I rather like the songs in 1776, but they're not the reason the show is so enjoyable. 1776 is that rare thing: a musical that was a hit because of its book.
I would say instead that the show was a hit because of the brilliant way that the songs worked to complement the book, and vice-versa.
On another note, in response to someone's question above, five previews was not at all considered an unusually small number at that time, especially not for a show that had played out of town pre-Broadway. It was only in more recent years that the preview period began to swell larger and larger. |
