Broadway Breakdown: SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS with Jon Reilly

Host: Matt Koplik
Guest: Jon Reilly
Release Date: July 18, 2024

Episode Overview

In this episode, Matt Koplik and guest Jon Reilly (host of the "Life’s But a Song" podcast) take a deep, brutally honest, and frequently hilarious look at the legacy, challenges, and problematic nature of the beloved MGM musical, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). They scrutinize the cinematic classic's impact, its notorious plotline, its translation to the stage, and whether it deserves its esteemed place in musical theater history. This forms part of Matt’s ongoing series examining “problematic shows you’re mad at and their possible redemption.”

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers?" – Context of Its Legacy

• Unusual for the Podcast: This is a rare episode focused primarily on a movie musical, not a Broadway show, because the film's influence on musical theater is so outsized.
• Cultural Impact: The movie remains beloved, had box office success (top ten in 1954), was Oscar-nominated for Best Picture, and spawned TV shows, remakes, and notable regional stage productions.
  • "This movie was in the top 10 highest grossing films of the year. It was a nominee for Best Picture at the Oscars. That's super embarrassing." — Matt, [11:24]
• No Major Backlash: Unlike others in the "problematic" series, this film was never publicly reevaluated or especially condemned; most reactions remain nostalgic and affectionate.

2. First Encounters and Enduring Appeal

• Jon’s Nostalgia: Watched as a child, chiefly remembered for the barn raising dance.
  • "A lot of people forget about the rest of the movie. Except for the barn dance." — Jon, [15:40]
• Matt’s First-Time Watch: Only knew of its reputation—discovering the “problematic” plot and the unexpected horniness of the movie in real time.
  • "I did not know about the kidnapping. I did not know about the misogyny. I did not know about... how horny this movie is." — Matt, [23:39]

3. The Plot: A Wild, Problematic Ride

• Plot Breakdown: Set in 1850s Oregon, Adam weds Millie after knowing her for moments, and she discovers she’s expected to cook, clean, and civilize his six unruly brothers. The brothers, after Millie’s “training," kidnap women they fancy to forcibly bring to the homestead, inspiring an avalanche to cut them off from town. Over time, the women warm up to their captors—a plot loosely based on the Roman myth of the rape of the Sabine women.
  • "Adam comes in at the top of the movie being like, I'm going to get a wife today. Today's the day that I'm getting married." — Matt, [40:14]
• The Barn Raising Number: Universally recognized as the film's high point—a technical dance masterpiece and the scene everyone remembers.

4. Agency, Misogyny & Stockholm Syndrome

• Agency Debate: The screenplay’s credited writer, Dorothy Kingsley, claimed she gave Millie (the main female character) “agency.” Matt disagrees after reading both the original short story and watching the film, finding Millie mostly passive and righteous but not actually active.
  • "Dorothy Kingsley is absolutely wrong... in the short story, Millie actually hatches the plan to kidnap the wives. In the movie, she's just kind of there to admonish men." — Matt, [50:54–55:19]
• Stockholm Syndrome: The hosts note the classic “falling for your kidnapper” dynamic, with Jon frustrated by the quick reversal of outrage to desire among the brides.
  • "Ladies, ladies, you are better than this! Remember what, a few months ago, you were mad at them!" — Jon, [65:01]

5. The Musical's Gender Politics & Attempts at Adaptation

• Attempts to Fix the Story: Various stage adaptations (including a Broadway attempt in the 1980s) unsuccessfully tried to “fix” the story’s gender dynamics, often making only surface-level changes.
• Frank Rich’s Scathing Review: The infamous NY Times critic called the 1982 stage adaptation a “threadbare touring package” and criticized everything from the inexplicably red-haired brothers to the new, uninspired songs.
  • “How does one begin to describe Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, the threadbare touring package that mistakenly unpacked on Broadway last night?" — Frank Rich (quoted by Matt), [112:00]

6. Queerness, Horniness, and Choreographic Glory

• Covert Gay Appeal: The movie’s parade of shirtless, color-coded, dancing brothers, its “1950s horniness,” and the subtext of isolated men living together, all get the hosts’s irreverent, queer reading.
  • "If Pride Weekend was a movie, it would be this movie. Because on the surface level, they’re doing so much for the gays. But if you actually stop and pay attention—like, oh, you don’t care about the gays at all." — Matt, [31:51]
• The Barn Dance as High Art: Despite everything, the barn raising choreography remains iconic and, arguably, the single justification for the film’s cultural memory.

7. Why the Stage Versions Fail

• Stage Challenges: The central barn raising dance is so athletic and cinematic that stage versions inevitably disappoint; the story’s issues only magnify on a modern stage.
• Still a Regional Staple: Despite its Broadway flop, the show remains a perennial favorite for community and regional theaters.

8. How Could The Story Actually Be Fixed?

• The Hosts’ Consensus: Ultimately, the plot is so tied to kidnapping and forced marriage that it’s likely irredeemable without fundamentally changing the story’s DNA.
• Modern Sensibilities: Attempts to soften or justify the abductions—on stage or in reboots—fall flat. Audiences today find the central premise "creepy and weird."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Musical’s Enduring Popularity:

  • “There isn't a major public backlash about this movie. When I shared on Instagram that we were covering this, the majority of the responses were 'I love this movie.'” — Matt, [10:34]

• On Agency in the Story:

  • "In the original short story, Millie—the 'bride'— actually engineers the kidnapping plot! In the movie, she's just a bystander." — Matt, [50:54–55:19]

• On Stockholm Syndrome:

  • "Nobody talks about the Stockholm in this!" — Jon, [20:06]
  • "The brothers never enforce violence or reward submissiveness, but outside of that, every other thing you would see in a textbook definition [of Stockholm syndrome] is here." — Matt, [63:35]

• On the Film’s Horniness:

  • "I did not know... how horny this movie is. And that was a pleasant surprise." — Matt, [23:39]

• On the Broadway Flop:

  • “Its scenes don’t so much end as lurch into darkness... Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, the fifth musical bomb to be planted in the Alvin in ten months.” — Frank Rich, [112:00]

• On Attempts to 'Fix' the Show:

  • "You can't really escape the kidnapping plotline. I guess what you can do is maybe try to frame it in a way where it's so obviously wrong—and hilariously wrong—but then how do you come back from that?" — Matt, [126:02]

• On the Queer Appeal and Costuming:

  • "If Pride Weekend was a movie, it would be this movie... hot men, rainbow shirts, but the narrative doesn't care about the gays." — Matt, [31:51]

• On Possible Revivals

  • “Do you think that it’ll ever come back to Broadway?” — Jon, [127:18]
  • “God, no. ...I don’t know how you come back from the kidnapping, or Adam being the absolute worst.” — Matt, [127:22–128:02]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [06:46] – Introduction of the topic & why it’s unique for Broadway Breakdown
• [10:34] – Lack of backlash/why people still love the movie
• [15:20] – How Jon & Matt first encountered the movie
• [23:06] – Matt’s first time watching: real-time discoveries of film’s issues
• [37:42] – Detailed plot summary with context and comic asides
• [50:48] – What the original story is, how the film changes (or doesn’t) female agency
• [63:02] – Stockholm syndrome segment
• [76:28] – The barn raising dance and why only the film could pull it off
• [111:45] – Reading of Frank Rich’s iconic review of the 1982 Broadway version
• [126:02] – Discussion: Is there any way to “fix” this property?
• [130:00+] – What makes a good revival; thoughts on current state of musical theater revivals
• [141:08] – How modern audiences and even conservatives might react to the movie’s plot today

Tone & Style

Matt and Jon are razor-witted, foul-mouthed, and fiercely opinionated, but their bone-deep love of musical theater is infectious. The episode swings rapidly between deep research, sharp social critique, high-camp humor (lots of sexual innuendo and queering of Golden Age tropes), and bursts of musical geekery, always maintaining an irreverent, insider-y, and queer-informed viewpoint.

Final Thoughts

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a paradox: a film revered for its athletic choreography and suppressed for its aggressively misogynistic plot, which no amount of revision or stage adaptation seems able to redeem. Matt and Jon’s verdict is that, while the movie holds nostalgic and even queer-camp value for many, its legacy is fraught, its story deeply flawed, and its musical numbers (save for the barn dance) largely forgettable.

As Matt puts it:
"I could appreciate some of it but I could not enjoy all of it." [141:47]

Closing Diva

The episode closes with an ode to Audra McDonald, the ultimate Broadway diva, as chosen by Jon for the show’s "Diva of the Day."

For listeners:

Join the discussion on the Broadway Breakdown Discord. Share your own takes, barn-raising clips, or production stories in the episode thread!

[Episode available at: bwaybreakdown.substack.com ]