I read the occasional play/script from time to time. I love 1776 (way before Hamilton was an interest) and have always wanted to see it on-stage. I was fortunate to come across a copy of the script-book and I was curious to see how faithful the script for the film was to the stage production.To my surprise, it was VERY faithful. It was interesting seeing the action cues next to each speaker, it gave it a lot more depth and grimace towards some of the not great scenes. There was a verse here or t...

Seeing this play (or the film that was made from it) is our family July 4th tradition. I have been in two separate productions of the play playing Franklin and Hopkins respectively. It has been a part of my life for a very long time. The nice thing about reading it is the authors have provided an afterward explaining what is real, what is adapted, and why they did the things they did. Highly recommended.

Okay, my rating is completely influenced by having watched this more times than I would have had my husband not loved this (he does not normally watch musicals) and the acting, etc rubbed off on my. Plus I could remember almost all of the melodies just well enough that it helped. His copy was on VHS so it's been some years, plus add to that that it was too long and boring for my kids. BUT I have weak spot for "He played the violin" that doesn't make any sense whatsoever given my normal music tas...

5 stars!!! Still one of my favorite reads, and musicals of all time. I have read this book too many times that I have memorized the script, and the delveriance in each passage. And the ending still gets me after all these years. I feel that Mr. John Adams and I are alike in many many ways!!!

Played Abigail Adams in 2000 at Playhouse 22 in East Brunswick.

Seeing Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards's play 1776 on a stage, or on the movie screen, is in a way easier; reading the play as a play is more complex. One loses Sherman Edwards's music when all one has is printed words on a page. But Peter Stone's dialogue is just as trenchant; the diligent research that Stone and Edwards did pays off, as the authors effectively dramatize the Second Continental Congress's 1776 deliberations upon the subject of an American Declaration of Independence from Great B...

Summary from Musical Theatre International:"The seminal event in American history blazes to vivid life in this most unconventional of Broadway hits. 1776 puts a human face on the pages of history as we see the men behind the national icons: proud, frightened, uncertain, irritable, charming, often petty and ultimately noble figures determined to do the right thing for a fledgling nation.It's the summer of 1776, and the nation is ready to declare independence...if only our founding fathers can agr...

On the 4th of July, TCM traditionally shows the film version of Sherman Edwards and Stone's 1776. I watch every year. It is my second favorite Broadway musical, the first being GUYS AND DOLLS. Both plays are available in the spiffing new Library of America collection AMERICAN MUSICALS 1950-1969. Yesterday (the 4th)I watched 1776 while following along in the book. It is a shame that most of what I now know about the Second Continental Congress comes from this version of the history. In the excell...

Wonderful play about the birth of the American republic. It is entertaining, and it is good history.There is treasure to be found in the back of the book. The authors have included a copy of the Declaration of Independence with the edits performed on it by the Continental Congress. The Historical Note in the book's last pages contains valuable information about the Revolutionary period and about some of our founding fathers.

I am a musical theater buff. I also have a distinct interest in this period. Although this is not exactly historically accurate,it's the first experience I've had with the founding fathers as real people and not icons. I think this is what sparked my interest in history. It really is inspiring to know these people were basically just folks living their lives with very similar day to day thoughts and things like all of us.

Wonderful musical comedy of the late 1960s with a hard edge of truth and significant research behind it. I watched the film many years ago and it has stayed with me. You will learn more about the Declaration of Independence here than in most college textbooks. The love story between Abigail and John Adams is breathtaking.

The text version of the play based on the signing of the Declaration of Independence. If you have not seen this play, you should. The movie version is very good, too. It is based on the actual events surrounding the signing, and is a fun way to introduce American's of all ages to the truth about the founding of our country, and the reading of drama.

1776 is one of my favorite movies, and I've seen and love the play as well (the "Hamilton" of its day). I picked up the book years ago and finally got around to reading it. I didn't realize just how well I know the movie; whenever the written play deviated from the movie I noticed it. (Mostly minor stuff.) Thoroughly enjoyable - if you haven't see the movie, go watch it!

Absolutely wonderful! Brings the story of the Declaration of Independence alive and makes the historical figures into very real personalities. Reading it is great by itself, but everyone should grab a chance to see it staged or the movie.

I love teaching this musical to my juniors. The story teaches the pure differences between a liberal and conservative. I bring out the music and sing my heart away as if I was one of the last 2 contestants on American Idol. Love that!

As a lover of history and as a lover of musicals, I am a lover of this play. It's funny, witty, and somehow manages to make historical fact tense and suspenseful. Plus, there's nothing so fun as the founding fathers snarking at each other and making bawdy jokes.

A wonderfully literate and witty book for a rather unlikely musical.

One of my all-time favorite plays. The music remains playing in my head for days after each time I watch it.

Delightful! Historical fiction. An account of how the Declaration of Independence was signed in spite of (not because of) our all-too-human American forebearers!

The lyrics to all the great songs and some of the story behind the creation of a great American musical.

A musical that takes place during the Continental Congress in Philidelphia in 1776. The main characters are John Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Abagail Adams. I love this play.

Well worth seeing or reading

Of course a musical isn't really complete in written form, but this one is worth reading anyway (although you should also see it!)

Very very funny. Again, a nod to my high school English teacher who loved this play. Turned out to also be one of my favorite movies. A complete surprise and a total delight.

This is a great American musical. A must read.

"Then what's that I smell floatin' down from the North -could it be the aroma of hy-procisy?"

I finished this book during a trip to Boston. It is amazing how historically accurate this is, as well as entertaining! I can't wait to get ahold of the video so I can see it/hear the songs!

Love this show!!Still watch the film every 4th of July.

A favorite to read over and over for more than 30 years!

Read for the umpteenth time upon being cast. Anticipate a fun time.