The Belmont High School Performing Arts Company, directed by Liz
Smith, will present the musical Brigadoon
by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe on Friday March 12 at 7 pm and Saturday March 13 at 3 p.m. AND 8 p.m. in the Belmont High School
Auditorium, 221 Concord Avenue.
Brigadoon, which opened on Broadway in 1947 and ran
for 581 performances, and was later made into a very popular film version in
1954, starring Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse, is a heartwarming musical that the
whole family can enjoy. It tells the story of two American hunters who discover
a magical 18th century village in the Highlands of Scotland that
only appears for one day every hundred years. There, they become entangled in
the lives of the villagers, attend a wedding, and discover that when you love someone deeply, anything is possible, even
miracles.
There are many new and exciting challenges for the actors of
Brigadoon. One of the most difficult things students had to learn was to speak
in a believable Scottish accent. Director Smith, who hails from Scotland, asked
her relatives in Aberdeen to record the entire script so the students would be
able to listen to their dialogue in authentic Scottish accents and be better
equipped to embrace the nuances of the dialect.
At the first rehearsal the BHS auditorium became the scene of the
first ever Belmont Highland Games. In
order to immerse themselves in Scottish culture, the entire cast and crew were
split into the 6 different Scottish clans featured in the play and competed in
a wide variety of Scottish themed activities. The students tested their
intellect with a quiz on “all things Scottish”; their physical prowess with a
tug-o-war and tossing the caber (throwing a tree trunk); and their creative
side by creating original clan chants. In addition, each clan designed their
own Clan Banner for one of the scenes in the play. The costumes for Brigadoon
are colorful and authentic with the men wearing traditional kilts and the women
in a rainbow of skirts all made by an army of parent volunteers.
Brigadoon features such well known songs as Bonnie Jean, Heather on the Hill, Come to
Me, Bend to Me and Almost Like Being
in Love. The music is being played entirely by a student orchestra under
the direction of BHS Band Director, Arto Asadoorian with vocal direction by
Sean Landers, BHS Choral Director. A special visiting piper from the Worcester
Kilties will also play during some of the scenes, and weather permitting, will
be greeting the audience outside before the performances begin! The play also
features familiar Scottish dancing including the Sword Dance, which is one of
the most difficult Highland dances to perform.
Tickets for Brigadoon are $15.00 for adults and $10.00 for
students/seniors and are available at the door. Tickets may also be reserved in advance by calling the Ticket
Hotline at 617-993-5844.
Email: ticketshotline@belmont.k12.ma.us. Reserved tickets will be held until 30
minutes before the performance. Tickets may also be purchased in advance
from Champion’s Sporting Goods, 53 Leonard St. in Belmont Center.
