Glorious ‘Brigadoon’ re-emerges in dazzling Goodman Theatre production
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma arrived on Broadway in 1943, in the midst of World War II, and served as a rousing endorsement of America’s pioneering spirit and optimism. Lerner and Loewe’s Brigadoon debuted in 1947, just two years after the war had ended. Listen closely to the rare and radiant Goodman Theatre revival of the musical that has been so fluidly directed and choreographed by Rachel Rockwell, and you will sense something less than triumphalism. Tommy Albright (Kevin Earley), the young New Yorker who has returned from the war and is about to marry a wealthy socialite, is sick at heart. As Fiona MacLaren (Jennie Sophia), the perceptive woman he meets and falls in love with during a pre-wedding trip to the Scottish Highlands, observes, something in his soul seems to be lost. As it happens, the inhabitants of the Scottish town of Brigadoon had their own harrowing experience with war two centuries earlier. And they are still paying the price by living under a protective spell that, since 1746, has allowed them to come to life for only one day every 100 years. Brigadoon is a tragicomic romantic fairy tale full of real-life echoes. But mostly it is a vintage beauty — awash in gorgeous songs performed by a cast with heavenly voices, lush orchestrations, an exquisite blend of traditional Scottish dance and balletic storytelling, and a set that is a clever mix of old and new stagecraft. To be sure, it is a far cry from such contemporary shows as The Book of Mormon and Jersey Boys. And that might just be the secret of its charm.