As Alex Hauserman looked at the script for “Brigadoon,” the lines started to come back to him. He’d learn one, and a few more would pop into his head. There was nothing mysterious about it. Alex, a recent college graduate, had played the same part when he was in seventh grade.
On Wednesday evening, July 31, there was a rehearsal for the show’s main characters in the Community Hall of the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church. Almost everyone in the cast has a story. That’s typical of the Summer Music Festival.
James Roe is debuting as a director. He volunteered for the job after last year’s director returned to graduate school. The position has been less stressful than he imagined. And, like Alex Hauerman, he has a history with the show.
It was the first performance he was in when he joined the Summer Music Festival in 1983. He had the lead role when the show was reprised in 2001. And this year, he’s taking a minor part in addition to directing. “What’s tough,” he said, “is balancing the show with work and family, and with the commute from Pennsylvania.”
It sounds like a hassle at a time of year when people are looking to relax. The cast rehearsed three nights a week during June and July, and was due to practice almost every day in August.
But there’s a vacation type atmosphere inside the old wooden Community Hall. While the cast is practicing on stage, one person is working on costumes and another is reading the script.
Johnny Hines, one of the Brigadoon residents, is rehearsing his dance steps while holding the choreographer’s young son. This has been a busy summer for Johnny. During the day, he’s been working with the kids at the Town’s Theater Camp.
Blake McGready, the director of the Town camp, is also a part of the “Brigadoon” cast. It’s a change of pace for him. He worked behind the scenes in high school. And he’s been coaching kids during his summer breaks in college.
This is Blake’s first time on stage since grade school, and he’s loving it. He and Alex Hauserman play the two Americans who get lost in the woods in Scotland, and discover a mysterious village that appears once every 100 years.
Blake and Alex, who in real life were cross country teammates in high school, pair off with a couple of winsome lassies — Emily Zwart and Sarah Alestalo.
The two young women have a long history with the Music Festival. During a break, Sarah says that she was seven when she started. Emily was even younger.
They’ve become a part of the summer tradition that’s chronicled by the banners inside the community hall — each represents a different show.
Sarah has been in about 15 of them. She was a kid in the 2001 production of “Brigadoon,” when her older sister had one of the featured parts. “This is family,” Sarah maintains. She says that every year, but it’s still convincing.
Alex, who plays opposite her, has been working at West Point during the summer and looking for a permanent job. “Whatever I get,” he says, “I hope I’ll be able to keep coming back here.”
