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Stars, Stripes, and Starlight Theatre

• Community
• 06/29/2026

As RVC Starlight Theatre celebrates its 60th anniversary season, audiences will have a unique opportunity to commemorate another historic milestone, the 250th anniversary of the United States with a special one-night-only performance of 1776 in Concert.

 

The award-winning musical 1776 dramatizes the debates, compromises, and convictions that led to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Through music, humor, and compelling storytelling, the show follows John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson as they work to persuade the Continental Congress to support independence from Great Britain.

Presented in a concert format, the production focuses on the musical’s celebrated score and powerful lyrics, allowing audiences to experience the story in an intimate and engaging way. Rather than recreating colonial Philadelphia through elaborate sets and staging, 1776 in Concert invites audiences to listen closely to the words, ideas, and conversations that helped shape a nation.

The action unfolds in Philadelphia during the spring and summer of 1776 as delegates grapple with competing interests, political disagreements, and personal convictions. The musical portrays America’s founding fathers not as distant historical figures, but as complex individuals navigating difficult decisions with consequences that would echo for generations.

Director Christopher D. Brady believes the show's enduring relevance lies in its humanity.

“When people hear the title 1776, they often assume they know exactly what kind of evening they're in for,” Brady said. “Patriotic. Familiar. And certainly, this show has elements of those things. But Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone created something much more complicated, much more human, and much more relevant than that.”

Brady notes that the musical's central theme is not perfection, but perseverance.

“At its heart, 1776 is a show about imperfect people attempting something impossibly large,” he said. “They argue. They delay. They irritate one another. And yet, somehow, amid all the personalities and politics and competing interests, they manage to create something that would outlive every one of them.”

For Brady, the Declaration of Independence serves not as the conclusion of the story, but the beginning.

“The ideals expressed within it were not fully realized in 1776. They were not fully realized in 1876, or 1976, or even today,” he said. “The promise of America has always been aspirational. It is something each generation inherits and is responsible for carrying forward.”

The concert format also highlights the communal nature of both theatre and democracy.

The special performance brings together talented vocalists, musicians, and community members in a celebration of history, music, and civic conversation. Audiences can expect an evening filled with memorable songs, sharp wit, thoughtful reflection, and a renewed appreciation for the ongoing work of democracy.

As Starlight Theatre marks six decades of bringing the community together through the performing arts, 1776 in Concert offers a fitting tribute to both the theatre’s legacy and the nation’s upcoming Semiquincentennial celebration.

Whether audiences are longtime fans of the musical or experiencing it for the first time, Brady hopes they leave inspired.

“I hope you'll laugh at the wit, feel the weight of the choices being made, and perhaps leave reminded that democracy itself is not a finished thing,” he said. “It is a conversation—messy, frustrating, imperfect, and always evolving. And perhaps that is the most American thing of all.”

 

“We are not trying to recreate Philadelphia in 1776. Instead, we are doing what theatre has done for thousands of years: gathering together, sharing a story, and allowing words and music to do what they do best.”

Christopher D. Brady, Director, 1776 in Concert