Brigadoon NYC Reviews and Tickets

"For the first act anyway, glorious. And if part of that glory was historical — showing us what made musicals tick at the start of the Golden Age -part of it, too, was vehemently alive. Wheeldon’s dances certainly fit that bill, and so does Loewe’s triple-crème music...If, in the second act, Mr. Wheeldon’s invention can’t outrun Lerner’s creeping incoherence, he can at least abridge it. The show’s awkward ending doesn’t undo the gift of the rest."
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“The limitations of the old-fashioned material cannot be disguised...But there's nonetheless plenty to savor...High among the production's strengths is the breathtaking vocal performance of O'Hara...Perhaps the most thrilling highlight is the impassioned dancing of Fairchild...As rousing as they are, the numerous dance interludes do tend to slow down the story, pointing up its relative flimsiness and minimizing character development."
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“A ravishing revival...It’s as ephemeral as the story it tells, and as essential a ray of light as one could hope for today, thanks to a luminous performance by O’Hara and the thrilling staging by director/choreographer Wheeldon...The casting is pitch-perfect across the board...O’Hara is impossibly beautiful, vocally and in conveying Fiona’s romantic determination and heartbreak.”
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"The show...can be a little awkward. The first half lays on exposition and Scottish dancing, as exuberant and athletic as it is, very thick...Still, 'Brigadoon' ascends thanks to its songs and mix of sun and shadow...Wheeldon and the cast make every minute count...Wilson’s voice is handsome and colorful as ever, though his stage presence is a bit paler...And then there’s O’Hara, whose 'Waitin’ For My Dearie' and 'Almost Like Being in Love' spill over with blissful warmth and beauty."
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"A welcome treat…‘Brigadoon’ is not technically part of this season’s Encores! series. But for all intents and purposes, this is an excellent and unusually elaborate Encores! production, with a big cast and orchestra...and accomplished leading players well-suited to such a piece of traditional musical theater…As you would expect, O’Hara sings beautifully…Wilson makes for an appropriately strapping, straight-laced leading man.”
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"As lush as the production is conceptually, though, this 'Brigadoon,' headlined by oddly tentative performances from Kelli O'Hara and Patrick Wilson, is a little more of a bore than the ecstatic delight we want it to be...Yes, Brigadoon is pretty to look at, and even prettier to listen to...But Wheeldon, who also directs, is more focused on creating images than telling a story. The acting suffers and the pacing needs to be picked up so the show feels as fizzy as an Irn-Bru."
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“One of the very finest musicals of Broadway’s so-called golden age...Thanks to the ministrations of Christopher and a knockout singing and dancing cast, magical is the word...High among the numerous attractions of the evening is—no surprise here!—the voice and acting and all-round presence of Kelli O’Hara...The dancing tears up the stage with stark emotionalism...Ticketholders will most assuredly enthuse as they float out of City Center.”
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"Wheeldon further validated his full-blown skill as a stage director along with his long-acclaimed reputation as a choreographer. His production brought to the fore all of the show’s romanticism in captivating fashion...And those folks on stage were pretty wondrous too...And of course, there is the orchestra giving symphonic grandeur to Loewe’s inspired score. It all makes you hope that it won’t be too long before 'Brigadoon' awakens again."
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"According to legend, the mythical Scottish village of Lerner and Loewe’s musical appears only once every hundred years. But you wish a different fate for this glorious production...It’s the dancing, though, that raises the barre, with direction and choreography by former City Ballet dancer Christopher Wheeldon...Please let us not have to wait even 100 days for this beautiful 'Brigadoon' to reappear."
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"This is one lustrous 'Brigadoon,' thanks to a first-rate cast of performers and the magical ministrations of director/choreographer Wheeldon. I had forgotten just how lush and sweeping the score is. Loewe’s music is flowing and supple, alongside Lerner’s intelligent and often cheeky lyrics...Lerner’s libretto is certainly chockablock with his signature wry wit, but it’s also a little on the static side...I’d be willing to see this production again in a New York minute."
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"Dance cannot dominate at the expense of the gorgeous near-operatic songs. In a production so polished and star-studded that it looked like an audition for Broadway, Wheeldon tackled this conundrum by trading between talents...The story presented the only problems...A fantasy of turning back the clock that you might recognize from recent political campaigns...But these few faux pas are nothing that a bit of snipping and rearranging wouldn’t fix."
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