Brigadoon @ Artisan Center Theater
—Jan Farrington
To tell the truth, I’m not quite sure how to review Artisan Center Theater’s Brigadoon, the early Broadway hit (1946) from Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, who went on to greater glory with My Fair Lady and other musicals.
I went to hear the songs, and in fact, they are the production’s stongest element. Even with a pre-recorded score (that seems at times to be rushing things) running behind the singers, the Lerner-Loewe tunes are hummable and lilting, especially as they’re set in the Scottish Highlands of both the 1940s and the 1740s, where our hero (a modern American guy) meets an 18th-century lass who may (or may not) exist in both these time periods.
Her village of Brigadoon, y’see, isn’t on the map any more, as it has an odd habit of slipping into the mists of time and then waking up (for a single day) every 100 years. (It’s a protective spell that was only laid on them a couple of days ago, in their version of time—making this Day Two of their mixed-up existence. No wonder everyone’s still a bit jumpy.)
The plot makes up the fantasy rules as it goes. Brigadoon will vanish forever if any of the townsfolk run away? Oh, not necessarily; there are ways around that, you’ll see. The dancing, while lively, had a tentative feel on the night reviewed, perhaps still settling in after the first few performances. (Artisan’s stage can handle a crowd, but it’s tricky.) A technical glitch made us reboot and repeat the first few minutes of the show. But the costumes are well done and thoughtfully period-styled—both the village plaids and the ‘40s menswear by designer Nita Cadenhead.
And beyond all that, the cast comes through with some fine singing (music direction by Christina Major Davis) and acting—which goes a long way to make the various romances of the story line feel genuinely emotional (in two cases) and fairly comical (in the third). Some of the leading roles are double cast, and on the night I came, the role of Fiona MacLaren was played and sung very well by understudy Lily Hogge (subbing for Kait Perkinson).
Post-WWII New Yorkers Tommy (Devon Watkins) and Jeff (Charles Cannon) are on a hunting trip in Scotland. Lost between towns, they hear music from a foggy valley, and walk into Brigadoon, looking for a “phone.” It’s market day, and all are excited about today’s wedding of Charlie Dalrymple (Nathaniel Clark) and Jean MacLaren (Piper Daniel).
And in Brigadoon, it’s 1746…but not to worry.
Toes in the audience start tapping to Charlie’s song: “I used to be a rovin’ lad / A rovin’ and wanderin’ life I had / On any lass I’d frown, who would try to tie me down, / But then one day, I saw a maid / Who held out her hand, an’ I stayed and stayed. And now across the green, I’ll go home with bonnie Jean.”
Clark and Daniel make a sweet pair. In a sequence during the song “Come to Me, Bend to Me” Charlie sings his love for Jean, the bride he’ll marry in a few hours. She is listening behind him, reaching out to touch—but then shies away. It’s a poignant moment set to a beautiful song, delivered in Clark’s clear tenor.
Watkins and Hogge were engaging and natural as Tommy and Fiona. A bit awkward with one another, but smitten almost instantly, these two have been looking for love and not finding it. They’re wary, and trying to keep things light. He’s a little bit engaged; she knows he’s a stranger who may leave at any hour. But in fits and starts, they go walking, pick heather on the hill, and Tommy is the first one to say it out loud—it’s “Almost Like Being in Love.” His cynical friend Jeff, played with dry comic timing by Cannon, tries to talk him into leaving—though curvy redhead Meg Brockie (played at our performance by scene-stealing singer Mary Ridenour) is playing him like a fiddle. But Tommy isn’t in love with the modern world—and might decide true love is more important, wherever he finds it.
With the clock ticking, we don’t know what’s going to become of Fiona, Tommy and all. Brigadoon’s story is a bit simplistic, even for a musical, and the show is rough around the edges. But strong lead performances and a lively, willing ensemble help ACT’s show go the distance. And the music will stay with you.
WHEN: Through June 24
WHERE: 444 E. Pipeline Road, Hurst
WEB: artisanct.com
