A mass of men with white powdered and pony-tailed wigs, heeled shoes and elaborate coats will collaborate on stage to discuss the future of what will become the United States of America on Friday. Discussing issues of slavery and freedom while pacing back and forth aided by canes, they will prepare the Declaration of Independence.

On Sept. 27 at 8 p.m., ACTORS (Ames Community Theater of Recreation Services) will perform its 2002¤2003 season opener, 1776,Œ a musical written by Peter Stone with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards.

Chris Rivera, an exchange student in liberal arts and sciences from University of Massachusetts, plays Josiah Bartlett from New Hampshire. He says the musical talent in the play is excellent.

Man, can these guys sing,Œ Rivera says. They sound like angels ¢ I was blown away. The audience will be blown away too.Œ

Rivera thinks the production is good because it shows that the men students have learned about in history books were real people.

You get to know the people behind the signing of the Declaration,Œ Rivera says. For example, Benjamin Franklin was not only smart, but also a womanizer.Œ

William Rock, junior in agricultural business, who plays John Hancock in 1776,Πagrees.

The mythical historical figures are given a face and are a person out of the textbooks,ΠRock says.

Rock has done theater productions with the ISU theatre department and ACTORS. He says if he makes it big someday that would be great, but right now it is just a hobby.

It¡s a thrill pretending to be someone else,Œ Rock says. At the moment it is just something fun.Œ

1776Œ is set in the Chamber of Philadelphia¡s Second Continental Congress during the months of May, June and July, says Stacy Brothers, director of the production.

The play shows the process of debate on the issue of independence from Great Britain,Œ Brothers says. It articulates the issues in writing, which becomes the Declaration.Œ

Brothers said the playwright spent nine and a half years researching the men and events that created the Declaration of Independence in preparation for writing the musical.

The subject matter is presented in an exciting way,Œ Brothers says. The play is amazingly accurate. You can look up documents to back up the story line.Œ

Brothers says she fell in love with the show when she first saw it in 1976, and is in aweŒ of how historically accurate and entertaining the production is. She refers to it as in the same vein as TitanicŒ or Pearl Harbor.Œ

You already know the outcome of the story, but how they got there is not known,Œ Brothers says. It is hard to articulate how suspenseful it is.Œ

There are about 27 roles for men, but the production calls for only two women¡s roles, Brothers says. Even though the set design and the story line take place in the Chamber of Philadelphia, segments in the show reveal John Adams, played by Steve Hoifeldt, conversing with his wife Abigail Adams, played by Laurie Hoifeldt.

These conversations are backed up by actual letters written between John and Abigail,Œ Brothers says. In the far reaches of John Adams¡s mind, Abigail appears, but she is not at the actual chamber. That is just a little theater magic.Œ

Brothers believes 1776 is a good mix of humor and seriousness.

It is the most entertaining history lesson you¡ll have,Œ she says.