Odell Public Library Friends announces more tickets are available for the Chicago, IL, trip to see Brigadoon, a beautiful and beguiling musical, on Saturday, July 19, 2014. Due to a growing waiting list, more tickets have been purchased for the 2:00 p.m. matinee performance of this classic Lerner and Loewe musical at the Goodman Theater.
The cost for the trip is $85, which includes deluxe motor coach transportation, center mezzanine seating, and a pre-theatre Loop shopping time, or a Chicago Cultural Center Tour led by Ned J. Nesti, Jr. Checks are payable to the Odell Public Library. Meals are not included in the cost. Lunch will be on one’s own, with a list of Loop restaurants available. On the return trip home, the bus will stop for a leisurely dinner (on your own and from the menu) at Cooper’s Hawk in Naperville, IL.
Americans Tommy and Jeff get lost on a vacation in Scotland. They stumble into Brigadoon, a mythical 18th century village that appears for only one day every 100 years. No outsider can stay in Brigadoon unless they fall in love. No resident can ever leave, or the village will disappear forever. Tommy meets and falls in love with Fiona, a girl of the village. He, then, is forced to choose between returning to the world he knows, or taking a chance of life and love in the mysterious Brigadoon.
Brigadoon is one of the most cherished American musicals, with a lush score, authentic dances, and an evocative story. The show, at times comic and rueful, was inspired by both a European myth and by Alan Jay Lerner’s visit to the Brig o’ Doon ( Bridge over the River Doon) in Scotland. Written in 1947, Brigadoon offered post-war audiences in booming America an escape to a colorful, simpler time and place.
“We all have a desire to disappear occasionally for awhile and come back later,” said Don Miller, who has appeared in Brigadoon twice. “That is its lure.”
Brigadoon is making its first major revival in nearly 20 years. Award-winning director/choreographer Rachel Rockwell is named “a theatrical magician” by the Chicago Tribune for her gift of revolutionary grand-scale revivals of beloved American musicals, such as “Annie,” “Sound of Music,” and “Miss Saigon.”
“It is a great opportunity to revive this beautiful story of faith and the over-riding power of love,” she commented.
“This is an opportunity to see a wonderful, magical musical in an historic theater in an awesome city,” stated John Frame. The trip is designed around the 2:00 p.m. matinee performance, the ambiance of Chicago, and not a lot of walking. The bus will leave at 9:00 a.m. and return at 9:00 p.m.
“We wanted to make this a day for all,” said Nesti.