I Declare

I don't go to Reason.com to check out their arts coverage, but occasionally there's a piece dealing with show biz.  For instance, here's a squib from Katherine Mangu-Ward on the musical 1776.

It's a good show, and, as Mangu-Ward notes, an unconventional one about an unconventional topic.  Who would have thought the creation of the Declaration of Independence could be so compelling?  However, we also get this:

The most famous song in a show full of decidedly non-famous tunes is “Egg,” in which John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin squabble over the appropriate avian emblem of the nation-to-be. They settle on Adams’ choice: the eagle. [...] But the best song is actually “Cool, Cool, Considerate Men,” a quasi-minuet in which the conservative faction vows to dance only“to the right, ever to the right / Never to the left, forever to the right.”

"The Egg" is a cute number--a nice little Vaudeville respite in-between the drama--but the most famous? This is hard to measure, since none of the numbers has had much of a life outside the show.  But based on reviews, radio play, what goes over and what gets excerpted, I'd guess it's between "Sit Down John," "But, Mr. Adams" and "Molasses To Rum." I'd also say "The Lees Of Old Viriginia," "He Plays The Violin" and "Is Anybody There?" are up there, too.


As to what the best song is, Mangu-Ward is entitled to her opinion, but "Cool, Cool, Considerate Men" is one of the duller numbers in the show. It slows down the action and is hardly worth the satire, since the point is clear enough without it.