Brigadoon

Okay, I'm speaking out of my hat here. I was only three when this aired and I don't remember having seen it, but I do have the cast album and it is tremendously good.

I can only imagine what it must have been like to see Edward Villella dance. Goulet and Howe are perfect leads, and Tommy Carlisle has a delightful tenor.

This must have been recorded for posterity. Why on earth it isn't on DVD...

Recreating it as a dance vehicle for semi-singer Gene Kelly and non-singer Cyd Charisse may have seemed like a good idea, but this one needs a singer's treatment, and the TV broadcast should be available.

Whom do I write?

I am another one who remembers this wonderful production when I was a child. I also had the cast album. I think my favorite song was "My Mother's Wedding Day" sung by "Meg Brockie" - Marlyn Mason. What a hoot! Notice that was the one song that was left out of the Gene Kelly/Cyd Charisse version! I guess it was just a touch racy. Its funny, but for years I couldn't get anyone to believe that there had ever been another version of Brigadoon besides the Kelly/Charisse version. I almost thought that I had dreamed it, but then I would look at the album cover and KNOW i was right! Even my mom didn't believe me - and she had watched it with me!

And yes, I dearly wish this was available on VHS or DVD!

YIPPEE!!! There are 9 pieces of it on YOUTUBE - including Charlie singing Come To Me Bend To Me to Jeannie!!

The entire "Brigadoon" can be downloaded legally for private use from www.archive.com, the website of the U.S. National Archives. Apparently the producers failed to renew the show's copyright and it fell into the Public Domain (disclaimers are posted on the website). It's a beautiful production consistent with mid-1960s TV syntax and is especially valuable for its long, unbroken takes where one can watch the actors actually construct a sustained performance. That said, the inevitable cuts to the book undermine the already-fragile premise of a village that comes back to life every hundred years. This "Brigadoon" needs to be watched with a knowledge of the original -- which was, itself, hard to swallow except for (sigh) romantics.

I saw this in 1966..I was 13...just discovering my love for the theatre...and for a girl in my 8th grade class. A very heady collision. I have since seen the film...(ouch)...seen the 1980 B'way revival...(excellent!!)!...been in the show...and directed it as well. This was a fine accounting of the show. Goulet was at the top of his game..the last of the 60s leading men..Peter Falk was the PERFECT Jeff...and Sally Anne Howes was lovely...It played on TV like a real theatre piece...not as a film...and it prospered by that..it was cut severely...but judiciously....retaining the best of the show...(though its full text is wonderful)...the arrangements were altered a bit for Goulet's style...such as Almost Like Being in Love...which has a strict, even tempo as written.....this version pushed the tempo quite a bit...and it worked.... but..you won't find a better accounting of There But For You Go I...

I watched it....and wanted to be Tommy Albright..at 13...and now..at 51...I have finally found my Fiona..and I adore her.

Also: I still have the LP..somewhat worn....in 1966..you could buy it at any Armstrong Flooring outlet...for....$1!!!..as a promo for the TV show.

I was the audio engineer on this production and enjoyed every minute of working on it. Robert Goulet was extremely professional and very nice to work with, as were all the cast members. Fielder Cook was an excellent director and catered to my wishes for carefully crafted audio. We shot the production at CBS Television City, in Los Angeles, plus location shooting. It was aired on ABC. Unfortunately, I did not keep a copy of it. I believe ABC destroyed the original but, if anyone out there ever locates a copy, please let me know. I would dearly love to have it in my files. Thank you.

Ray Kemper, CBS Audio Engineer, retired.