Colorado Mesa Unicersity’s theatre arts season presents the theme “Ends and Means,” and the fall semester’s performances will continue with “1776: The Musical” opening on Sept. 27 at Moss Performing Arts Center.
The musical tells the story of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The difference, however, is that the all-male characters will be portrayed by an all-female cast.
Anna Dworkin plays John Adams in “1776” and says the show has been a challenge for her due to her prominent role and the historically accurate nature of the performance.
“We’ve had to do a lot of research and look at the history to get an idea of what our characters were actually like. Not just their personalities, but how they interacted with each other,” Dworkin said.
Auditions took place the weekend before the semester began, with evening rehearsals starting on the first day of classes. The weekday rehearsals go from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. leading up to the performance.
“I’ve had to work a lot harder on this show than I’ve ever had to before,” Dworkin said. “I know what I’m capable of and I know about power and I know about discipline. It’s opened my eyes to a type of character that I want to play. Being able to do something new has opened my eyes to what my possibilities are.”
In addition to the all-female cast, much of the production team is also female, including the director and stage managers.
“We’re all like a big family,” Dworkin said. “There’s something about putting a group of girls in one room that’s both empowering and terrifying to the outside eye. It’s so much fun, we’re all supportive of each other, and we all want the show to succeed. This has actually been one of my favorite shows to work on just because of how well we all work together.”
The performance focuses primarily on the signing of the Declaration of Independence, along with other subplots that detail the challenges of the time period, such as plague and racism.
“The show itself is basically following how the Declaration of Independence came to be. It puts you in the room with the Founding Fathers and really see what it was like during that time,” Dworkin said.
“The things that were relevant in 1776 are relevant today […] I think it’s interesting because we’re seeing similar themes today but with different groups,” Dworkin said. “People are going to see the show, and some of the scenes are really hard to watch, but it makes people think. I think people will see the connection between time periods, which is a heavy topic, but I think it’s needed.”
Dworkin says the show requires frequent arguing between characters. While the process is fun for the cast as a social group, they all needed to do detailed research in order to know the ins and outs of how each person “in the room” made their voice heard.
“I’ve to connect the dots more than I had to before,” Dworkin said. “It’s really fun because you really get to see how passionate these people were.”
While the cast is entirely female, the characters themselves are still portrayed as male. The goal of the show is to maintain historical accuracy to inform the audience while performing it in a way that challenges the audience to think outside the box.
“It’s been a challenge to tell people that just because we’re female doesn’t change anything,” Dworkin said. “We’re still portraying the characters in an accurate way, we’re just putting it into a new light. We’re not changing the story, we’re just changing the perspective.”
She also emphasizes that the performance’s message is relevant for everyone.
“It’s about community and sticking together,” Dworkin said. “You can see that here. You see how individuals have to come together to create something. It’s not just one person’s perspective. It shows people that you have to work together.”
Those who attend the show can expect to feel a mixture of emotions. Dworkin says the audience will get both a history lesson and a push to think about the future in a new way.
“I want them to see things in a new light. I think people will find things that they didn’t know because of that. It will be a conversation starter. That’s what theatre is. We’re pushing boundaries for a reason,” Dworkin said. “If people come to this show, they’re going to feel something.”
“1776” opens this Thursday and runs both evening and matinee performances until Oct. 6. Tickets can be purchased at the University Center and cost $8 for students, $17 for seniors and $21 for adults. Student rush tickets will take place on opening night, Sept. 27 and on Oct. 4.
