BRIGADOON new adaptation at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

[Fan123]

Posted: 2/1/25 at 6:35pm

I'm curious as to how this will turn out. The adaptation is by Scottish playwright Rona Munro; in this version, Tommy and Jeff will be World War 2 fighter pilots who crash land in Scotland.

https://openairtheatre.com/production/brigadoon

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/1/25 at 7:11pm

I love that score and the general idea of the show but the book is awful. Interested to hear how this is.

I liked the Wheeldon production at City Cwnter a great deal. 

[darquegk]

Posted: 2/1/25 at 9:16pm

I feel like there's exactly one really good, really clever moment in the Brigadoon book, and it's so stylistically out of place it plays as a jarring bit of humor. The bar scene at the end, where the survivors keep hearing snatches of conversation that trigger instant short-form reprises of songs from the score, is like a Mel Brooks comedy bit. It's just... in a show that can't sustain that kind of humor at all.

[Fan123]

Posted: 2/1/25 at 9:40pm

^^ In that vein, I did see a production in Australia in which the below exchange got a good laugh, because of its self-awareness about the plot-serving mechanics of the 'miracle':

Tommy: Just for argument's sake, suppose a stranger like... well... me came to Brigadoon and wanted to stay. Could he?

Mr Lundie: Yes, he could. Mr Forsythe provided for that. [audience laugh]

Jeff: He didn't miss a trick, did he? [audience laugh]

(Interestingly, that production also inserted a line about how the miracle was requested to save the town not from witches, but from the English. I'm not sure how common that change is in modern productions.)

Updated On: 2/1/25 at 09:40 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/1/25 at 10:09pm

One of the problems of the stage production is Harry Beaton dies of Convenience: he falls on a rock and smashes his head. In the movie Jeff absentmindedly shoots him...which might not be much better than the stage production but is at least a little more interesting. Didn't the City Center production adopt that moment from the film as well?

The other Harry Problem is he has the potential to be the most interesting character, in a Jud Fry sort of way. But he's so thinly written and instead Charlie (a relatively meaningless character) gets two big numbers.

I found an old thread talking about John Guare's revision of BRIGADOON that Rob Ashford was to direct around 2009/2010, but then it fell apart. https://forum.broadwayworld.com/thread/John-Guare-Brigadoon

Updated On: 2/1/25 at 10:09 PM

[ggersten]

Posted: 2/2/25 at 2:49pm

We saw the Brian Hill updated version in 2014 at Goodman Theatre, directed by the late Rachel Rockwell. I just remember being entranced by the whole thing - the soaring vocals, the simple but amazing set and the dances (especially the sword dance) and didn't really pay too much attention to the book. I do recall that the town disappeared to be saved from an English attack in that version. 

[joevitus]

Posted: 2/2/25 at 5:07pm

Making Tommy and Jeff WWII fighter pilots if blindingly stupid. Brigadoon doesn't have a great script, but let it be what it is. It works just fine.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 2/2/25 at 5:26pm

ggersten said: "We saw the Brian Hill updated version in 2014 at Goodman Theatre, directed by the late Rachel Rockwell. I just remember being entranced by the whole thing - the soaring vocals, the simple but amazing set and the dances (especially the sword dance) and didn't really pay too much attention to the book. I do recall that the town disappeared to be saved from an English attack in that version."

OMG! This production was INCREDIBLE, I'll never forget it! Jennie Sophia's Fiona was RAPTUROUS; it's stayed with me for all these years 

[Fan123]

Posted: 2/2/25 at 8:23pm

joevitus said: "Making Tommy and Jeff WWII fighter pilots if blindingly stupid."

I don't know; personally the more I think about this idea, the more I think that it could make for an interesting take. Two, presumably at least somewhat traumatised, fighter pilots who crash land and then find themselves in a strangely idyllic town from centuries ago? They would likely suspect, even more strongly than in the original, that they might both be dead or outright insane. Maybe Jeff would never buy into the reality of the situation at all, which might cast some of his actions in a different light; for example, if this version does have him be the one who kills Harry. And it might make a little more sense for Tommy to want to stay in Brigadoon, lack of technology and modern conveniences at all, after what he had presumably just been through in the 'present day'. I mean, it could all go either way. But I am intrigued.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 12:38am

I was enthralled by this production a few weeks ago and resurfaced this thread when I was looking to see if anyone had cataloged the differences in the show over the years (which I still haven't been able to find an extensive list for, so if anyone has that or would like to write it up that would be much appreciated).  But anyways, this was my first encounter with Brigadoon in any way and I loved this production, so I'll detail the changes for anyone that's still interested:

• Jeff and Tommy are downed WWII pilots (still American), trying to find their way back to base, Tommy seems like he has a stomach wound and Jeff has trouble walking.  Tommy does not have a fiance. When they enter Brigadoon they both remark on how much better they feel.
• The act break here also happens after Almost Like Being in Love and act 2 starts with the Entrance of the Clans
• I think most of the events in Brigadoon happen generally the same, but the reason for Brigadoon's disappearance might be slightly different.  They mention that they got word of oncoming war and wanted to hide the town as they're not really warriors (which I think is similar to one of the later rewrites? But it played nicely into the idea of Tommy and Jeff being soldiers too and they commiserate).  The person that explains this is just known as Lundie, and when Fiona introduces her she uses a word I didn't quite make out but she seemed like the wise woman of the clan.
• It looks like Jeff inadvertently trips Harry during the chase and they say he bashed his head on a rock in the fall.  Jeff seems to really struggle with the guilt around this.
• When they leave Brigadoon after Tommy has his moment of doubt, their original injuries come back and they can barely make it forward.  Jeff says he's managed to radio the base and that there will be people coming for them but Tommy keeps saying how Fiona was right and he wants to go back.  Jeff does not make any mention of Brigadoon or anything that happened there.
• Tommy collapses and Jeff panics to the point where it's assumed that Tommy is dead or very close to it.  Jeff calls out for help and Fiona reappears to say to Tommy she loves him and he magically comes back to life and reunites with her, following her back into Brigadoon.  After they leave, the search party finds Jeff and when asked where Tommy is, he just says "he's gone".

I think this plays into the ambiguity of whether Brigadoon was real or simply a fever dream.  My own personal theory is that perhaps Tommy had died earlier (Jeff mentions how Tommy was piloting the plane they crashed in and it was a miracle they managed to land at all) and Jeff feels guilty about surviving, which manifests into him imagining Brigadoon as a "nicer" reason for why Tommy is now gone.

Like I said, I really loved this production (I was actually shocked at how much I enjoyed it).  The DeMille choreography was wonderful to see and they had really great actors, especially for Tommy, Fiona, and Charlie.  Seeing it in Regent's Park, surrounded by the trees and being able to hear the wind rustle the leaves also just added to the atmospheric feel of being in this kind of fairy tale town, and they used the shape of the theater really well, having bagpipe players come down through the aisles of the audience and having the set sort of blend into the nature around the theater.  There are still moments of the show that clunk a bit, like going from the chase and Harry's death into My Mother's Wedding Day into the funeral, and the first Meg/Jeff encounter really just felt a little uncomfortable to watch (though I love Love of My Life).  But I expected far worse and it never really felt all that dated to me.  I'd love to see this production get further life, though I know Alexandra Silber is also penning a rewritten version for Pasadena Playhouse so I'll be curious what changes are incorporated in that one too.

[Dolly80]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 2:03am

It’s not DeMille choreography.. it’s Drew McOnie, who also directed it. 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 3:11am

Dolly80 said: "It’s not DeMille choreography.. it’s Drew McOnie, who also directed it."

Yes you're right, I saw DeMille's name on the website and incorrectly assumed they were adapting her choreography but on closer look it's actually solely credited to McOnie, thanks for the correction! 

[nmartin]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 11:37am

Joevitus said, "Brigadoon doesn't have a great script, but let it be what it is. It works just fine."

Thank you!

If you want to do Brigadoon, then do Brigadoon.

Same with Damn Yankees...and for God's sake leave Pal Joey alone!

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 5:06pm

I've seen this production twice. Might be a major contender against EVITA. Drew McOnie's choreography is magical and beautiful! I was in tears by the end of it. The new adaptation basically makes it a love letter to Scotland.

I gotta say, McOnie's inaugural season at Regent's Park OAT has been a success with Shucked and then this revival. So beautiful. I have come to love this venue in the year I have lived here. Excited to see what McOnie does next year and beyond.