‘Brigadoon’ comes to Escondido
The Escondido Center for the Performing Arts will look and sound a little bit more like Broadway later this month, as a visiting theater company will stage the popular musical “Brigadoon.”
The Fullerton Civic Light Opera will be bringing the play to the arts center for four performances May 28-30.
“Brigadoon” features popular songs, such as “Almost Like Being in Love,” “Come to me, Bend to Me,” and “There But for You Go I.”
The 1947 play tells the story of two New Yorkers who get lost in the Scottish Highlands during a hunting trip and stumble upon an enchanted village that only appears once every century, provided that no one ever leaves it.
They arrive, meet women and, as the town prepares for a wedding, a jilted suitor might just find a way to bring the wedding to a screeching halt.
“It’s a romantic comedy and adventure with some Scottish culture,” said producer Griff Duncan. “You get bagpipes, an 18-piece orchestra, some bonnie lasses and highland swing.”
The play (which was later turned into a movie in 1954 starring Gene Kelley, Van Johnson and Cyd Charisse) was the first to be written by Alan Jay Lerner (books and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music), who would later team up again for “My Fair Lady.”
This will be the second production that the Fullerton-based company brings to Escondido this season. They staged “Backwards in High Heels, The Ginger Rogers Story” in March and plan to bring “Ring of Fire,” the Johnny Cash musical on August 6-8 featuring Jason Edwards, the original Broadway star of the musical.
The FCLO, a 37-year-old theater company that also supplies sets for many theater companies (Duncan said the nonprofit is the second largest scenery provider in the nation), is looking to establish itself in Escondido with what it’s calling its “Broadway Series.”
“What we hope to do is establish ourselves down there as an important part of the community,” Duncan said. “We hope to bring four major musicals a year to the center.”
The plays feature full live orchestras, with 18 musicians in the pit. Duncan said all of the shows are created in Fullerton (“Brigadoon is playing there until May 23) before they come down to Escondido.
Duncan said he believes the FCLO has found a good second home in Escondido because the demographics of the area match those of their audiences in Fullerton.
The production stars Robert Patteri as Tommy. He has an extensive acting background, who played the “Beauty and the Beast” villain “Gaston” in London, Toronto and Los Angeles and has toured the title role of “The Scarlet Pimpernel” for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The role of Fiona will be played by Jennifer Mathews, a FCLO regular who is a member of the Actors Equity Association.
Tickets for the show range from $37 to $65. For more information about the show, go to artcenter.org or call 800-988-4253.
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Posted by unestidstwern
on May 20 2010. Filed under Archive.
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