A Review of Brigadoon at USC

Brigadoon is a story about love and the hope for love. The main plot involves two men from New York present day stumbling across a city called Brigadoon that is not on any map. They discover that there is something odd about the town; it disappears every night and the next day is one hundred years later. This miracle happened because of an elder man in the town becoming worried about witches and bad things happening around Brigadoon; in order to save Brigadoon, he sacrificed himself so that Brigadoon can remain a secluded city. One of the New Yorkers, Tommy, falls in love with Fiona, a woman from Brigadoon. The main plot revolves around Tommy and Fiona's love and whether or not Tommy will stay in Brigadoon.

I think that this production worked really well for a multitude of reasons. The set, lighting, and costumes all helped tell the story effectively. However, the most important aspect to me was the ensemble's acting and creation of a community. I felt that each member of the ensemble created their own unique character to add to the story. In turn, it helped create a sense of a tight-knit community that really cares for each other. It sounds cliché but you could feel the love between all the members of the ensemble. The dances were choreographed and executed so well from all members of the ensemble. The one specific dance that stood out to me was the dance after the wedding with the swords on the floor. The whole community was cheering and clapping as some main dancers and Tommy were executing a dance in which they could not touch the swords that were shaped in a cross. The sense of community was really evident because each character interacted with each other by talking, clapping, and cheering everyone on.

The production accomplished portraying the theme of the search for love by integrating the ensemble with specific moments between characters. The scene in which Fiona and Tommy fall in love at first sight is a perfect example of the integration. The whole town is in the scene doing various things; one person is selling milk, one person is selling bread, people are talking to one another, etc. As the sense of community lingers, in the forefront Tommy is seen on the left side of the stage and Fiona is seen on the right. They catch eyes. Even though they are on opposite sides of the stage, their glance was so specific that the audience knew right away that these two would fall in love. Fiona's friend came by to talk to her and as she was speaking with her, Fiona's eyes drifted towards Tommy direction. The subtle action of a glance spoke the theme; the way she looked at him, the way he looked at her, the way she kept looking at him even when she was engaged in another conversation. Their interactions with the ensemble was treated as though it was only them two in the town.

Another specific example of when the theme worked was the ending scene in which Tommy and Jeff are searching for Brigadoon and stumble across Mr. Lundie. The way it was staged helped the scene but more specifically it was their actions and behavior. Tommy wanted to try so hard to find Brigadoon again; he was on the right side of the stage. Jeff was on the left side of the stage saying at this point that they can't find it. They are on opposite sides of the stage because they are in opposite state of minds; Jeff is not in love and doesn't believe they can find it and Tommy is so in love and wants to find Brigadoon. They hear the ensemble singing and Mr. Lundie appears. Jeff stays on his side of the stage and Tommy runs across the stage to Mr. Lundie. He enters Brigadoon while Jeff stays outside of it. There is an exchange about how Jeff won't stay but Tommy decides to stay. They exchange looks as well as goodbyes. Tommy slowly walks on top of the rock which acts as a bridge to the entrance of Brigadoon. He is going slowly but steady in order to show his readiness to enter the new life with Fiona. Jeff, on the other hand, stays in the same position and does not cross over to Brigadoon. The subtle difference between their actions indicate that Tommy is a romantic character who will do anything for love, and Jeff is one that is more cynical and won't stay because he has no reason.