Movies - Brigadoon

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Brigadoon is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, first produced in 1947. It tells the story of a mysterious village in Scotland, which appears only one day every hundred years. Two American tourists stumble upon the village by chance, as a wedding is about to be celebrated, and their arrival has serious implications for the village's inhabitants.

Songs from the show include, Almost Like Being in Love, My Mother's Wedding Day and The Heather on the Hill.

The original Broadway production, directed by Robert Lewis and produced by Cheryl Crawford, opened March 13th, 1947. It starred David Brooks as Tommy, Marion Bell as Fiona, Lee Sullivan as Charlie, and Pamela Britton as Meg. It ran for 581 performances and shared 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.

The musical version of Brigadoon (MGM), directed by Vincente Minnelli, was released in 1954 with Gene Kelly, Van Johnson and Cyd Charisse in leading roles.

The fictional name "Brigadoon" appears to be constructed from the Gaelic words: briga which means "strife", and dùn which means "hill, hill fort, or hill village." The name may also be a reference to the Celtic Goddess Brigid, as in "Brigid's Hill." See also Alloway for another interpretation. In Scots, the Scottish dialect version of English, "brig" means "bridge". Brig o'Doon is mentioned in Tam o'Shanter, a poem by Robert Burns.

Synopsis

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 consulting a map and discussing Tommy's general ennui, they begin to hear music ("Brigadoon"); then they notice, in a valley nearby, a small 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. We are introduced to 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.

As the fair continues, the McLaren family enters, consisting of patriarch Andrew and his two daughters Fiona, a beautiful girl of about 24, and Jean, who is dainty and sweet and approximately 18. They are there to purchase supplies for the wedding of Jean to Charlie Dalrymple. It is revealed that Harry Beaton is still madly in love with Jean, and 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 explains why she would rather wait than marry 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 of about 24. 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 return and talk about his impending marriage to his fiancée Jane; clearly 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 "dinna" likes anything he says. She attempts to leave to gather heather for the wedding, but Tommy insists on going with her ("The Heather on the Hill").

In the next scene, Meg has taken Jeff to a place in the forest with a cot where he can rest. 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.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Brigadoon ]

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Movies - Brigadoon

Synopsis

Act I

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