Brigadoon

BOOK, LYRICS AND MUSIC BY ALAN JAY LERNER AND FREDERICK LOEWE

Agnes de Mille’s dances for Brigadoon, are known as some of her most comprehensive and dramatic works in her musical theater repertoire. Much of the dance vocabulary is based on authentic Scottish step dancing, which de Mille uses in a way that enriches the human expressiveness of this musical theater work. From the melancholic anticipation of the young bride in the “Come to me, Bend to me” ballet to the noble and ritualistic mourning in the “Funeral Dance,” de Mille’s work deepens the underlining paradox of an enchanted village seemingly protected from the worries of the contemporary world. Brigadoon, as many other of her musical theater works, may be re-staged within the context of the musical theater piece. In addition, Agnes de Mille revisited and reworked the dances of Brigadoon into a ballet entitled The Bitter Weird, which may be performed as an independent piece by dance companies on a mixed program.

Brigadoon. “Come Home to Bonnie Jean Ballet.” Photo Credit: Mark Lyons. Courtesy of College Conservatory of Music-University of Cincinnati.