Brigadoon is the story of two brash American men who, while hunting in the Scottish Highlands in the mid-1940s, come upon a magical town that comes alive for only one day every one hundred years. There they find romance, and they must decide whether to stay in Brigadoon forever or return to their own timeline and home in the United States. This musical was the first hit for the writing team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, and it demonstrated their abilities that would be put to even greater use in My Fair Lady and Camelot in later years.

Lerner's book for Brigadoon is a fanciful story filled with romance, conflict, and charm. Though too formulaic and sentimental by contemporary standards, the plot generally holds up well thanks to solid and thoughtful writing, and the use of fantasy. There are a few moments of dialogue that come across as creaky and misogynistic, but you can forgive that to some extent with the show being nearly eighty years old.

The musical contains many lush melodies by Loewe, coupled with intelligent and witty lyrics from Lerner. This is a truly old-fashioned musical score with attractive romantic ballads such as "Almost Like Being in Love" and "The Heather on the Hill," as well as some lovely choral material.

Though billed as an "In Concert" production, the show was fully staged and acted, albeit with fewer design elements. Director Eric Byrd provided fluid blocking, the appropriate tone, and strong character interaction. Choreographer Brandon Kelly supplied well-suited and visually pleasing dances with well-deserved nods to Agnes DeMille's original work. Ian Axness was both the music director and conductor for this Brigadoon. He prepared the vocalists and instrumentalists well, as all of the music was gorgeous. His leadership of the notable 53-piece CCM Philharmonia orchestra was animated and precise. In the program, he acknowledged the contributions of Trude Rittman as uncredited arranger of the show's music.

Grace Baker's soaring soprano was delightful, and she was quite endearing as Fiona. As Tommy, Joey Baciocco likewise showed off a commanding singing voice and supplied a fully realized emotional arc. As Tommy's friend Jeff, Dominic Carroll was a fine comic foil with the right amount of droll sarcasm. Jameson Zoller wrapped his lovely tenor voice around "I'll Go Home with Bonnie Jean" and "Come To Me, Bend To Me," and scored well with his eager depiction of Charlie, the bridegroom. Annie Dauk impressed as Jean, with lovely dancing as the bride-to-be. As the aggressively lovelorn and bold Meg, Ellie Eisele displayed a big voice and garnered lots of laughs. Guest artist Vernon Hartman struggled a bit with a very long monologue as Mr. Lundie, but brought warmth and dignity to the role. The ensemble captured the carefree nature of the villagers with aplomb, and displayed wonderful dance and vocal ability throughout.

Though there wasn't a normal scenic design for the show–the orchestra engulfed the stage behind the performers–a few well-utilized and apt set pieces and props supplied by Ashley Crockett helped convey the setting sufficiently. The unobstructive lighting by Haden Valkema enhanced the mood and included a nice storm effect. There weren't formal costumes, but the outfits worn by the performers contained the essence of the period. It didn't appear that the students wore body mics, but the above-the-stage microphones captured the sound effectively, as designed by Lacey Vailikit.

The CCM calendar doesn't show any musical theatre productions scheduled for their studio space this year, instead listing this concert presentation of Brigadoon and a co-production next month of the musical Carrie with The Carnegie in nearby Covington, Kentucky. Brigadoon is quite the old-fashioned show and was most recently staged at CCM in 2004. This was a first-rate concert production which demonstrated the talent of actors, singers, dancers, and instrumentalists, as well as those behind the scenes. While this reviewer would prefer a wider variety of titles for the program, there's little to complain about in this mounting.

Brigadoon In Concert played from September 25-26, 2026, at Cincinnati College - Conservatory of Music, Patricia Corbett Auditorium, 290 CCM Blvd, Cincinnati OH. For tickets and information for other upcoming events, call 513-556-4183 or visit ccmonstage.universitytickets.com/w/?cid=168.