Pater Familias

Theories, observations, and articles, by Philip Schaefer · All posts · Categories

THE ACCURACY OF 1776.

January 14, 2011 at 3:25 PM · History, Theater

THE ACCURACY OF 1776. My idea of the signing of the Declaration of Independence comes from the musical 1776, and I was pleased to see how accurate the musical was. The one exception that I found in reading SIGNING THEIR LIVES AWAY was the portrayal of James Wilson, who was apparently a yes vote, but in the musical, with the consolidation of characters, is credited with the last minute switch to Yes that was actually made by another Pennsylvania delegate. The musical is a tour de force, creating the drama of history within a Broadway art form.