{"id":83615,"date":"2018-10-15T23:57:35","date_gmt":"2018-10-16T03:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=83615"},"modified":"2018-10-18T23:12:27","modified_gmt":"2018-10-19T03:12:27","slug":"magical-mysterious-brigadoon-resurfaces-at-muhlenberg-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=83615","title":{"rendered":"Magical, mysterious \u2018Brigadoon\u2019 resurfaces at Muhlenberg College"},"content":{"rendered":"

Muhlenberg Theatre & Dance presents <\/strong>
\nLerner & Loewe\u2019s enchanted Golden Age <\/strong>
musical, Oct. 26 \u2013 Nov. 4<\/strong><\/p>\n

Allentown, Pa. (Oct. 15, 2018)<\/strong> \u2014 The mystery and magic of the Scottish highlands comes out of the Golden Age of musical theater and onto the Muhlenberg College stage this fall as Muhlenberg Theatre & Dance presents Lerner and Loewe\u2019s \u201cBrigadoon,\u201d Oct. 26 \u2013 Nov. 4.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe show is unabashed romanticism,\u201d says Muhlenberg theater professor Charles Richter, who directs the show. \u201cIt\u2019s a grand, moving tale of lost love. It\u2019s musical theatre on the grandest scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Lerner and Loewe\u2019s 1947 breakout hit musical, two American tourists happen upon a Scottish village that is only visible once every hundred years. Brigadoon, the town, is beautiful, welcoming, and just a little bit magical.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Brigadoon\u2019 is interesting \u2014 it blends music and dance in a very unique way,\u201d Richter says. \u201cPeople are going to be stunned by the quality of the talent, by how well this cast can serve that unique blend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lyricist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe are most famous for \u201cMy Fair Lady\u201d and \u201cCamelot,\u201d musicals known for their hummable melodies, clever lyrics, and compelling stories. Their first big hit, \u201cBrigadoon\u201d features musical theater standard \u201cAlmost Like Being in Love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gorgeous,\u201d says Julian Mone \u201919, who plays American adventurer Tommy Albright. \u201cFrom the ten-part harmonies of a gigantic, beautiful score, to the full-scale ballets and big sung numbers, it\u2019s just gorgeous.<\/p>\n

\u201cShows like this aren\u2019t made anymore, and to get to see such a huge production from a dance, vocal, and acting perspective is a rare opportunity,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The cast of 45 Muhlenberg students has been working hard to create the dreamlike, magical town of Brigadoon, Richter says. Theater professor Troy Dwyer serves as dialect designer, ensuring that the cast\u2019s accents are authentically Scottish.<\/p>\n

\u201cTroy has been a huge help,\u201d Richter says. \u201cWe have a great team working on the production, including Karen Dearborn, who\u2019s choreographing, and Ed Bara, who\u2019s the musical director.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cScenic designer Curtis Dretsch has come up with an ingenious design that really accentuates the dreamlike quality of the piece,\u201d he says. \u201cWe also have a 21-piece professional orchestra, which you need because of the lushness of the musical arrangements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magically suspended in time, the town of Brigadoon offers a sanctuary from the pressures of modern living. When the Americans stumble upon it, they become infatuated with the town and its inhabitants\u2014and they must decide before it\u2019s too late whether to stay or bid Brigadoon farewell forever. \u201cBrigadoon\u201d is the escapist fantasy we all need right now, says Cheyanne Leid \u201920, who plays Fiona MacLaren, the show\u2019s romantic lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe town elder, Mr. Lundie, says that a lot of folks would like a Brigadoon of their own,\u201d Leid says. \u201cAnd I think that, you know, a lot of people would. \u2018Brigadoon\u2019 is so family-oriented. It\u2019s full of so many different kinds of love, and I think we could all use some of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all kind of tear up when Mr. Lundie says that line,\u201d Mone says. \u201cIt\u2019s just so relevant to us and to everybody navigating 2018.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBrigadoon\u201d plays Oct. 26 \u2013 Nov. 4. Showtimes are Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m, with an additional 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Nov. 3. Regular admission tickets are $22. Tickets for youth and LVAIC students and staff are $8.<\/p>\n

Tickets can be purchased online at muhlenberg.edu\/theatre<\/a> or by phone at 484-664-3333. Performances are in the Empie Theatre in the Baker Center for the Arts, Muhlenberg College, 2400 West Chew St., Allentown.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is a highly selective, private, four-year residential college located in Allentown, PA., approximately 90 miles west of New York City. With an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, sciences, business, education and public health. A member of the Centennial Conference, Muhlenberg competes in 22 varsity sports. Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.<\/p>\n

Muhlenberg offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in theater and dance. The Princeton Review ranked Muhlenberg\u2019s theater program in the top twelve in the nation for eight years in a row, and Fiske Guide to Colleges lists both the theater and dance programs among the top small college programs in the United States. Muhlenberg is one of only eight colleges to be listed in Fiske for both theater and dance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Muhlenberg Theatre & Dance presents Lerner & Loewe\u2019s enchanted Golden Age musical, Oct. 26 \u2013 Nov. 4 Allentown, Pa. (Oct. 15, 2018) \u2014 The mystery and magic of the Scottish … Continue reading Magical, mysterious \u2018Brigadoon\u2019 resurfaces at Muhlenberg College<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":83616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14,1024,69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-calendar-events","category-entertainment","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/brigadoon.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83615"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=83615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/83616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=83615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=83615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}