Brigadoon at Church Hill Theatre This Weekend

Mr. Lundie (Michael Whitehill, center) explains to the 20th Century visitors, Tommy Albright (Mark Wiening, back left) and Jeff Douglas (Brian Helgesen, back right), the miracle and mystery of Brigadoon Fiona (Malley Hester, left) and Meg (Becca Van Aken, right) listen. (Photo by Steve Arnold)

Church Hill Theatre is proud to announce the opening of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s legendary musical Brigadoon on Friday, June 10th, 2011. With her classic style and insight, director/producer Sylvia Maloney brings this mythical village to life on the CHT stage. Eastern Shore audiences have come to anticipate Maloney’s June musical at CHT with wildly popular past productions of Oliver!, Music Man, Guys and Dolls, and Hello Dolly. A personal favorite of Maloney’s, she brings passion and expertise to CHT’s production of Brigadoon having directed Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot several years ago.

Lerner and Loewe are the duo of lyricist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe known primarily for the music and lyrics of some of Broadway’s most successful musical shows, including My Fair Lady, Camelot, and Brigadoon.

First produced in 1947, Brigadoon tells the story of a mysterious village in Scotland, which appears for only one day every hundred years. Lerner based his story on a German tale by Friedrich Gerstacker about the mythical German village of Germelshausen that fell under an evil, magical curse. In 1947, memories of the Second World War were too fresh to present a German-themed musical on Broadway, so Lerner reframed the story in Scotland, complete with tartan kilts, bonnie lassies, droning bagpipes, Highland flings, and “Heather on the Hill”.

Far from being a curse, the enchantment is viewed by the villagers as a blessing. According to their covenant, no one from Brigadoon may ever leave the village. If a villager should leave, the enchantment would be broken, and Brigadoon and all its inhabitants will disappear into the mist forever. Two American tourists stumble upon the village just as a wedding is about to be celebrated, and their arrival has serious implications for the village’s inhabitants.

Having become lost in the mists of the Scottish highlands, two young American travelers, Tommy Albright and Jeff Douglas (played by Mark Wiening and Brian Helgesen), chance upon a quaint village not on their map: Brigadoon. The two men quickly get swept up in the village’s preparations for Charlie Dalrymple and Jean MacLaren’s wedding (young lovers played by Kyle Cain and Anna Black). Throughout the day, they meet a list of colorful characters including: the aggressively lovelorn Meg Brockie (Becca Van Aken); Harry Beaton (Conor Maloney), who is in love with the beautiful Jean; Angus McGuffie (Jon Hodgson); Andrew MacLaren (Warren Tewes); and Andrew’s daughters, Fiona (Malley Hester) and Jean.

While Tommy and Fiona, gather heather for the ceremony, their attraction grows. But as charming as Brigadoon appears, Tommy and Jeff notice anachronistic oddities about the town. The schoolmaster, Mr. Lundie (played by Michael Whitehill), explains the parameters of Brigadoon and the ramifications of leaving the village. However, he explains that strangers, if in love, may choose to stay. Torn between the modern world and the love growing in his heart for Fiona, Tommy must choose his path before Brigadoon disappears once again into the mists.

With familiar and new faces to CHT, Maloney has compiled a production staff and cast as magical as the village they have all created. Rounding out the cast are Herb Ziegler, Owen McCoy, Brody Alderson, Brandon Walls, Abigail Shaffer, Samantha Smith, Chelsea Clough, Earl Peyton, Alicia Gale, Alexandria Balcerak, Bryan Betley, Brad Chaires, Sarah Crumb, and Jaclyn Larrimore. Production staff include: Maloney, Brittney Lynn, Faith Souders, Felicia Tuttle, Krista Cain, Liz Clarke, Tammy Cain, Shannon Whitaker, Sarah Crumb, Whitehill, Brian Draper, Earl Lewin, Shawn Ridout, Debra Ebersole, Tina Johnson, Doug Kaufmann, Allie Johnson, and Bernadette Alderson.

So please be sure to make your reservations to sit back and enjoy one of American musical theatre’s favorite escapist fantasies on the CHT stage. Brigadoon materializes on Friday, June 10th and disappears back into the mist on Sunday, June 26th. Performances begin at 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, 2pm on Sundays. Call the CHT office at 410.758.1331 or make reservations online at https://www.churchhilltheatre.org.