History of Brigadoon

Once upon a time there was a little village in Germany called Germelshausen. Put under a spell it disappeared into the mist and magically appeared a century later in the Scottish Highlands (having made a fleeting attempt to materialise in North America and Ireland on the way). The Curse on this village miraculously turned into a Blessing and the strange outsider transformed into two Americans. The village became known as 'Brigadoon' (the Bridge of Doon) and its fame grew until people came from miles around to see it.

The folk in the village lived happily ever after until the fateful day when a dancer called Kelly persuaded a film company to let him take over the village. Kelly banned all the traditional folk dances and even the sword dance, which was always an important part of wedding celebrations, and he taught the villagers jazz dance instead. The film company joined Kelly and told the folk they had to change their names: MacKeiths became Campbells, Ritchies became Beatons, Camerons became Dalrymples and some people disappeared altogether. Kelly didn't always find singing very easy, so he decided to put an end to some popular songs sung in the village. Meg the milkmaid was forbidden, by law, to sing at all, in case she upset the children. Even Charlie Cameron wasn't allowed to serenade his fiancee in case it gave people ideas. Funerals were stopped, along with anything that allowed folk to express their feelings. Some people lost their homes and they found that their beloved mounains turned shiny and blue.

For 30 years life dragged on for Brigadoon until one day folk could stand it no longer and all met in the square, vowing to return to the way life used to be. So it was that in 1987 Brigadoon emerged once again out of the mist to be a real community of Highlanders with its traditions, its loves, its innocent gambollings, its sense of humour and its tragedies. Its people have lived happily and unhappily ever since.

Lerner and Loewe met by change in 1942 and agreed to team up to write a musical. Their first attempt was disastrous and 1943's What's Up was also a flop. In 1945 The Day Before Spring was a little more successful, but it was 1947's Brigadoon that set them on the road to fame. This was followed by Paint Your Wagon (1951), My Fair Lady (1956), Gigi (1958), and Camelot (1960).

Once completed, Brigadoon was rejected by all available musical producers (including Rodgers and Hammerstein) except Billy Rose, who demanded total control and major alterations. Then Cheryl Crawford accepted it - enlisting brilliant Agnes de Mille to choreograph and Robert Lewis to direct.

In spite of poor reviews, audiences loved it and in March 1947 (60 years ago exactly) Brigadoon first hit Broadway (585 performances) then London (700 performances).

The forumla for Brigadoon is familiar - scene by scene parallels with Oklahoma! (1943) are unmistakable - but if post-war audiences wanted excape into fantasy laced with realism, why not?

In 1987 (after the disastrous 1954 film) the original Brigadoon successfully returned once more to the stage where it belonged. Here's hoping it isn't 100 years until its next appearance out of the mist.

(Click on the image to return to the Brigadoon web page.)