The original production opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway in 1947 and ran for 581 performances,[2] starring David Brooks, Marion Bell, Pamela Britton, and Lee Sullivan.
[3] Lyricist and book writer Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe had previously collaborated on three musicals; the first, Life of the Party, closed during pre-Broadway tryouts, and the second and third, What's Up?
[6] Thematically, the musical depicted the contrast between empty city life and the warmth and simplicity of the country, focusing on a theme of love transcending time.
[4] Lerner explained the change in producer by saying: "The contract which [Billy Rose] wished us to sign negated Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves.
[8] Though the Highland village of Brigadoon is fictional, it is named after the (Lowland) Brig o' Doon, a bridge located south of Alloway, Ayrshire, Scotland,[9] which is the setting for the final verse of Robert Burns's poem "Tam o' Shanter".
The New York Times's theater critic George Jean Nathan wrote that Lerner's book was based on a German story, published in 1860 by Friedrich Gerstäcker, later translated by Charles Brandon Schaeffer, about the mythical village of Germelshausen that fell under a magic curse.
[12][13] Lerner said that in his subsequent research, he found many other legends of disappearing towns in various countries' folklore, and he pronounced their similarities "unconscious coincidence".
They head over there to get directions back to their inn and find a fair in progress ("McConnachy Square"), with villagers dressed in traditional Scottish tartan.
Archie Beaton's son Harry madly loves Jean and is depressed at the thought of her marrying another, unable to find comfort in Maggie Anderson's devotion to him.
When Tommy asks what that means, Fiona shushes him and leads him away as Charlie celebrates the end of his bachelorhood ("Go Home with Bonnie Jean").
In anguish over Jean's wedding, he announces that he's leaving the town (which would end the miracle, causing Brigadoon to disappear forever into the Highland mists) and sprints away.
The gaiety is interrupted as Archie Beaton enters carrying Harry's body, led by the pipers playing a lament.
[15] The original Broadway production, directed by Robert Lewis and choreographed by Agnes de Mille, opened March 13, 1947, at the Ziegfeld Theatre, where it ran for 581 performances.
[2] It starred David Brooks as Tommy, George Keane as Jeff, Marion Bell as Fiona, Lee Sullivan as Charlie, Virginia Bosler as Jeannie, James Mitchell as Harry, and Pamela Britton as Meg.
It starred Philip Hanna as Tommy, Patricia Hughes as Fiona, James Jamieson as Harry, and Noele Gordon as Meg.
Stage direction was by John Brownlee, principal baritone of the Metropolitan Opera, and the musical director and conductor was Frederick Fennell of the Rochester Eastman Kodak Symphony.
[18] It was revived on Broadway seven years later, directed by George H. Englund and choreographed by De Mille, opening on April 15, 1957, at the Adelphi Theatre, where it ran for 24 performances.
Another Broadway revival, directed by John Fearnley and choreographed by De Mille, opened on January 30, 1963, at New York City Center, where it ran for 16 performances.
[18] The next Broadway revival, directed by Vivian Matalon and choreographed by De Mille, opened on October 16, 1980, at the Majestic Theatre, where it ran for 133 performances and eight previews.
[19] The musical was revived in the West End at the Victoria Palace Theatre, opening on October 25, 1988, and closing August 5, 1989, starring Robert Meadmore (Tommy), Jacinta Mulcahy, and Lesley Mackie.
Directed and choreographed by Rachel Rockwell, with a revised book by Brian Hill, Charles Isherwood of The New York Times called the production "a first-class revival that boasts an infectious buoyancy of spirit and a welcome absence of postmodern flourishes".
Block as Meg Brockie, Aasif Mandvi as Jeff Douglas, Kelli O'Hara as Fiona and Patrick Wilson as Tommy Albright.
A Cinemascope film version of Brigadoon, directed by Vincente Minnelli, was released by MGM in 1954 with Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, and Cyd Charisse in leading roles.
The TV film starred Robert Goulet as Tommy, Peter Falk as Jeff, and Sally Ann Howes as Fiona.
Also appearing were Finlay Currie, in one of his last roles, as Mr. Lundie, Edward Villella as Harry Beaton, and Marlyn Mason as Meg.
Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times praised the musical's integration, saying: "For once, the modest label 'musical play' has a precise meaning.
[7] Robert Coleman of the New York Daily Mirror said: "It took courage to produce Brigadoon, an unconventional musical show of marked originality... [that] still manages to pack a tartan full of popular appeal".
[7] In the New York Herald Tribune, Howard Barnes pronounced Brigadoon: "A bonny thing for Broadway, a scintillating song and dance fantasy that has given theatregoers reason to toss tamoshanters in air".
[7] John Chapman of the Daily News enjoyed the dances but thought there were too many and that they interrupted the story: "Just when I get pleasantly steamed up about the love of Mr. Brooks and Miss Bell, I don't want to be cooled off by watching a herd of gazelles from Chorus Equity running around".
[7] He particularly praised William Hansen's performance as Mr. Lundie, declaring that he "is so irresistibly able to persuade you that if there isn't a village named Brigadoon, there ought to be".