1776

When the original production opened on Broadway, there was no intermission. About 10 minutes before performance time, an announcement would be heard through the speakers warning the audience that the running time of the show was more than two hours and there was no intermission so they should now do whatever they needed to do before the performance started.

An intermission was added for the London production, which opened on June 16, 1970. This was reportedly done because it was believed that the London theatregoing public would want one. The intermission was placed after "Momma, Look Sharp." To their surprise, the creative team found that they preferred the show with an intermission. On July 23, 1970, an intermission was added to the Broadway production. It seems that between the London opening and July 23, 1970, an intermission was added to the national tour.

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1776 won the New York Drama Critics Circle award for best musical on the first ballot, by winning a majority of the votes cast for the award. By the group's rules, 50 percent or more of the votes must be won by a musical (or, for the play awards, by a play) on the first ballot or the group has the option of choosing to give no award or moving to a second, weighted ballot on which each critic lists three choices. (There was a period in the group's history when it was not necessary to win a majority, just a plurality, for a work to win one of the group's awards.)

1776 received 9 votes from the participating critics. Other shows that received votes were Hair (3), Promises, Promises and Zorbá (2 each), and, most strangely (since it is a play), The Great White Hope (1). Two critics abstained. By a precedent established at the previous season's voting session, their votes were not counted in opposition, thus giving 1776 a majority with nine out 17 votes cast from the 19 critics present.