Bexley is a great place to celebrate the Fourth of July. The annual parade, set in motion just after breakfast, is a slice of Americana, featuring local floats, bands, and dignitaries. In the evening, Capital University’s lawn is decorated with vendors, serving the gathering of families who cap the day watching a glorious fireworks display.
We here at the Drexel offer our popcorn and candy among the concession stands at Capital on the Fourth, but we thought we should do more . . . and so we shall! At 1:30 pm on Thursday, we will show the classic musical 1776 on the big screen (we’ll also show it on Friday at 11:00 am). It features William Daniels, Mr. Feeney to a whole generation of “Boy Meets World” fans, as John Adams, Ken Howard as Thomas Jefferson, and Howard Da Silva as Ben Franklin.
We’ll show the director’s cut of the movie. It restores scenes deleted by Columbia Pictures producer Jack Warner at the request of then President Richard Nixon, including the song “Cool, Cool, Considerate Men”, which Nixon felt insulted conservatives. The director requesting the restoration was Peter H. Hunt, uncle of actress Helen Hunt, who had already received a Tony for his direction of the stage play upon which the film is based.
So we hope to add our own Bexley tradition to the Fourth’s celebration. It would be a great time for your family to stop in, cool off, enjoy a soda and some popcorn, and take in a fun film. See you on Main Street this Thursday!
FUN FACT: The fountain in the 1776 scene where Franklin and Adams convince Richard Henry Lee to sponsor the motion for independence is the same fountain used in the opening for the “Friends” TV show. Talk about re-purposing!
— Kevin Rouch, Drexel Theatre Director
