BRIGADOON

           This year marks the 75th anniversary of the 1947 Broadway musical Brigadoon – which makes it a fitting time for a special tribute to this wonderful but  largely forgotten show.

            Although they had collaborated before, Brigadoon marked the first smash hit by the team of Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics) and Fritz Loewe (music). It was widely praised by the critics and won awards for best musical and in a lot of other categories. And it formed a firm collaborative basis for Lerner & Loewe’s future success with Paint Your Wagon, My Fair Lady, Gigi and Camelot.

            Still, with the exception of Almost Like Falling in Love, none of the Brigadoon songs have achieved classic status in musical theatre memory. But for me, there are plenty of songs in the show that are dazzling. It’s a score that, in the words of one expert “achieved the Scottish tone without parodying it”; and it should be heard more often.

            My theory about this neglect is that the plot and book of Brigadoon aren’t up to the standards of, say, their biggest hit, My Fair Lady. It’s all about a mythical Scottish village, lost in time, that two American guys stumble upon and promptly manage to complicate matters – hard stuff to take seriously. But I want to concentrate on the songs and what they convey, by playing the tunes on the piano and simultaneously speaking (not singing!) the words that bring the music to life.

[Click Play symbol below to start the recording.]