Brigadoon is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. Songs from the musical, such as "Almost Like Being in Love" have become standards.
It tells the story of a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every hundred years, though to the villagers, the passing of each century seems no longer than one night. The enchantment is viewed by them as a blessing rather than a curse, for it saved the village from destruction. According to their covenant with God, no one from Brigadoon may ever leave, or the enchantment will be broken and the site and all its inhabitants will disappear into the mist forever. Two American tourists, lost in the Scottish Highlands, stumble upon the village just as a wedding is about to be celebrated, and their arrival has serious implications for the village's inhabitants.
The original production opened on Broadway in 1947 and ran for 581 performances. Brigadoon then received a West End production opening in 1949 that ran for 685 performances, and many revivals followed. A 1954 film version starred Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. A 1966 television version starred Robert Goulet and Peter Falk.
Origins of the story
Lerner's book was based on a much older German story by Friedrich Gerstäcker, later translated by Charles Brandon Schaeffer, about the mythical village of Germelshausen that fell under an evil magic curse. In 1947, memories of World War II were too fresh to present a German-themed musical on Broadway, so Lerner reimagined the story in Scotland, complete with kilts, bonnie lasses, bagpipes, Highland flings and "Heather on the Hill".
Lerner's name for his imaginary locale was probably based on a well-known Scottish landmark, the Brig o' Doon (Bridge of Doon),[1] in Alloway, Scotland, in the heart of Robert Burns country. According to Burns' poem "Tam o'Shanter", this 13th century stone bridge is where the legendary Tam o' Shanter fled on his horse Meg in order to escape from three witches who were chasing him. Other sources suggest that the fictional village's name was constructed from the Celtic word "briga," which means "town" (such as in the old city names of Segobriga and Brigantium) and the Scottish Gaelic "dùn," which means a fort, e.g. Dundee or Dunfermline. The name may also be a reference to the Celtic Goddess Brigid, as in "Brigid's Hill." See also Alloway and D. Myers for another interpretation.
Productions
The original Broadway production, directed by Robert Lewis and choreographed by Agnes de Mille, opened March 13, 1947 at the Ziegfeld Theatre, where it ran for 581 performances. It starred David Brooks as Tommy, Marion Bell as Fiona, Lee Sullivan as Charlie, James Mitchell as Harry, and Pamela Britton as Meg. De Mille won the Tony Award for Best Choreography, and Bell and Mitchell won the Theatre World Award. The production enjoyed an extened North American tour.
The musical's original West End production opened on April 14, 1949 at Her Majesty's Theatre, running for an even more successful 685 performances. It starred Philip Hanna as Tommy, Patricia Hughes as Fiona, James Jamieson as Harry, and Noele Gordon as Meg.
The musical was revived at New York City Center in May 1950.[2] It returned to Broadway, directed by George H. Englund and choreographed by De Mille, opening on April 15, 1957 at the Adelphi Theatre, where it ran for 24 performances. The cast included David Atkinson, Helen Gallagher, Patricia Birch, and Marilyn Cooper. Another Broadway revival, directed by John Fearnley and choreographed by De Mille, opened on January 30, 1963 at New York City Center, where it ran for 16 performances. The cast included Peter Palmer, Russell Nype, Sally Ann Howes, and Edward Villella. It was Tony-nominated for Best Actress in a Musical (Howes), Best Direction of a Musical, and Best Conductor and Musical Director.[2]
The next Broadway revival, directed by Vivian Matalon and choreographed by De Mille, opened on October 16, 1980 at the Majestic Theatre, where it ran for 133 performances and eight previews. The cast included Meg Bussert, Martin Vidnovic, and John Curry. Vidnovic received Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations, Bussert earned a Tony nod and won the Theatre World Award, and the production was Tony-nominated for Best Reproduction.[2]
New York City Opera has staged the musical in 1986 and 1991.[3] 1988 saw a London revival starring Robert Meadmore.
Adaptations
Film
A Cinemascope film version of Brigadoon, directed by Vincente Minnelli, was released by MGM in 1954 with Gene Kelly, Van Johnson and Cyd Charisse in leading roles. The MacLaren family name was changed to Campbell.
Television
A 1966 television version, shown as a color special on the ABC television network, made use of a modernized, abbreviated script that accommodated much more of the score than the film version had, yet the entire production ran only ninety minutes with commercials; the result won five Emmy awards. In this production, Tommy and Jeff were participating in an auto race when their car stalled just outside of Brigadoon. This version starred Robert Goulet as Tommy, Peter Falk as Jeff, and Sally Ann Howes as Fiona, with Finlay Currie in one of his last roles as Mr. Lundie, Edward Villella as Harry Beaton, and Marlyn Mason as Meg. "My Mother's Wedding Day" was restored to this version, though "Once in the Highlands", "Jeannie's Packin' Up", and "The Love of My Life" were still absent.
The 1966 telecast of Brigadoon has not been shown since its 1967 rebroadcast on ABC, nor has it ever appeared on videocassette or DVD.
Plot
- Act I
New Yorkers Tommy Albright and Jeff Douglas have traveled to the Scottish Highlands on a game-hunting vacation, only to get lost their first night out. While discussing Tommy's general ennui, they begin to hear music ("Brigadoon") and notice, in a valley nearby, a village where the map says there should be nothing! Tommy and Jeff decide to visit it, if only to get directions back to their inn, and they walk off towards it.
Meanwhile, in the town itself, a fair has begun ("McConnachy Square"), with the local vendors selling milk, ale, wool, and other products. Everyone is dressed in traditional Scottish apparel, replete with kilts, sporrans, and ghillies. The villagers include Meg Brockie, a dairy vendor with a taste for gentlemanly companionship; Angus McGuffie, her employer; Archie Beaton, seller of wool and plaids; and his son Harry. The MacLaren family enters, consisting of patriarch Andrew and his two daughters Fiona, a young woman of about 24, and Jean, her dainty, sweet younger sister. They have come to purchase supplies for the wedding of Jean to Charlie Dalrymple. Poor Harry Beaton is madly in love with Jean, and he is very depressed at the thought of her marrying another. One of the other girls asks Fiona when she will get married, and she responds, "When I find someone who makes me think of it." She would rather wait to find true love than end up marrying the wrong person ("Waitin' For My Dearie").
Just then, Tommy and Jeff wander in from the hillside. They and the Scottish folks stare at each other with bewilderment until Tommy asks where they are, and is told "Brigadoon". Fiona introduces herself to Tommy and offers the Americans a bite to eat and a place to rest. Meg immediately takes a liking to Jeff and leads him off, as Charlie Dalrymple appears. He's a handsome young man. He shares some celebratory claret with Tommy, toasting to a Mr. Forsythe whom he thanks for "postponing the miracle". Tommy asks what he means by this, but Fiona shushes him and leads him away, as Charlie sings about the end of his bachelorhood ("Go Home with Bonnie Jean").
Tommy and Fiona talk about his impending marriage to his fiancée Jane in New York; Tommy is in no hurry to marry her, and sparks begin to fly between him and Fiona when she reveals that she likes him very much, although she "dinna" like anything he says. She must go to gather heather for the wedding, and Tommy insists on going with her ("The Heather on the Hill"). Meanwhile, Meg takes Jeff to a place in the forest with a shack and a cot where he can get some sleep. She tells him she's "highly attracted" to him, but he wants nothing but sleep and spurns her advances. She reveals her sordid love life ("The Love Of My Life") as he falls asleep.
In the MacLaren home, Jean's friends are helping her pack her things to move into Charlie's home ("Jeannie's Packin' Up"). Charlie arrives to sign the MacLaren family Bible. He wants to see Jean, but he is told it's bad luck to see her on the wedding day. He begs for her to come out anyway ("Come to Me, Bend to Me"). Tommy and Fiona enter with a basket full of heather they've picked. Fiona goes upstairs to help Jean dress for the wedding, and Jeff enters wearing a pair of Highland trews (trousers); apparently his own pants have been damaged on a "thistle." Jeff finds that Tommy is so happy that he can barely contain it ("Almost Like Being In Love"). Then Tommy notices the family Bible, which contains the names of all the people he's met that day, but every important event attached to them, including the impending wedding of Charlie and Jean, is listed as if it had happened two hundred years earlier. He calls Fiona down to question her about this, and she tells him he'll have to see the local schoolmaster, Mr. Lundie, to get the full explanation.
Fiona, Tommy, and Jeff arrive at Mr. Lundie's home, where he relates a story that the two New Yorkers can hardly believe: two hundred years ago, the local parish pastor prayed to God to have Brigadoon disappear, only to reappear for one day every 100 years, to protect it from being changed by the outside world. None of the people of Brigadoon can be permitted to leave the town, or it will disappear forever. Tommy, looking at Fiona, asks hypothetically if an outsider could be permitted to stay. Mr. Lundie replies, "A stranger can stay if he loves someone here - not jus' Brigadoon, mind ye, but someone in Brigadoon - enough to want to give up everythin' an' stay with that one person. Which is how it should be. 'Cause after all, lad, if he love someone deeply, anythin' is possible."[4]
The group leaves to go to the wedding, which opens with the Clans coming in from out of the hills. Charlie and Jean are married by Mr. Lundie, and they perform a traditional wedding dance to celebrate. Sword dancers appear, led by Harry, and they perform an elaborate dance over their weapons. The rest of the town joins in the dance, but abruptly halt as Jean's scream alerts them to Harry trying to kiss her. In anguish over Jean's wedding, he announces that he's leaving the town (which would end the miracle, causing Brigadoon to disappear forever into the Highland mists) and sprints away.
- Act II
The men of the town are frantically trying to find Harry before he can set foot outside of the town ("The Chase"). The music becomes more and more agitated, and suddenly, an agonized scream is heard. Harry Beaton is found dead by the other men, who appears to have fallen on a rock and crushed his skull. The men decide not to tell the rest of the town until the next morning, so that the wedding can continue without further grief. The men carry Harry's body away, and Fiona and her father arrive to see if everything is all right. As Mr. MacLaren leaves, Tommy sees Fiona, and they embrace. She reveals her love for him, and he tells her he believes he feels the same way ("There But For You Go I"). Fiona reminds him that the end of the day is near, and Tommy tells her he wants to stay in Brigadoon with her. They go to find Mr. Lundie.
Meanwhile, in the village, Meg tells about the day her parents were drunkenly married ("My Mother's Wedding Day"), and the townsfolk begin to relax and dance again, until the sound of the Highland Pipes pierces the air. Archie Beaton enters carrying Harry's body, led by the pipers playing a pìobaireachd, and Maggie Anderson, who loved Harry, performs a funeral dance for her unrequited love. The men of Brigadoon help Archie carry his son to the burial place.
Tommy finds Jeff and tells him of his plans to stay. Jeff thinks the idea absurd, and argues with Tommy until he has convinced him that Brigadoon is nothing but a dream. He also reveals that it was he who tripped Harry and accidentally killed him. Fiona and Mr. Lundie enter, and Tommy, shaken by Jeff's confession, tells Fiona that even though he loves her, he can't stay; he still has doubts ("From This Day On"). Fiona tells Tommy that she'll love him forever as she fades away into the darkness.
Four months later, Jeff is drinking heavily at a hotel bar in New York. Tommy enters and greets Jeff. Tommy has been living on a farm in New Hampshire since his return from Scotland. He is still in love with Fiona; he can't stop thinking about her and daydreams of her constantly, to the point of being unable to hold a conversation with anyone. Jane Ashford, his fiancée, a beautiful socialite in her late 20s, talks to him about their impending wedding, but everything she says causes him to hear Fiona's voice and dream of Brigadoon (Reprises of "Come to Me, Bend to Me" and "Heather on the Hill"). Tommy focuses on the present long enough to interrupt her and tell her that he can't marry her. She argues with him, but he continues to daydream about his true love (Reprises of "Go Home With Bonnie Jean" and "From This Day On"). As Jane leaves, Tommy calls Jeff and tells him he wants to return to Scotland, even though he knows the village won't be there.
Tommy and Jeff return to the spot where Brigadoon was; as expected, there's nothing there. Tommy laments, "Why do people have to lose things to find out what they really mean?" Just as he and Jeff turn to leave, they hear the music again ("Brigadoon"), and Mr. Lundie appears. Tommy walks across the bridge to him, as Mr. Lundie explains: "You shouldna be too surprised, lad. I told ye when ye love someone deeply, anythin' is possible. Even miracles." Tommy waves goodbye to Jeff, as Tommy and Mr. Lundie disappear into the highland mist.
Song list
Under Loewe's guidance, Ted Royal received a sole orchestrator credit for his work on the original production. His atmospheric arrangements have been frequently used for the revivals.[5]
- Act I
- Overture
- Prelude (Once In The Highlands)
- Brigadoon
- Vendors' Calls
- Down On MacConnachy Square
- Waitin' For My Dearie
- I'll Go Home With Bonnie Jean
- The Heather On The Hill
- Rain Exorcism †
- The Love Of My Life
- Jeannie's Packin' Up
- Come To Me, Bend To Me
- Almost Like Being In Love
- Wedding Dance ‡
- The Sword Dance ‡
|
- Act II
- The Chase
- There But For You Go I
- Steps Stately †
- Drunken Reel †
- My Mother's Wedding Day
- Funeral Dance
- From This Day On
- Farewell Music
- Reprises: Come To Me, Bend to Me / The Heather on the Hill / From This Day On
- Finale (Brigadoon)
|
† Added in 1980 Revival ‡ Moved to Act II in 1980 Revival
Recordings
- 1947 Original Broadway cast recording (incomplete, due to recording limitations of the period; some lyrics were censored)
- 1954 Original motion picture soundtrack (originally incomplete, but re-released on CD with deleted songs, alternate takes, and undubbed vocals)
- 1957 studio cast recording (starring Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy, with Frank Poretta, Susan Johnson, and Portia Nelson)
- 1959 studio cast recording (starring Robert Merrill, Jan Peerce, and Jane Powell)
- 1960 Mexican cast recording (starring Hugo Avendaño, Graciela Garza, Jorge Lagunez, and Amparo Arozamena)
- 1966 Television cast recording (starring Sally Ann Howes, Robert Goulet, and Peter Falk)
- 1988 London revival cast recording (starring Robert Meadmore; some character names and dates were altered to make the show more historically accurate)
- 1991 Studio cast recording (starring Rebecca Luker and Brent Barrett, Judy Kaye, and Gregory Jbara)
- 1998 Studio cast recording (starring Ethen Freeman, Janis Kelly, Megan Kelly, and Maurice Clarke; this recording was later rerecorded with George Dvorsky in the leading role and re-released)
- (year unknown) Studio cast (starring Barry Kent and Elizabeth Larner)
Production notes
- The echoing calls heard during "The Chase" sequence strongly resemble similar calls heard in Weber's 1821 Romantic opera Der Freischütz, particularly in the famous "Wolf's Glen" scene.
References
- ^ "Brig" is a common Lowland Scots word meaning "bridge". It occurs in several English versions of Scottish placenames, such as Brig o' Balgownie.
- ^ a b c List of Broadway productions of Brigadoon at the IBDB database
- ^ Rothstein, Edward. "Brigadoon Is Back Early (After Five Years, in Fact)", The New York Times, November 9, 1991, accessed 6 November 2009
- ^ The 1980 Broadway revival broke the acts here
- ^ Steven Suskin, The Sound of Broadway Music, Oxford University Press, New York, 2009, p. 83.
See also
External links
