Dickinson: Mr. Jefferson, I have very little interest in your paper, as there's no doubt in my mind that we've all but heard the last of it. But I am curious about one thing. Why do you refer to King George as a tyrant? Jefferson: Because he is a tyrant. Dickinson: I remind you, Mr. Jefferson, that this tyrant is still your king. Jefferson: When a king becomes a tyrant, he thereby breaks the contract binding his subjects to him. Dickinson: How so? Jefferson: By taking away their rights. Dickinson: Rights that came from him in the first place? Jefferson: All except one. The right to be free comes from nature. Dickinson: And are we not free, Mr. Jefferson? Jefferson: Homes entered without warrant. Citizens arrested without charge. And in many places, free assembly itself denied. Dickinson: No one approves of such things, but these are dangerous times. Franklin: Be careful, Mr. Dickinson. Those who give up some of their liberty in order to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. Dickinson: Mr. Wilson. Do we in Pennsylvania consider King George a tyrant? Wilson: Well, I don't know. He... Oh. Uh... No. No, we don't. He's not a tyrant. In Pennsylvania. Dickinson: There you are, Mr. Jefferson. Your declaration does not speak for us all. I demand the word "tyrant" be removed. Thomson: Very well. Jefferson: Just a moment, Mr. Thomson. I do not consent. The king is a tyrant whether we say so or not. We might as well say so. Thomson: But I already scratched it out. Jefferson: Then scratch it back in. Hancock: Put it back, Mr. Thomson. The king will remain a tyrant. A near-three-hour musical on the days leading up to 𝑱𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝟒, 𝟏𝟕𝟕𝟔. I honestly feel this should be required viewing for every American citizen. There is definitely no need for it to be three hours and could and should be edited down. But what is good here is very good; it’s just a shame that most of what is not good is the music part of this musical. And despite being on Broadway first, the songs feel like an afterthought compared to how good the rest of the writing is. Witty in just the ways you would expect from something depicting this time period, and much of it genuinely funny. There are a couple of songs that work, but do we really need a whole number about how much Thomas Jefferson’s wife loves his violin playing?  I do think it is important to see how misguided and divided the Continental Congress really was.