Coral Gables Historical Archive
The Times
Saturday, July 10, 1976, page 17 (of 27)
The page
The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.
entertainment
14 TIMES/GUIDE Weekend of July 10/11, 1976 entertainment
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Students shine in American musical
By ERICA MEYER Staff Writer At last an event in Dade County's Bicentennial creates heart warming, spine tingling, stand up and shout patriotism and a group of high school students are the stars involved. The high school all-star production of 1776, the musical about the Continental Congress's vote for independence and the creation of the Declaration of Independence, is on the boards at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts on Flagler Street downtown July 15 and 16, and it's well worth gathering the family and marching on over. The men who created this country were not doddering demigods, they were vital, human, argumentative people and the high school cast makes them alive, real and loveable. Although South Dade kids hold down the bulk of the cast, the focal character, John Adams, is expertly played by Louis Silvey of Palmetto High), Benjamin Franklin (Stuart Chapin of Southwest High) and Thomas Jefferson (Steve Moss of Coral Park High). They are opposed, eloquently, by John Dickenson (Kenneth Martin of North Miami Beach High) and Edward Rutledge (Craig Adam Watson of Southwest High). No one in the cast is to be overlooked, because each is full of talent and surprises. Chapin, as Franklin, shows a remarkable aptitude for creating the mood of a character as well as the appearance. Watson, as Rutledge, speaks in a clear, but unremarkable, voice throughout the play and then cuts lose with a singing voice that carries throughout the auditorium with emotion and impact. Moss, as Jefferson, is a master of body language - showing exhaustion, resignation, hard work and quiet affection simply by the way he carries himself. Heather Bettner, as Mrs. Adams, does her Coral Gables High alma mater proud as she fights excessively loud horns from the orchestra to sing clearly about her longing for her husband and her faith in his efforts. And courier Marcus Robinson, of Killian High School, is quiet throughout the play until he begins to sing at the end of the first act. His voice is made of velvet and is an absolute show stopper. The first act runs a little long, but seldom flags and one of its brightest moments is the song about the Lee family of Virginia, sung by William Altfield of Coral Park High as Richard Henry Lee. Altfield is a total performer, as he prances about with his sword ending every word with "Lee." The staging and costuming match the active acting efforts put in by these students and director Louise Harms, of Third Century, and the musical background, though it needs to be slightly softened, is fitting and skillful. Other local students who contribute to the cast are Jeff Peck of Coral Park High as Dr. Josiah Bartlett; Richard Mover of Southwest High as the raspy, irascible Stephen Hopkins; Jorge Alvarez of Coral Park High as Robert Livingston; Claude McKenzie of Coral Gables High as the Rev. Jonathan Witherspoon; Amador Vega of Coral Park as James Wilsom whose meekness becomes resolute strength when it is most needed; Danny Schwindt of South Miami High as Caesar Rodney who, with Fred Dedrick of Southwest High and Gus Galvez creates an unforgetatable Deleware delegation; Patrick Brady of Palmetto High as Lyman Hall; Jeff Korson of Coral Gables High as the long-suffering congressional secretary who begins to feel that George Washington's dispatches are coming to him; James Stephen Crane of Palmetto High as the beleagured congressional custodian and Bill Stiles of Ponce Junior as the leather-apron page. A job beautifully done - the founding fathers would be delighted.
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