Seventy-five Philadelphia students thought the stakes were high when they debuted ‘1776: the Musical′ in front of a crowd that included former President Joe Biden, former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker last week.
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Then came the hate — racist, bigoted comments on social media posts about the production, which was dreamed up by Rendell, who wanted students to learn about the “sacrifices and compromises” that went into building the nation as it celebrates its 250th birthday.
Racially incendiary and antisemitic comments were made under social media photos of the diverse cast, which includes students of color and women playing the Founding Fathers as they debate forging a new nation and ultimately adopt the Declaration of Independence.
The comments, which have since been deleted, rattled some of the young actors’ families enough that over the weekend, one of the leads withdrew from the production over fears for his safety.
The hatred was a low point — “completely dehumanizing,” said Wyatt Wynne, 17, who plays John Hancock.
But it has galvanized the remaining students: actors, technicians, and musicians from public, private, and charter schools around the city.
Growing up in North Philadelphia, Dhonte Hawkins-Durante, 16, said he was extra conscious of the importance of positive Black male role models. He was thrilled that a fellow Black actor was one of the play’s John Adams. (1776 is double cast, with two actors sharing most roles.)
Losing a Black lead — especially because he was driven out by hate — was crushing, said Hawkins-Durante.
“But instead of losing hope, I turned it into this motivation,” said Hawkins-Durante, a student at Mastery Charter-Lenfest. “If they’re not hating, we’re not doing anything right. It gave me more weight to carry, but the best weight.”
Luciana Jean-Louis, 14, who plays Roger Sherman, a delegate from Connecticut, said the social media hate “broke my heart” and felt personal, she said.
But it turned into a “way to empower myself, and a moment where I felt very proud of where we all come from.”
Officials with Celebrating 1776!, the organization producing the play at Philadelphia’s High School for Creative and Performing Arts and at other sites throughout the city through Aug. 15, condemned the posts in a statement.
“Our production makes a deliberate and proud choice to present a diverse cast telling one of America’s most defining chapters,” the statement said. “The founding of this nation is rooted in human struggle, idealism, and ambition, and it deserves to be told by the full breadth of human talent. Our cast does exactly that, with exceptional skill and commitment.”
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‘You constantly have to prove yourself’
Suhaila Madison‘s first reaction to the hateful comments was fury, she said.
“It really fried me,” said Madison, 15, who’s homeschooled. Madison is relatively new to the stage, and has fallen in love with the process, and with working with a group of students from different parts of the city, different backgrounds, different races. The blowback first felt like it was diminishing the story and the young people working hard to tell it.
Then she gathered with her castmates and felt a new sense of purpose.
Brooklyn Weaver, 17, a CAPA student, felt like she had a lot on her shoulders playing Thomas Jefferson. As a person of color “you constantly have to prove yourself to these different people who might not support you being at this higher level,” she said.
Seeing racist comments on social media isn’t especially shocking, Weaver said, but it hit differently when it targeted her castmates.
“It gave me a different passion for the show,” said Weaver.
That effect felt universal, she said.
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“Some people weren’t taking it as seriously before, but they are definitely taking it very seriously now,” Weaver said.
And the show — which chronicles a fractious, imperfect but ultimately history-making Continental Congress wrestling with questions of liberty and freedom — also takes on a different meaning, Weaver said.
“This is what America’s supposed to be: everyone in this land coming together to retell these stories of our forefathers,” she said.
Shepherding a cast and crew of 75 youth, Phillip Brown, executive producer of Celebrating 1776!, was prepared for a lot of contingencies.
But the social media vitriol, and having to replace a principal actor in less than a day, wasn’t on the list of things he was prepared for, Brown said.
(Student Walddys Fernandez, who had played a more minor part, stepped up to take the John Adams role on very short notice, blowing the producing staff and cast away with his preparation and verve.)
But helping the students process and heal what happened has been humbling and powerful, said Brown.
“It created a wonderful kind of opportunity to really teach the students the power of art, theater, and how to use their voice,” said Brown. “When you’re doing something this powerful and provocative, people are going to have strong opinions. It was almost like this was the ire and the fuel that everyone needed to really dig in — they’re taking the anger that they feel about this situation, and they’re using it to strengthen their voice, not to soften it.”
1776: The Musical runs Wednesdays through Sundays through Aug. 15 at CAPA, 901 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia. Performances are free through Sunday; tickets start at $11, with children’s admission free with a paid adult.
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