Overview
Synopsis
When New Yorkers Tommy Albright and Jeff Douglas get lost on a vacation in the Scottish Highlands, they stumble into Brigadoon. Brigadoon is a mythical village that, they learn, appears for a single day once every hundred years. At first, Tommy and Jeff are mystified by the villagers’ 18th century garb as they go to market, but they are soon charmed by romantic liaisons: Tommy, who is engaged back in New York, falls terribly in love with headstrong Fiona, while Jeff enjoys a harmless flirtation with Meg Brockie. It is only when Harry Beaton, the rejected suitor of Fiona’s sister, Jean, tries to leave Brigadoon that the two men realize the complicated truth: at the end of the day, this town will disappear into the mist for the next hundred years – and if anyone succeeds in leaving Brigadoon, the town and the people in it will be lost, forever. Tommy is forced to choose between returning to the world that he knows and his New York fiance — or taking a chance on life and love in a mysterious new place. Including such famous hits as “Heather on the Hill” and “Almost Like Being in Love,” Lerner and Loewe’s Brigadoon has music that will sweep you off your feet and a whimsical story that is a tribute to the power of true love.
Show Information
- Book
- Alan Jay Lerner
- Music
- Frederick Loewe
- Lyrics
- Alan Jay Lerner
- Category
- Musical
- Age Guidance
- Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 1947
- Genres
- Comedy, Romance, Fairy Tale/Fantasy
- Settings
- Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- highland of scotland and new york city, “present day” (1947)
- Cast Size
- large
- Orchestra Size
- Large
- Dancing
- Heavy
- Licensor
- Music Theatre International
- Ideal For
- College/University, Community Theatre, High School, Large Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Religious Groups, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Young Adult, Mature Adult, Elderly, Early Teen, Late Teen Characters
Context
Plot
Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Female |
Soprano |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Alto |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
|
|
|
Featured |
Male |
|
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Bass |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Silent |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
|
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Tenor |
|
|
Ensemble |
Male |
Silent |
|
|
Ensemble |
Male |
Silent |
|
|
Ensemble |
Either Gender |
|
Songs
Act One
- Overture
- Prelude (Once in the Highlands) - Ensemble
- Brigadoon - Ensemble
- Vendors' Calls - Ensemble
- *Down on MacConnachy Square - Ensemble
- *Waitin' for My Dearie - Fiona and Girls
- *I'll Go Home With Bonnie Jean - Charlie and Ensemble
- *The Heather on the Hill - Tommy and Fiona
- Rain Exorcism (added in 1980 revival)
- The Love of My Life - Meg Brockie
- *Jeannie's Packin' Up - Girls
- Come to Me, Bend to Me - Charlie
- *Ballet - Jean and Girls
- *Almost Like Being in Love - Tommy and Fiona
- *Wedding Ceremony/Entrance of the Clans - Ensemble
- *The Sword Dance - Harry and Ensemble
Act Two
- *The Chase - Ensemble
- There But for You Go I - Tommy
- *Steps Stately (added in 1980 revival)
- Drunken Reel (added in 1980 revival)
- My Mother's Wedding Day - Meg and Ensemble
- *Funeral Dance - Maggie
- From This Day On - Tommy and Fiona
- Farewell Music
- Reprises: Come to Me, Bend to Me / The Heather on the Hill / From This Day On - Fiona and Charlie
- Finale (Brigadoon) - Ensemble
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
References an era of book musicals written roughly between the 1940s and the 1960s.
A Broadway musical written and produced between 1943 and 1965.
Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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