The villagers are generally quite happy to be under this enchantment, which was a parting gesture of love by their minister two days (two hundred years) before to protect them from the evils of their (and our) time.

Gibbas sings the male lead role of Tommy very well, fully bringing out the romance and magic of his parts in "The Heather On The Hill," "Almost Like Being in Love", "From This Day On," and most of all "There But For You Go I".

Bechtol, in the non-singing role of Tommy's friend Jeff, is dead-on in his performance, providing the occasional comic relief -- and cynicism -- the part requires.

The lead female role of Fiona MacLaren is played by Julie Hermann. Her singing is impeccable, amazingly crystal clear and pure, while at the same time she gets every bit of drama out of the non-musical scenes as well. In addition to the aforementioned numbers with Tommy, her rendition of "Waiting For My Dearie," augmented by the female chorus, is outstanding.

Also quite well sung and performed, by Teresa J. Arnold, is Meg Brockie, who is "highly attracted to" Jeff. Unlike the romantic Fiona, Meg is not content to wait for her ideal man to come along and instead, as she explains in her joyful yet bittersweet comic number "The Love Of My Life," has been looking for him in a much more proactive, if carnal, manner for quite some time. She and the ensemble also shine in "My Mother's Weddin' Day."

Dick Sitt fully inhabits and fleshes out the role of wise man Mr. Lundie, convincing us that Brigadoon is indeed under a miraculous enchantment. He makes us believe the kernels of wisdom that Lundie imparts at various times throughout the play regarding fundamental truths of the human condition (including that anything is possible if you love somebody enough).

The catalyst for much of the play's drama (as well as an excuse for some mighty fine Scottish dancing) is the wedding of local success story Charlie Dalrymple (Darrin J. Fall) to lovely lass Jean MacLaren (Lisa Czarny).

Fall grabs the role of Charlie and doesn't let go, belting out "I'll Go Home With Bonnie Jean" with a bravado that could easily fill a much larger venue. In addition, he and Czarny (another fine voice blessing this production) bring a profound sweetness to their song and dance number "Come To Me, Bend To Me."

Adding some much needed reality (thus keeping the play from becoming too saccharine) is Harry Beaton (played with appropriate menace by Seth Barry). Harry desperately wants Jean, or at the very least to be able to go to a university like Charlie did. Failing to heed Mr. Lundie's advice that the town is cursed only if he makes it so, he gives into hate and announces his intention to leave Brigadoon -- which will cause the town to disappear into the highland mists forever.

The manner in which this danger is resolved in the one great weakness of the play as written, but this production covers it well via a powerful rendition of a subsequent related scene which makes use of clever lighting, Maggie's (Kim Kreisman) dancing, actual bagpipes played on-stage (by Ron Burlingame), and the spirit of the entire ensemble,

The centerpiece, figuratively and literally, of Lou Czarny's and Mahallak's set is a large green hill, covered in heather and other flora. It is used to unexpectedly powerful effect during a moment of high drama involving Tommy and Fiona.

Annmarie Mahallak's costumes, featuring kilts, black vests covering white flowing shirts, and every other Scottish detail you can imagine, immediately let us know that we are in late 18th century Scotland.

(A spell broken only once by an unfortunate contemporaneous regional reference inserted into the dialog for humor.)

Mark R. Mahallak also serves as Choreographer, incorporating Scottish style dancing (well performed by both the leads and the ensemble) wherever possible including, of course, the wedding festivities and the Sword Dance.

The importance of sets, costumes, lighting, and wigs (courtesy Virginia Zymonas) in creating an environment is made clear by how seamlessly the transformation is made from the Highlands of Scotland to a New York bar for the one scene which takes place there.

A musical involving one great song after another would mean little without a good orchestra of course. Fortunately Williams conducts a fine orchestra featuring some of the area's most experienced players (assembled by coordinator Diane Hansen) -- though the lack of a violin seems odd, especially for such a romantic musical. "Come To Me, Bend To Me" in particular often features a violin, though in this production the use of a flute was quite effective.

Given the unabashedly romantic story and lead characters, it's no surprise that Brigadoon contains some of the greatest music ever written for the musical stage. For one who is familiar with the play and music, a good production will have emotion swelling deep from within and releasing in tears by the climax of Fiona's "Waiting For My Dearie."

A great one might even reach that point earlier, perhaps even during the opening "Vendors' Calls" and "Down On MacConnachy Square." By this standard this production is very good, and nearly great, due to the precision of the singing and playing. Rarely in community theatre does one find such fine voices and clear enunciation (both while singing and speaking).

For those who are new to the story and music it may take longer, but it is hard to imagine anyone not being won over by the time Tommy realizes that he has fallen for Fiona and has to make the most important decision of his life -- whether to leave everything, and everyone, he has known behind forever, or never see Fiona again.

Whether it's an old favorite or you are new the play, WMTC's production of Brigadoon is highly recommended. See if before it disappears, forever, to "somewhere between the mist and the stars."

"Brigadoon" continues through February 25th at the Woodstock Opera House (Woodstock, IL). Performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 6 p.m. Sundays. (Saturday matinees at 2:00 p.m. Feb 17 and 24.) Call (815) 338-5300 for tickets.