Brigadoon (1984)
Performances
November 16-18, 23-24, 29-30 & December 1, 1984
Venue
Community Players Theatre
Synopsis
Two American hikers exploring the Scottish highlands encounter something not on their map: the lost town of Brigadoon, which, resulting from a miracle from God, comes to life for only one day every century. One of the Americans, Tommy Albright, falls in love with a local girl, Fiona MacLaren. The problem is that if Tommy stays in the town for more than a day, he can never return home to New York. Not trusting his emotions, Tommy returns home to his fiancée, Jane Ashton, whom he really does not want to marry. In the end, at the last minute, Tommy cancels his wedding and returns to Scotland. In another miracle, because Tommy’s love for Fiona is so great, Brigadoon returns for another brief moment to allow Tommy to enter and never return to the outside world.
Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Music by Frederick Loewe
Historian’s Corner
The second show “Brigadoon” featured George Sims on bagpipes. George had been playing bagpipes since he was 8 years old. He was taught by his great-uncle, a member of the 51st Gordon Highlanders. George was associated with the Chicago Stockyard Kitty Band. During one of the performances, the Bloomington Police were called by a neighbor who was complaining about noise in the neighborhood. When the police arrived and saw that it was the bagpiper preparing to enter the building at the stage door for his entrance playing the funeral music, they stayed to listen to the music and then went and explained to the neighbor what the ‘noise’ was and that it would be allowed those few minutes as the bagpiper entered the theater playing. The neighbor was told that it occurred at the same time every evening during the run of the show. The matinee times were also explained to them. There were no further complaints. This second show of the season also proved to be a critical and financial success.