Celebrate America’s 250th birthday with the ASPI! May 7-17, witness 1776: The Musical on the stage! This patriotic production will take the audience through the highly charged trails and obstacles to conquer to get us to the signing of the Declaration of Independence!
In anticipation of the May production, here is your chance to get to know our 1776 director, Will Knaapen!
Q&A
Q: How many years of theater experience do you have?
A: I have been involved in some kind of theater since I was 5 years old. Throughout school, it was largely class plays, church events, and even some movies with friends. In college, I was in theater classes and performed for a number of small plays in Marinette, WI. After that, it was mostly music, but singing in a metal band is basically theater! I rediscovered acting about a decade ago. In total…ooof…35 years of experience.
Q: Have you been involved in ASPI before?
A: I have been in several ASPI shows, my first being A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum where I played the bombastic Captain Miles Gloriosus. It was so much fun and a role I was very familiar with, so I was really drawn into future performances here. It’s like a family, but without some of the usual cliques you find in other theaters. I was Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls, Froggy in The Foreigner, and most recently played Robert in The Play That Goes Wrong, which was one of the most absurd and fun times I have had on stage.
Q: What is your past directorial experience?
A: This is only my second time directing, actually. My first was a production for Comedy City’s Cardboard Theater entitled Cleverly and Comically, which sadly only had one performance before a cast member got Covid and we had to cancel the run. 1776 is my first musical, but I have been planning out how I would run the show for a very long time!
Q: What is your life like outside of the theater?
A: I am a retired Army veteran, so I have lots of time to pursue my hobbies. Music is a big one, and I formerly sang in a number of bands. I volunteer for various community efforts and programs, like Good Neighbor Week and the Allouez Beautification Committee. I like to spend time with friends and have long conversations about history, politics, music, and hobbies. Those range from video games, movies, reading (especially history), and tabletop gaming to woodworking, hiking, and gardening. I try to be active in my community but focus largely on being a good husband to my amazing wife, Maggie.
Q: What are you most looking forward to with this production?
A: I am genuinely looking forward to seeing how audiences respond to the play! It’s such a complex story, exploring these really interesting, detailed historical figures and what motivated them. There are true Patriots willing to risk everything and Loyalists who wanted to reconcile with England, but the script doesn’t hide the hypocrisy of demanding freedom while enslaving others, or the fear that it seemed very unlikely the Colonies could win a war against the British Empire. There is romance and conflict and so much life in the history, and sometimes we forget that these weren’t “demigods” as Ben Franklin puts it, but men and women with all their flaws and idiosyncrasies.
Q: What are you most looking forward to in working with ASPI?
A: I always look forward to working with the tech side to figure out how to present a show, and with David and Debra Jolly being so passionate about the project, we really got the chance to try different design ideas and come up with a wonderful presentation style. We are trying some different lighting techniques and using a raked stage, which puts part of the stage at a slight downward angle so everyone can be seen more easily. Our set designer Cyndee pitched that idea and did a great job with the overall layout, painting, and embellishments that make it seem like we are in Independence Hall.
Q: What can audiences look forward to in this musical?
A: There are definitely some standout moments in the show that will leave people in stitches and in tears. One song in particular is absolutely gutting and highlights the cost of independence and the realities of war. We don’t have many dance numbers, but Julie and Deb joined forces to make some really fun pieces that I think the audience will love. It helps break up the scenes in Congress by adding movement, otherwise it’s just a bunch of people sitting around for two hours. The costumes are fantastic, and we paid special attention to details like the color of the tablecloths actually used at the time, and canes and walking sticks carried by gentlemen, and even the chairs needed specific attributes or they wouldn’t feel right. The second the curtain opens, people will have so many details to look for, so many little pieces and accessories. And every actor worked hard to research the history of their character to come up with their motivations and reasoning. It’s a very special show.
Q: Would you please share something special about the music in this production?
A: For me, this is a very personal show. I first saw the film version at my grandparents’ house, and my two brothers and I have been singing the songs and quoting our favorite lines for decades. The music is perfect! Some songs are light and funny, some are boisterous and loud, some help drive the story home. One song is about the Triangle Trade, shipping rum and Bibles to Africa, then slaves to the Caribbean, then molasses back to the American colonies to make rum, then repeating the process. It made a few people very rich at the expense of millions of humans being ripped from their homes, families, language, and culture. It’s a lecture given by the worst man in Congress to everyone else about the hypocrisy of profiting from slavery without ever directly taking part in it, or judging the South when New England sailed the ships and processed the molasses. All historical fact, all part of the history, and such a harsh lesson. It reminds us that many of our Founders were not perfect, that some weren’t even good people, but we would not have a country without them. What would our country be like if we had ended slavery at the very start? What would have happened if John Adams had given up? If Ben Franklin hadn’t supported him? There are so many questions that are brought up in the music that I really hope trigger discussion and maybe some reading and learning. History is fascinating, and 1776 doesn’t shy away from the ugly parts any more than it does the beauty!
Q: What else would you like to share with the ASPI community?
A: I just can’t say enough how proud I am of this cast and crew! We have people who have never acted before giving stellar, realistic performances. The hours of work they’ve put into the music and movements, and dealing with an admittedly picky and passionate director has been so humbling. I have some strict personal rules for myself about how to treat the cast and that this is a collaboration, not a general giving order, and I think that has worked really well for us. No yelling, no drama, no tension, just people having fun and trying new things together. I am loving every minute of it and I think the audience will, too!
We cordially invite all to join in witnessing through music a historical milestone in American history! Purchase tickets NOW! Tickets can be purchased online at abramsspotlightproductions.com. Showtimes are May 7-9 and May 14-16 at 7pm, and May 10 and May 18 at 1pm. Call the Box Office at (920) 826-5852 with any questions.