October 25th, 2011
Published by: mooresb
Brigadoon Remembered By Richard H. Evans October 25th, 2011
It is hard to imagine that it has been 47 years since the University School brought to the stage of Hughes Hall, on the Ohio State University campus, the major musical production of Brigadoon by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. But in 1954, that mystical, magical village which only comes alive but once every hundred years for one day, appeared for all to savor the atmosphere . The University School music and art departments presented many excellent operettas and musicals over the years, but surely Brigadoon has held a special place in the hearts of those that it touched.
For some authenticity and inspiration, visitors from Scotland were brought in to bring the flavor of their country to Ohio. Mayor Van der Zee, and his friend, spoke to the chorus in Room 100 one day. Another time, a Mr. Peters came to play the bagpipe.The bagpipe was also featured in the final performance. Months of planning ensued to design the costumes and scenery, which by necessity had to be collapsible, so that it could be removed each night and the stage cleared for next day OSU activities. Even the programs and tickets were specially designed to incorporate a Scottish plaid motif. Singing, dancing and orchestra rehearsals were being conducted everywhere, it seemed. We were blessed with the piano talent of Martha Dale during rehearsals, who could play the entire orchestra score and make it sound like all of the instruments were in place. Of course, during the performances, all of the instruments were in place, augmented with some outside musicians from the college. But, we were not without our own talented musicians.Just listen to the Brigadoon tapes to hear the clarinet dexterity of Jack Williams, Ellen Doan on the flute, Don Crossley and Helen Minton on the violin, Chuck Haines on trumpet, and
Walt Reckless on the French horn, just to name a few. If only today's sound technology were available back then. The final script was dittoed for the cast to memorize, and the full score from Tams-Widmark was received for the musicians to rehearse. The music publisher, by the way, was due a royalty fee for the privilege of performing this musical. This was one reason that such expensive productions were limited in performance, plus the many resources that are required by everyone.
Mary Tolbert enjoys telling the story of "master electrician" Kiefer Newman's redesign of the Hughes Hall stage lighting system one evening between performances. After climbing onto the catwalks overhead, lights were realigned and wires attached hither and yon. Well, Kiefer was satisfied with his work, but the OSU Director of Music Eugene Weigle was not. As on the next day, scarcely anything would work as it should! Well, Mary Tolbert and craftsman Victor Hoffman would laugh at this incident much later, but soothing Mr. Weigle and restoring the lighting to his satisfaction at that time was another matter. Of course the production was a great success, and not to be overlooked were electrifying performances of Shirley Stoughton with her clear soprano voice, and the intricate, forceful dancing on crossed swords with hands held upright in a graceful arc by Jim Payton. Brigadoon was not just a light musical, but included many dramatic moments that would tug at the heart.One of the memorable lines in the play, somewhat 1
October 25th, 2011
Published by: mooresb
paraphrased, was: 'It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.' In the end, who will ever forget the spell of Brigadoon?
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