Brigadoon: 15th - 18th November 2006

TATS’ big musical production this year was Lerner and Loewe’s magical Brigadoon. The award-winning show, which features the songs Almost Like Being in Love and The Heather on the Hill, among others, is set in the Scottish Highlands in 1946 – or so it seems!

In fact, the town of Brigadoon appears only once every 100 years and when two American tourists stumble upon it, they find themselves back in 1746.

According to legend, no-one from Brigadoon may ever leave the village – or the enchantment will be broken and all its inhabitants will vanish into the mist forever.

So, when the Americans arrive, just as a wedding is about to be celebrated, it has serious implications for the village and its people…

TOO RISQUÉ

The original Broadway production opened in 1947, running for 581 performances and winning a Tony award for Agnes De Mille's choreography.  It also won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, and has had many well-received revivals over the years.

A film version of Brigadoon, directed by Vincente Minnelli, was released by MGM in 1954 with Gene Kelly, Van Johnson and Cyd Charisse in the leading roles.  The censors refused to allow the use of two songs from the stage version – The Love of My Life and My Mother's Wedding Day – as the lyrics were considered too risqué for general audiences.   They are, of course, back for the TATS’ version!

EVIL CURSE

Lerner's story was based on a much older German story by Friedrich Gerstacker about the mythical, German village of Germelshausen that fell under an evil, magic curse.  In 1947, memories of the Second World War were too fresh to present a German-themed musical on Broadway, so Lerner moved the story in Scotland, complete with tartan kilts, bonnie lassies, bagpipes, Highland flings and Heather on the Hill.

His name for his imaginary locale was probably based on a well-known Scottish landmark, the Brig o’ Doon (Bridge of Doon), in Alloway, Scotland, in the heart of Robert Burns country.  According to Burns’ epic poem Tam o’Shanter, this 13th century stone bridge is where the legendary Tam fled to escape from three witches.  Other sources suggest that “Brigadoon” was constructed from the Gaelic words: briga which means ‘strife’, and dùn which means ‘hill, hill fort, or hill village’ . It could also be a corrupted Scots-English spelling of ‘Break of Dawn’, which, given the village's state of existence, seems to make the most sense. 

Click here to view photos from the Dress Rehearsal

TATS gratefully acknowledges the kindness of ... John Howlett of Central Stores for managing the Box Office, Reg Pearson from The Robin Hood at Clifton Reynes, Janet & Keith Cockings of Turvey Village Hall, Tony & Judy Spencer and Pat & David Combes for lending props, Newpalm Productions for the loan of kilts and Mike Gibbons for his musical skills.