| I've seen an all-female production, as well as one which had a mix of male/female, and the show can work in this manner. In both of these productions, the female Benjamin Franklins were excellent, and the female John Adams I saw was one of the best I've ever seen. Where sometimes these productions lacked was in the singing. "Mama, Look Sharp" (in both productions, they were females) sounded dreadful in both productions, in part because the keys weren't comfortable for the singer (and I don't recall if they were transposed or not). "Molasses to Rum" was sung by a female in one production, who was a belting alto. The song was transposed into the sweet spot of her range and she sang it well, but, somehow, it just didn't "land". I came away thinking that it would have been better performed by a dramatic, operatic-type soprano with no transposition. So, it's tricky. |
