STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

There's a moment in "1776 The Musical" when the fate of a nation hangs in the balance, and the audience knows exactly what's coming. The Declaration of Independence will be signed. The colonies will break from England. History will unfold as it always has.

And yet, said David Janeski, the magic of the show is that it creates real, tangible suspense for a story we all know the ending of.

"It's like when you go to watch Titanic," said Janeski, who plays Founding Father John Adams in the musical, which runs through Aug. 15 at Ketchum’s Rotary Park. "We all know what happens. The boat sinks. But it's still an engaging journey how they got there. Reliving the story every night, it really feels miraculous that we did navigate that route to independence."

Janeski, who has spent six months preparing for his role, has immersed himself in the life of the man from Massachusetts who became the muscle behind the Declaration of Independence. What he discovered surprised him.

"John was a lawyer by trade in Massachusetts and when he went to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, it was the farthest he had ever traveled from home," Janeski said. "He spent many, many months away from his wife Abigail and his family, which were the things that meant the most to him, so it was a trial for him."

Janeski also learned that Adams represented the British Redcoats who conducted the Boston Massacre in court, a move that was not popular at the time.

"But he was a man of duty," Janeski said.

Laughing Stock Theatre is presenting “1776 The Musical” in rotation with “The Taming of the Shrew” for its 2026 Sun Valley Shakespeare in the Park. Both are being directed by New York City director Colton Pometta, who is no stranger to Sun Valley Shakespeare in the Park productions.

The musical, which features music and lyrics by jazz pianist Sherman Edwards and book by Peter Stone, brings the founding fathers to life in their stuffy Philadelphia assembly room. It premiered on Broadway in 1969, winning three Tony Awards including Best Musical, with Ken Howard as Thomas Jefferson. It has received three New York revivals, including two on Broadway.

For Laughing Stock’s Patsy Wygle, the decision to stage "1776" this season was all about timing. The idea of doing two shows came up last fall and, with the country's 250th anniversary approaching, she knew this was the year.

“I knew if I was going to do it, now would be the time.’ "

Wygle admits the undertaking was enormous. "1776" has a cast of about 20 people, and the company added only one extra week of rehearsals for both shows. The company rehearsed four weeks and is doing 10 performances between “Taming of the Shrew” and “1776.”

The musical depicts the backbiting and sniping that took place as John Adams, Benjamin Frnaklin and Thomas Jefferson fought for independence against a deadlocked Continental Congress. The suspense leading up to John Hancock signing the Declaration of Independence with a flourish is captivating.

David Janeski is erstwhile as Adams and Ward Loving, perfect as the rascally Benjamin Franklin, while Australian-born Sean Cleary portrays a surprisingly lovesick Thomas Jefferson.

Patsy Wygle portrays John Dickinson –the Pennsylvanian who stands between Adams and America’s independence so convincingly that some in the audience are bound to hate her.

But the musical is also full of wit and catchy songs, often filled with humor.

Take the song "Egg," which Adams, Franklin and Jefferson sing as they debate whether the national emblem should be a turkey or an eagle: "We're waiting for the chirp, chirp, chirp of an eaglet being born... the eagle's going to crack the shell of the egg that England laid."

"You don't think the musical would be so funny--it sounds serious," said Wygle. "But it does have its funny moments. And, really, it’s kind of full spectrum because you also have this guy who sings how devastating war is."

Adrienne Haan, who plays Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman, said the musical is more important than ever in today's world.

"It's more important than ever that we remind people that we have a Constitution in this day and age with everything going on at the moment," she said. "It's the 250th anniversary and I'm just really proud to be part of it."

Haan, a history buff, was struck by the historical accuracy of the show: "The script was written based on all the sentences that were actually said by the people who lived at the time. And I hadn’t realized that the debate over slavery was a topic during the writing of the Declaration of Independence, even though slavery wasn't abolished until Abraham Lincoln's time.

“What stands out to me is the personal conflicts,” said Karen Nelson, who plays Maryland delegate Samuel Chase. “Everybody doesn't always agree. How do you get their agreement?"

The park setting adds something special to the production, said Leslie Miller, the music director.

"It provides the idea that they sat in one room, but they were from many, many different places," said Miller, who recently moved to Sun Valley from Arizona after having come here for years. "When I hear the music and I watch the trees move, it almost feels like it's everything contributing to all the different lands that people came from to come together."

Miller described the music as upbeat, emotional, patriotic and educational. "You learn the story of the writing of the Declaration of Independence through the lyrics and the music," she said.

But how awful it must have been for this Congress to do what they did, not knowing if their families were alive or dead as war raged, she said.

"And when they did sign the Declaration, and they all celebrated, they were afraid they were going to be hanged shortly after for treason. When you start to think about it that way, you appreciate it even more."

The cast features David Janeski as John Adams, Ward Loving as Benjamin Franklin, Sean Cleary as Thomas Jefferson, Rachel Aanestad as Abigail Adams, Amanda Wilson Maloof as Martha Jefferson, Robbie Rescigno as John Hancock, Jamie Wygle as Charles Thomson, Matt Musgrove as Richard Henry Lee, and Patsy Wygle as John Dickinson.

Others are Max Kantor as Edward Rutledge, Claudia McCain as Caesar Rodney, Aly Wepplo as Col. Thomas McKean, Matty Gorby as Stephen Hopkins, Will Hemmings as Dr. Lyman Hall, Paul Rescigno as Andrew McNair, Jonathan Acorn as a courier, Adrienne Haan as Roger Sherman, Jacob Sefcak as Robert Livingston, Olemich Tugas as James Wilson, Fred Payne as George Read, Andrew Schiers as Josiah Bartlett, Karen Nelsen as Samuel Chase, Sallie Castle as Joseph Hewes, Megan Beard as the Rev. John Witherspoon and Georgia Payne as Leather Apron.

In addition to Pometta and Miller, Trish and Annabelle Lewis designed the costumes; Michael Nelsen, sound; Devin Meseke, set design and Max Kantor, dance.

IF YOU GO:

Laughing Stock Theatre will present “1776” Wednesday, Aug. 5; Saturday, Aug. 8; Monday, Aug. 10; Wednesday, Aug. 12, and Saturday, Aug. 15.

Theatergoers are invited to bring blankets or low-back chairs and picnics. Wine, beer and cookies also are available for a donation. Bring a jacket, as well.

The program is filled with useful information about the 1776 characters. And this year’s actors are mic’d, which should make the experience more pleasurable than ever.

Tickets are $35 for general admission. Reserved bleacher seats are $50, available at https://www.laughingstocktheater.com/team-1