1776 - America's Prize Winning Musical

Was pleasantly surprised at the talent of all participants. The musicality of the singers and band was incredible! Such energy and storytelling made the longer show digestible and enjoyable. Definitely renewed my excitement love for the 4th of July celebration.

I had the chance to see Riverton City’s production of 1776: The Musical-twice!, and I was genuinely blown away by the quality of this community production. From start to finish, there truly wasn’t a weak actor in the entire cast—every performance felt polished, confident, and full of heart. The vocals across the board were at a professional level, which is something you don’t always expect, but absolutely get here. The addition of a live orchestra elevated the entire experience. It brought richness and energy to the show that made it feel like something you’d see at a much larger professional theater. I was also pleasantly surprised by how much humor is woven into the story, and how much I learned about our founding fathers. It sparked great conversations with my kids afterward—my junior high and high schooler were connecting what they saw on stage to what they’ve learned in school, and even my 5th grader was talking about how the South held out on the vote. That alone made the experience so worthwhile. While the show may feel a bit long for younger children, it’s incredibly impactful for older kids and adults alike. Thank you to Riverton City for offering free tickets—this production was so well done, I would have happily paid full professional theater prices to see it. Bravo to everyone involved!

I’ve seen several community theater productions in at least a dozen different states, and I’m rarely impressed by the quality of even the paid productions. But whatever Riverton lacks in production value for their rendition of 1776, they more than make up with spirit, sincerity, and passion from their cast, crew, and orchestra. The performers pulled me in completely, and the orchestra sounded like one twice its size. I don’t know if it’s the message of the show, the patriotic fervor, or the simple magic of watching people who care—really care—about telling the story of their country’s founding, creative liberties and all, but I got emotional more than once watching these actors even as instruments were dropped, lines got jumbled, and cellphones went off. Stories that are told well enough to cut through the noise like that are worth seeing more than once. I’ll be back later this week to see it again.

I love patriotic things. I also love musicals. Put the two together and 1776 is hands down the best representation of the Continental Congress. Riverton City’s rendition was well done. We were there opening night and it was the right thing to prep us for the monumental 250 anniversary of the founding of our great country! The actors were spot on, the music fantastic. There was an array of emotions that made you feel like you were there watching. The characters were relatable with the frustrations and devotion they portrayed. Well done!

This show was just what I needed to help me celebrate our beautiful nation's beginnings. The struggles and differences were real, but imperfect humans inspirationally came together with faith and hope in a this special union of states. I thank the city for investing in this production, and trusting the Art's Council and community to pull it off! It was performed so well as I laughed in The Lee's of Old Virginia, But Mr. Adam's, and The Egg, and then cried with Mama Look Sharp and Rutledge's stirring rendition of Molasses to Rum. Go see this amazing production! I'm going again, and if you don't have a reserved free ticket come anyway by 6:45 and there's stand-by tickets available. They have Brooker's Ice-cream, pins, stickers and other memorabilia to celebrate 250 yrs!

Going to a small community theater, I was not expecting to be as impressed as I was with this production. The talent blew me away from the acting to the singing to the orchestra. The bios provided in the program revealed a wide variety of experience levels, and the combination created a tremendous synergy in the performance and delivery. The cast presented the story with plenty of fun, light-hearted moments balanced with the poignant, emotionally powerful and profound. The portrayal of John Adams was particularly noteworthy, the female roles were executed beautifully, and I would go again and again just to watch "But Mr. Adams." I rarely remember a lot of detail with plays, but Adams, Franklin, Sherman, and Livingston were fantastic! I also loved the Rhode Island guy. The orchestra was fantastic, special shout out to a particular violinist who played with such enthusiasm and joy that I thoroughly enjoyed watching him play. The song the boy sang about the mother took my breath away. Bottom line is that the play was fantastic and far exceeded my modest expectations. It brought larger-than-life characters to life in a realistic multidimensional way and shed light on why they may have made some of the choices they made. They were just as human and flawed as they were brilliant amd divinely guided. I have a deeper appreciation for these men amd their sacrifices from watching this. Kudos to the director and production team for a job so very well done, and thank you to Riverton for sponsoring it. Loved the displays in the lobbies, and my favorite touch was being able to sign a Declaration of Independence.

Having read the book but never seen the play I was grateful for the opportunity to experience 1776 during the 250 year celebration of the Declaration of Independence . Riverton City, the cast, production team and live musicians should be commended for bringing this important story to life. The performances were believable the sing and music were beautiful. The production thoughtfully explored both challenges and sacrifices involved in creating our nation while the subject matter can be difficult at times ( they were far from perfect back then as we are now) I left with a deeper appreciation of our countries history and the people who helped to shape it. This was a meaningful and inspiring production. I highly recommend. Thank you to all who were involved in bringing this to life. Mostly volunteers. Isn’t that profound.