Stage review: Public's '1776' a spirited rendition

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: John Adams didn't seem to mind when fellow congressional delegates disparaged him as an obnoxious agitator. After all, when inciting a revolution, you are bound to offend someone. The creators of the musical "1776" put John Adams front and center, daring us to root for a most unlikable fellow's relentless and obnoxious pursuit of independence from England. As portrayed by George Merrick in Pittsburgh Public Theater's smart and spirited production at the O'Reilly Theater, a grouchy Adams howls and whines and refuses to "shut up and sit down," as his colleagues beg him. It's May 1776, and he has lost patience for those who stand for reconciliation, even as Gen. Washington's ragtag Continental Army is endangered by King George's Hessian troops.