Ford’s Theatre is about to open a musical tribute to the founding of America called “Liberty Smith.” With music by Michael Weiner and lyrics by Adam Abraham, “Liberty Smith” portrays the life of a young man who seems to know everyone who was anyone: a childhood friend of George Washington, apprenticed to Benjamin Franklin and linked to Paul Revere’s remarkable ride. Liberty Smith weaves his way through familiar tales of a nation in the process of creating itself. “This started off as an idea that Marc Madnick and Eric Cohen had for a film,” explained director Matt August in a recent interview. “They came very close to getting it made. But when Michael and Adam read the script, they thought it would be a great musical and they were essential to getting it made into one.”
| Onstage |
| ‘Liberty Smith’ |
| Where: Ford’s Theatre |
| When: Through May 21 |
| Info: fords.org |
Although the context of the play is historical, “Liberty Smith” is anything but a reminder of facts and dates.
“It’s a fantastical tale,” August said. “It’s a journey through the imagination, not a journey through history. We’re not setting out to teach the audience anything about the past, we’re setting out tell a great story of the American Everyman who has a dream and makes all things possible.
“The important thing is that the giants of American history could not have become giants without the little guy. As American history has come down to us, it sounds as though there were a handful of very rich men who did everything, when in fact it took an entire nation of people to win our independence from Great Britain.”
When August joined the artistic team, he made “Liberty Smith” more dramatic and more romantic. “The love story is what the whole musical turns out to be about,” he explained. “It doesn’t matter how great the deeds were or who gets credit for them. It doesn’t even matter what is and isn’t true. What matters is how you live your life and whom you love.”
In the Ford’s Theatre production, Liberty Smith will be played by Geoff Packard. “We needed someone who could sing these very difficult songs,” August said. “We needed someone who had natural charm and who had an innocence about him and who was funny and could tell the tale.
“It’s just one of thousands of stories that have never been told, the story of a kid who was overlooked and taken for granted, but who actually was there and made all of the events of the Revolution happen.”
As to whether there was a real Liberty Smith, August says simply: “Who knows?”
