My mother, may she find peace, took me to see this play on broadway. She was a single mom and I have no idea how she saved the money. This was my first, but most certainly not my last Broadway show. Over the next ten years, she would take me and my sister to virtually every hit play on broadway. Still, none had such a profound effect as this play. I saw it the year it won the Tony, with the original cast. From that moment on, I would think of William Daniels as I saw him during this performance. I miss you mom.
This was my favorite musical of all time. For me it's is the same, Everytime I see William Daniels he's playing this man in my mind. My parent took me to see it when it was touring during the Bicentennial Year, and I have to say that I will never forget it as long as I live.
I saw 1776 in August, 1969 with my mom and sister. Until her death in 2007, my mom and I would listen to the vinyl original cast recording on a regular basis. After our trip to the city, we went up the Hudson Valley for a few days and accidentally got caught up in the traffic for a music festival called Woodstock. The summer leading up to my senior year in high school was altogether unforgettable.
Won't get a whole lot of argument with that statement. About as iconic a performance as Rex Harrison's Higgins or Yul Brynner's King of Siam. Thank God he did the movie too.
William Daniels was nominated for a Tony award in the "Best Supporting Actor in a Musical" category. Due to a nominating rule, since revoked, he wasn't eligible for a "Best Actor in a Musical" nomination, as his name didn't appear above the title. He refused to accept the nomination.
Saw them on Broadway in 1969, listened to the soundtrack endlessly and still watch the movie every July 4th. Sadly Virginia Vestoff had a difficult life. Orphaned at 9, she died of cancer at age 42 in 1982.
Psychohistorian42 She was wonderful! The portrayal she and William Daniels gave of Abigail and John made the musical. Odd that Abigail lived to old age while Martha Jefferson, like Virginia, died young...but Betty Buckley (play) & Blythe Danner (movie) who portrayed Martha are still going strong (thank goodness!) at 67 & 72 respectively.
One of the best songs of love in a musical which showed mature married love. Not so much about flowers and romance but how love sustains through the hard times. Difficult times and separation can be so wearing but fidelity and love still brings us through the mountainous challenges we think we're never going to get through.
Why am I only just now discovering this musical. I found it by chance in the depths of tumblr a few weeks ago and I've fallen in love with it. I'm so glad the movie exists with most of the OBC, especially these two. If we didn't have the movie and there was no way of watching the whole thing, I don't know what I'd do. This musical is stunning and completely underrated, especially in the UK (literally no one has heard even of it here, which is such a shame)
The musical played in the West End but was not successful. One friend who saw it thought that most Britishers didn't know much about America's forefathers, or care to know. To me, the characters are so well drawn, it shouldn't matter. (I'm fortunate to have seen the OBC on Broadway and am so glad that most of the cast were used in the movie. Blythe Danner made a lovely new addition as Martha Jefferson.)
What a wonderful memory this clip brings back to me. The simple staging, the restrained direction, and the heartfelt performances of Daniels and Vestoff make you fall in love with Abigail and John.
When he won the Tony, Daniels--rightfully so--said he was NOT a supporting actor in the show. What category you're nominated is--at least until the '90s--dependent on your billing. For "1776", the ENTIRE cast was billed below the title, thus the supporting actor/actress nominations. It happened again with Rita Moreno when she won for "The Ritz", and Henderson Forsythe and Carlin Glynn (playing the show's leads) won supporting awards for "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas".
One of the best performances ever. I dearly loved the same exchange in the movie 1776. One of my favorite love stories. I adore the transcontinental presentation and it always makes me cry. What an incredible tribute to the men and women who built this democracy.
William Daniels is neither fat nor bald, like John Adams was, but he always be my version from this play and the film. The HBO version is better history, but not so much fun.
Oh the HBO mini-series had some historical errors as well, especially after the revolution. I can't get over the actor playing Jefferson being not much taller than Adams.
Mark Burgh IMHO the HBO was very poor history in many respects, and altho some of the musical aspects of the film version of "1776" are really corny, the debate in the Continental Congress crackles with intensity. Will always love the B'way soundtrack tho, esp for the pairing of William Daniels and Virginia Vestoff.
He wasn't always bald and fat. Yes, we have that presidential portrait of him, but that was nearly 25 years after he was in Philadelphia at the congressional meeting to discuss the colonies separating from Great Britain.
When I graduated from middle school (1969), my parents asked me what I wanted as a present. I said I wanted to see 1776 on Broadway as I was an American History buff and I loved musicals. Saw it with the original cast (William Daniels, John Cullum and Virginia Vestoff). Absolutely amazing! Was so happy that when they filmed this for the movies, they used almost the entire original Broadway cast. William Daniels IS John Adams!
I LOVE this musical! I was blessed to serve as Caesar Rodney in a local production of 1776! This IS the 2nd GreatStory Ever Told! We are so Blessed! God Bless America! Caesar Z. Rodney! Steve Zinser, Coverdale Theatre, 2006.
I have this movie on my phone and I love the songs and performers. I’ve never seen a live version of the show because I’m broke. This musical is so underrated that it’s almost criminal.
There's a new production in Boston now that's going to Broadway in the fall, and there'll be a US national tour in 2023. Hope you can make it! It's really fantastic.
Thank you for posting! What a treat! I love that you can hear her clear her throat before she sings. Doesn't seem like they had body mics then (I see a stand in the center). They needed to project then! LOL. Agreed; Wm Daniels is the only John Adams for me (sorry, Brent Spiner, though I love you in many other roles)!
I loved him too but I think there will always be a place for the Willliam Daniels in my heart. They both shared a wonderful quality of tenacity in the role which John Adams have to have had or we would still be saying All Hail the Queen.
lanapeckmusic, I never had the opportunity to see '1776' on Broadway, but I agree that William Daniels will always be John Adams for me, along with K.I.T.T. on 'Knight Rider'. I did see Brent Spiner in an off-Broadway production, and he did an excellent job. The fun thing is that Mr. Spiner was inspired to become an actor after seeing Mr. Daniels as Adams in a touring production of '1776'!
Actually Paul Giamatti sings awesome. Check this out from Duets. Gives me tingles. I have the soundtrack and he sings a couple. It IS him singing. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rWMKXezAaPY.html
Also, another link between Duets and 1776, Blythe Danner's dauther, Gwyneth Paltrow also sings in this. And she is just as awesome and beautiful as her mother. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uqvhso3LbnY.html
Watching this performance makes me furious at the writer/producer of "The Doctors" (reruns airing now on Retro TV) for wasting Virginia Vestoff's talent and placing her in a thankless role in which she was doomed to fail. She was beautiful and talented, and from what I've read, a very nice and sweet lady. Miss Vestoff should have been a major star, and maybe she would have been if not for her tragic illness. She went far too young. Bless the poster for saving this precious footage for us to enjoy.
I got to meet her after I saw her on Broadway in 1776 and she was very sweet and nice. I was so sad when I heard she had died of cancer, she was so talented!
Thank you for posting this. 1776 had a theater run here in Kāheʻohe, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi and I didn't get to see it, so I watch the movie a few more times, but am glad I got to watch their "stage" performance in this clip. Much much thanks for sharing!
I was in my college's production of "1776" back in the mid-1980s and our director was an assistant stage manager for the original Broadway production. He was also involved in the movie and Virginia Vestoff was, according to him, not the first choice that the producers tried to cast as Abigail. Once again, according to him, they wanted Tammy Grimes in the part. When that casting did not come to fruition, Vestoff was cast. I love her voice on the Broadway recording. I found it to be a clear soprano but it had a warmth and richness to it that conveyed so much wonderful depth of feeling. I am so pleased she played Abigail in the movie as her performance was lovely. Our director said Blythe Danner was one of the nicest performers he had ever met. If you notice in the end credits, Danner is listed first and then Virginia Vestoff. Looking at IMDb, Danner had appeared in TV movies and perhaps would have been better known to the U.S. audience outside of the professional theater world....only a big guess on my part. Vestoff's early death at 42 was a sad loss to the entertainment profession and for the future audiences in the world of theater, television and movies.
@@makeittrue Very interesting. While I am a fan of Ms. Grimes, I find it hard to reconcile Abigail's music being sung by that distinctive voice as opposed to Ms. Vestoff's lovely soprano (wish I could have heard her in 'My Fair Lady'). I have met Blythe Danner three times and yes, she is a very lovely person.
When I first heard this song as a young teenager, I thought it was simply a beautiful, lyrical love duet. (Which it is.) But it took me several hearings to realize just how SEXY those lyrics are. ("My favorite lover's pillow" does not refer to bedding. And "walk in Cupid's grove" does not refer to a nice stroll in the country.)
PLEASE! The "Abigail" in this Tony clip is its originator -the wonderful VIRGINIA VESTOFF -a wonderful actress in musicals and plays who died far too young from cancer. For the record, Betty Buckley was her REPLACEMENT. And, yes, Virginia Vestoff repeated her role in the film version, along with most of the show's original cast.
@@phillgreenland2390 Yes and it was a pity that Buckley didn't come back to do the film. Blythe Danner wasn't bad but she certainly did not have the brilliant, ringing voice that Buckley had!
See the HBO miniseries "John Adams" with Paul Giamatti. The foremost constitutionalist among the Founders, and an amazing list of accomplishments, among them leading the movement for independence, and negotiating the Treaty of Peace with the UK after the so-called "revolution".
Williams Daniels excellent actor with 1776 as now a classic -" Is there anybody there? " The best of all the songs inspirational to those facing seemingly insurmountable odds.
I’ve watched the entire film, listened to the original Broadway cast, heard this and every clip I could get of William Daniels and im sorry to say that his singing is pretty bad. It’s an ugly braying sound, consistently straight toned and out of tune and quite frankly ugly. Just because your character is obnoxious doesn’t mean the singing shouldn’t be beautiful. I don’t get all the love for him. It really should be a more beautiful operatic baritone sound especially in his love duets with his wife.
@@JosephAddeo I don't agree with you, but you've a right to your opinion. Perhaps you'll be able to hear the kind of performance you'd prefer if and when the show is produced in an opera house, with trained opera singers. Musically, I think it would stand up to such treatment very well, though an opera company might find the long spoken dramatic scenes to be more of a challenge.
The great Anthony Quayle could seduce an audience with his voice alone. In this case, however, he is forced to recite the Tony’s pre-written and subtle admonishment of American exceptionalism which falls flat as William Daniels & Virginia Vestoff recreate a stirring and emotional performance from “1776.”
I saw the London production of the play in 1970 and didn't like this performance at the Tonys. Two years later I saw the movie and thought William Daniels was the best! I also saw the 1997 revival on Broadway, which was really good, but not as good as Daniels and De Silva. In fact, Brent Spiner couldn't come off as "obnoxious and disliked" no matter how good he was.
A wonderful play. I saw it when Betty Buckley was Martha Jefferson. .She sang "He Plays The Violin" beautifully. My only problem with the play was that I just could not stand W. Daniels terrible,off key singing voice. Like fingernails across a blackboard !
