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- [00:00]
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Biga Joe
Fraga Dune that's that's not in the show. Oh my God. Hey, welcome back to my theatre themed YouTube channel. Or hello to you if you are listening to this on podcast platforms. My name is Biga Joe and I am obsessed with all things theater theatre. I'm a professional theatre critic here on social media and today I'm going to tell you all about Brigadoon, the current production at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in London. One of the most magical theatrical spaces in the entire world. One of my absolute favourites. The same theatre where at 16 years old I fell in love with the possibility of everything that theatre could be when I was seeing into the Woods. They produce all kinds of shows at the theatre over the summer. Plays and musicals, mostly revivals, but occasionally new work and premieres as well. Earlier this summer I reviewed Shuck. After that they produced a new production of Malorie Blackman's Noughts and crosses for the stage. And now it is the golden age classic Brigadoon reimagined in a new production. I'm going to tell you a little more about how, but I also want to say what's really lovely is the first show I ever saw at Regent's park was one that totally fit that outdoor environment. Sometimes they're more suited to the location and the specificity of that than at other times. Like Legally Blonde didn't really owe much to its surroundings. Shucked sort of did because it's very like Cornfield set. But Brigadoon really worked in that setting. All of this to say, if you have never seen show at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, it is one of the theatres that you have to visit in your lifetime and this is a really lovely show to see there. It's quintessential Regents Park. Now, I'm going to let you know everything about this production. We're going to talk about the direction by new Regents park artistic director Drew McConi. We are going to talk about the updates to the material and what I think of that material. We're also going to talk about the performances of this exceptionally talented cast. And as always, those will just be my opinions and I would love to know yours. If you have seen Brigadoon already at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, or if you've seen a previous production, let us know all about it in the comments section down below. In the meantime, if you enjoy my review, make sure to subscribe to my theatre themed YouTube channel or go follow me on podcast platforms. In the meantime, let's talk about it. Did I enjoy Brigadoon at Regent's park? So Brigadoon, a 1940s Broadway musical which subsequently came to the West End. It hasn't been produced in several decades in London, but it is of course the work of Lerner and Lowe. That's Alan J. Lerner and Frederick Lowe, and it features one of those very classic and sweeping golden age musical theater scores. The most famous song from which is It's Almost Like Being in Love.
- [04:29]
Mickey Jo Theatre
What a day this has been.
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Biga Joe
Why.
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Mickey Jo Theatre
It'S Almost like being in love.
- [04:35]
Biga Joe
Truthfully, there aren't that many other songs from the score of Brigadoon that have emerged and had the same kind of longevity as, you know, My Fair lady or a lot of the Rodgers and Hammerstein songs of that era, but they still have that same grand, glorious quality. And much as I enjoy hearing contemporary musical theater, I I think Regent's park, when it comes to musicals is best suited to legit gorgeous bel canto singing, lush orchestrations, classic Golden Age scores. There's just something about a lovely summer's evening as the sun is setting, Listening to that kind of music waft over you. It's very romantic and most of the songs are explicitly romantic. We have some lovely love songs in there. We also have some more characterful pieces. If there is a reason why they haven't had the same staying power through history, I dare say it may be to do with. With the lyrics. Some of them are a little bit basic and I know, far be it from me as a 21st century upstart to criticize the work of these genius composers and lyricists, but you can see it in their other work, and there are flashes of brilliance in this as well. It's almost like Being in Love is a sensationally simple and beautiful rapturous lyric. There's a lively song late in the second act called My Mother's Wedding Day, which I think is very fun. It's familiar of like you're Get Me to the Church on Time, but for the most part, I would say that many of the lyrics in the show don't necessarily aspire to the same wit and brilliance of My Fair lady or Camelot. Even now, this production is described as a new adaptation by Rhona Monroe. And what that really looks like here is updates to the book and particularly to the two protagonists. Now, traditionally, this is a story about two American backpackers who get lost in the Scottish Highlands and stumble upon the mythical town of Brigadoon, which is not on a map. They come to find out after noticing the townspeople are incredibly backwards in their ways, we're talking centuries old, that there is something a little bit awry here. It is eventually explained to them that Brigadoon was put under a magical enchantment and disappeared from the world, only reappearing once every 100 years. So even though this happened two centuries before, it has only been two days for them. And at the end of that day, Brigadoon will once again disappear and will presumably reappear in the mid-2040s, at least per this version. I don't know when explicitly the original version is set. Obviously, it premiered in the late 1940s, but this one is also set a few years before that time, because rather than these being American backpackers, these are American fighter pilots who have crashed and are looking for help and in need of some medical care. They are trying to find their way back to base when they stumble upon Brigadoon. And this Is such a genius conceit. Not only does it give them a largely more plausible reason for being there. Other than having, you know, traveled from a different continent to go wander around the Highlands, but it also gives them a sense of depth in their backstory. When they are trying to contend with the decision of whether or not to leave, whether to stay, and the obligations that they face in the outside world rather than having a fiance to get back to. The character of Tommy Albright, along with his friend and fellow soldier Jeff Douglas, has to weigh the urgency of him getting back to his responsibilities in the real world. Which includes an ongoing global conflict. It also allows Jeff, who is significantly less charmed by Brigadoon and its inhabitants than Tommy. To process all of the trauma that he has been accumulating as a fighter pilot flying around central mainland Europe. When the events that transpired during their day in Brigadoon Leads to some unexpected bloodshed. And, and, and. And this is my favorite part of the whole thing. It also gives Brigadoon as a town even more impetus for existing. Because rather than. And I think in the original, it was something to do with witches. There's some dreadfully outdated line about, like. Just like, horrible, terrible, awful women. But it gives Brigadoon more of a reason to have existed in the first place. More of a necessity for the enchantment surrounding Brigadoon. Because instead of whatever that was, the character of Mrs. Lundy now explains that all of this was done to protect the people of Brigadoon From a war that was taking place 200 years before. And so there's such pathos to the notion that Brigadoon has once again reappeared now in the early 1940s. The entire world is at war. And there's a lovely line in there about how the entire world would probably love a Brigadoon. How a lot of people would appreciate a Brigadoon. And the safety and security that the enchantment offers. So that's the big shift in the framing device. And there's little bits of tinkering with individual scenes. That bring the whole thing a little bit more up to date. It doesn't make it feel modern and contemporary. It's really interesting to consider that, you know, the original production was in the late 1940s. And that is now the setting of the new production. Seen from such a different vantage point so many decades later, nearly a century later, in fact. Not to terrify you all, but the 2040s aren't that far away. Objectively speaking of which, having offered that insight into this production the version of Brigadoon, not that it's a show we see very often that I would like to see staged, is one setting them on day three. Brigadoon 2045. Give me Brigadoon 2045 or give me Brigadoon 2145, day four for them years in the future for us. The world is ravaged by the climate catastrophe and people are desperate for the salvation of Brigadoon. That would be fascinating. Anyway, all of this to say, I think the work that Rhona Monroe has done with the show is brilliant. It is still Brigadoon. And if you have any kind of a distaste for classic musical theatre, then you might struggle with this just a little bit. It's not over long. It's not all that slow, necessarily. There are events that unfold. We have repetitive lyrics, we have townspeople dancing through the square for the sake of it, and we have a love story between two characters so instantaneous in its connection that it makes Carousel look, you know, reasonable and mature. And there remains, in spite of the updates to the material and in spite of this brilliant production by Drew mcconi, just a sort of a sheen of dust, just like a thin coat of dust across the whole thing. As there is with a lot of golden age musical theatre material. It's still a little bit old fashioned, but that's also a part of its charm and that's a part of the whole concept of Brigadoon as well. Just like this town reappears once every hundred years, there's a terrific charm in this show, reappearing after nearly 40 years of not being seen in London and with the danger of repeating myself. Let me move on and tell you a little bit more about this specific production, directed and choreographed by Drew McHoney.
- [10:53]
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- [11:55]
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Biga Joe
Now this is Drew's first season programming for the venue as its new artistic director, having taken over from Timothy Sheder. And this, I believe, is his first show as director and choreographer there. If you don't know Drew McKoney, he is this brilliant force, particularly within the dance world with an intersection in musical theatre, and he is known for a lot of his stunning contemporary ballet work and there is so much of that in this. Let me tell you also about his brilliant associates in this creative team. Alessandra Davison is the associate director and Ebony Molina is the associate choreographer, and it's a really beautiful piece of staging that he's put together. There are lots of extended ballet moments. The original choreography was of course, by the legendary Agnes de Mille, who Drew Marconi has cited as a huge inspiration. There are beautiful moments of dance for the sake of dance. There are moments of dance as storytelling. We have sweeping ensemble moments. We have steady moments of participation. We have a whole wedding sequence where the men are doing a dance and then more men join in as we cast cascade left and right across the lower stage area. There are moments when sorrow turns to happiness, when joy turns to tension, all conveyed through beautiful, elegant, vital movement. There's an entire chase sequence which is pulse raising. There is a beautiful sort of a funereal moment in which the extraordinary motion of this wordless sequence is conveyed both by a distraught acting performance and a beautiful moment of dance. There is one moment where Louis Gaunt is as Tommy Albright singing a love song in to Fiona McLaren, who was at my performance, played by Danielle Fiamanya. She and Georgina Honora are sharing the role. More on them in just a moment. But as he is singing this very steady song smartly, Drew McCone has dressed the stage in members of the company performing a beautiful dance piece ending with a little solo moment. It's very passionate, very emotive balletic dance is absolutely the signature storytelling language of this production. And it makes sense, once we've moved into the ethereal world of Brigadoon, that that is how we are communicating the vibes of. Of the moment. But there is sensational direction as well, the intention of which seems to be transporting us and allowing us to ascend to this magical, otherworldly realm. At the very beginning, we start with bagpipes played at the rear of the auditorium on either side, slowly walking down through this amphitheater style seating layout towards the stage. The bagpipes later recur in the show. And props to the music team here. I want to tell you who the musical director is because bagpipes, not an incredibly emotionally dexterous instrument. Very hard to communicate something emotionally with a bagpipe. But they managed to do a great job of conveying the funereal moment that I already described to you with the aid of the bagpipes. That is Laura Bangay as musical director and Sarah Travis as musical supervisor and orchestrator. And it's. It sounded gorgeous. My goodness, did it sound fantastic. Lovely. Also to see the band on stage tucked under this incredible set design. Let me tell you about that next and circle back to how it's used in the direction because one of my favourite sets I've ever seen at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. As a personal side note to all of this, I am currently just beginning to look at theatrical venues where it's possible to get married. Because I am currently engaged and sadly, nothing about my wedding is ready to take place within the next few weeks. But I would happily get married on this particular set at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. I can think of little higher praise that I can offer other than saying that it is gorgeous. It looks a little bit like a Grand Designs house that's built into the ground. It's wood paneled with these sloping diagonal planes that create the impression of a line of hills or mountains. There's grass on the top and people walk up them diagonally up onto the roof like they did with last summer's production of Fiddler on the Roof, allowing us to create these hilltop scenes and convey the idea of characters having traveled much further away from the town than they're able to within this setting. It all beautifully marries to the trees that line the backdrop of the space. There is a little waterfall running down one side. There's a little stream into a pond at the front. It's gorgeous. It's so atmospheric. And throughout the show, once we find ourselves in Brigadoon and As they ready for a wedding, they are collecting. I think it's heather, these purple flowers. I'm a terrible homosexual who doesn't know enough about plants. I apologize. But they are collecting that and lining the stage with it and these little lanterns dotting those around as well. And it steadily looks more and more beautiful. And it's not just about making it look pretty either, because as all of that is happening, it's being done with such an elegance and such a warmth. And it's saying to us, community and town and love and happiness and peace and everything that Brigadoon is allowed to represent and allowed to be free from the perils of the outside world. Making it, as I'm sure you can appreciate, extraordinarily timely for such a time as we are living in. If only we could all Brigadoon ourselves at will. Yes, I'm using that as a verb, that set design. Don't think I wasn't going to tell you who is the work of Basio Bin Kauska. And the costume design is by Sammy Fendel. I adored these costumes. I loved all of the lavender notes, all of the greens in them as well. I thought they were gorgeous. Stunning. They looked like fashionable Jedi knights and I loved that. Finally, then, let's talk about the performances of this brilliant company.
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Biga Joe
So, as I mentioned before, one of the leading roles of Fiona McLaren is being shared equally between two fantastic rising star actresses. Danielle Fiamanya, who has been seen previously in Macbeth, in Frozen, where she understudied the role of Elsa in the Secret Life of Bees, in Mandela at the Young Vic, and Georgina Honora, who was at the park earlier this year in Shucked, who has had this hugely exciting career, who has been in Oklahoma, in the wizard of Oz in the West End. Both of them fantastic rising stars. They are both going to go on to do huge things. And so whichever one of them you get in this production, you are getting a sensational vocalist and actress who delivers star power to the stage. I almost want to go back. And also See Georgina do it. I deliberately went to go and see Danielle because she was cast first and later Georgina was brought in to share the role. But they're both going to be absolutely stellar, whoever you see. And Danielle was wonderful, vocally, absolutely sublime. Such a charm as well. She is Scottish, if you didn't know. The majority of the accents that you hear in this production of Scottish characters are authentic Scottish accents. Because many Scottish actors have been hired. Those who aren't are doing pretty good Scottish accents as well they fare than the American accents. I will say the two American accents from the pilots are if you're not American, then you're probably not going to have a problem with it. Although I'm not and I noticed. So we'll. We'll see how that goes. I do wonder whether, since we were adapting it anyway, whether it was strictly necessary to keep them as American fighter pilots. Is there something to be said for, like, how far away from home they are? Is the sensibility with which they arrive in Brigadoon sort of American in and of itself? Perhaps. Could one of them have been British, you know, illustrating Allied forces? Might that have been interesting? I don't know. Would the song simply just not sound the same if they were seeing why? It's almost like being in love. I mean, they don't need to do it like it's on the street where you live, but you get the idea. Speaking of them, they are played by Cavan Clark and Louis Gaunt. I particularly enjoy Karen's acting performance and the. The darkness that seeps in as he eventually invokes in conversation the horrors that the two of them have witnessed as soldiers. I think that's a really important dimension to bring to the piece. Otherwise it all feels pointless. Once we get into that conversation, then we understand the purpose and the meaning and the depth of Brigadoon. And it's not just like a fairy kingdom that we've stumbled into. It's an actual place of refuge and sanctity. Louis Gaunt, as ever, is deeply charming and very charismatic on stage. He has that leading man energy about him. I don't know if the score fits his voice as effortlessly as I've heard with him in other roles, but you definitely buy into the romantic connection between him and Danielle as Fiona, which is good because they meet and it's sort of naught to 100, like a roller coaster. So you really. You have to get on board, otherwise you're flying out of the car. Now let's talk about some standout performances from within the supporting cast, beginning with Nick Myers. What a star is Nick Myers. Absolutely sensational. Any chance to see her on stage, Always a great day. She plays another woman of the town of Brigadoon named Meg, who takes an instant liking to Jeff, the other soldier who isn't Tommy, although that isn't necessarily reciprocated. I would say that the adaptation has done Meg some considerable favors in the way that she is now depicted. But she remains a firecracker. Think of her as a Scottish Ado Annie. She has a couple of great one liners and in a show which on more than one occasion needs a life saving transfusion of blood to keep it alive and to keep the momentum going as it is quite steady and a little dusty. Like I said, she is a stick of dynamite that blows the whole thing up. Fantastic work from her. Great singing, great dancing. Hilarious. And speaking of dancing, there are several, several that we need to talk about. Adam Davidson is a scene stealing dancer in the ensemble. Chrissy Brook has great moments of dance as Maggie Anderson and one lovely little solo moment which is very poignant. Who else? Who else? Oh, Danny Nattras as Harry Beaton. A lot of his work is in dance, but some brilliantly moving acting as well, some real depth to his character. We meet him as the one young man who is miserable in an otherwise enchanted and happy town because the girl who he grew up as a childhood friend of and who he still has this great love for is on this day getting married to somebody else, filling him with despair, made all the more agonizing by the reality that he is trapped in this town because if one person leaves, it dooms them all to disappearing basically into destruction. So he has no choice but to stay and watch his own miserable life. But his moments of dance that he has in the show, some of my absolute favorites. Sensational work. Tim Hodges is another one who stands out executing this choreography. And bless Drew McKoney for always giving us brilliant moments of male ballet and male dance. Tim has worked with Drew on many of his previous productions and has a lovely brief little solo moment at the end of that song. I mentioned that Louis Gauntlet, his singing, which is mesmerizingly performed, really stunning. All in all, it is a lovely and enchanting production which captures much of the magic of that setting of that unique theatrical experience that is Regent's Park Open Air Theatre with an equally magical production. It's golden age, it's classic, it's old fashioned, but very smartly updated and brilliantly performed. Astonishingly choreographed and directed. A lovely way to spend an evening in the summer, go and check it out at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. And if you already have, let us all know in the comment section down below if you agreed with my review or if you didn't what you thought about Brigadoon. Thank you so much for listening. I really enjoyed sharing that with you and I hope that you enjoyed listening to my thoughts about Brigadoon. If you want to hear my thoughts about other shows upcoming reviews, make sure you're subscribed right here on YouTube. There is a button somewhere below my face that if you click it it will turn on notifications. That means your device or your computer will let you know every time I share a new video to YouTube, which is essentially daily. Or if you'd prefer to just listen to me, then you can go and find me on podcast platforms and other social media apps in the meantime. As always, though, we are not living in a Brigadoon of our own. I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey day.
- [24:50]
Mickey Jo Theatre
For 10 more seconds, I'm Mickey Jo Theatre. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day.
- [24:59]
Biga Joe
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- [25:04]
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- [25:16]
Biga Joe
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