of the cascading chaos.
Appropriate Through April 26 at Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney Sandy Spring Rd., Olney. About 3 hours. olneytheatre.org.
‘The Tragedy of Hamlet’
British comedian and actor Eddie Izzard’s solo “Hamlet,” now at Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Klein Theatre, is a feat of fortitude. It would be difficult to watch a performer of Izzard’s esteem inhabit 23 characters over two-plus hours and not marvel at her artistry — though a healthy familiarity with the Danish prince’s tale should be a prerequisite for viewing.
Directed by Selina Cadell and adapted by Izzard’s brother, Mark Izzard, this traveling production features a sparse set and nonexistent props. Izzard mostly offers subtle shifts in accent and intonation to differentiate between characters. As often occurs in such solo shows, the monologues may be mesmerizing, but the dialogue can prove unwieldy.
In a welcome flourish, Izzard doesn’t hesitate to highlight the parallels between Denmark’s unraveling in the play and the current tumult overtaking Washington. When Claudius rues that Hamlet is “loved by the irrational multitude,” Izzard can’t help but lean toward her audience, raise her eyebrows and let the theatergoers form their own connections.
The Tragedy of Hamlet Through April 11 at Shakespeare Theatre Company, 450 Seventh St. NW. About 2 hours 20 minutes. shakespearetheatre.org.
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