Seven Brides For Seven Brothers

Rachel Trueblood

04/10/2008 - Nederland Middle/Senior High School will present the second weekend of “Seven Brides For Seven Brothers” as the spring musical, showing this Friday and Saturday. This much loved show, which was made into a film in 1954 (and nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture) features surprising choreography that turns everyday frontier chores such as chopping wood and barn-raising into dance numbers. It’s a great musical for Nederland, with its rough and ready backwoods theme.

  The Nederland Middle/Senior High School has been honored for the past six years as being one of the 100 best music programs in the country. At a ceremony May 16, the Grammy Foundation is awarding the 2008 Signature Schools Enterprise Award, an award of $5,000, to the school’s Music Department for making an outstanding commitment to music education. Three Enterprise Awards were granted this year through the Gibson Foundation to economically underserved schools that “maintain high quality music programs that foster and demonstrate the significant role music can play in the lives of their students.  Many do so with serious economic challenges…”

  This prestigious award would not have been possible without the dedication, love and creativity of Liz Evans, Music Program Director and director of the spring musical.

  A brief synopsis of the rollicking plot of “Seven Brides For Seven Brothers” goes as follows. Seven rustic, rowdy, uncouth brothers, severely lacking social graces, are scraping out a life on their ranch in the mountains, yearning for wives (or at least for women.) The eldest brother, Adam, goes to town and gets a wife, Milly, within a few hours and takes her back to the ranch, neglecting to mention his six filthy, Biblically-named brothers.

  Eventually, Milly takes it in stride, teaching the brothers some social skills and getting them cleaned up.  They all go to town to connect with some girls, who unfortunately already have suitors. The brothers are kicked out of town after a fight, but secretly return to kidnap the six girls, who they take back to the ranch in tears. This abduction follows the historical Roman “Rape of the Sabine Women,” which inspired the brothers, although they confused “Sabine” with “Sobbin’.”

  An avalanche closes the pass, and the girls are stuck at the ranch for the winter. By spring, everyone is madly in love, when suddenly the fathers and suitors arrive to rescue the girls, who no longer want to be rescued. All the men are ready to fight to kill over the women, but by using some of those famous feminine wiles, the girls are able to prevent the mayhem and get married just as they wished.

  Some of the attitudes of the play may seem dated, but the production is absolutely delightful, filled with the exuberance and hard work of the talented cast and crew under the imaginative direction of Liz Evans.

  The songs are marvelous, including “We’ve Got To Make It Through the Winter,” a feeling particularly ubiquitous in Nederland at this time of year, and the hilarious “Going Courting,” a wild romp in which Milly teaches the brothers how to court a girl.

  The three remaining performances will take place this weekend at the high school, 597 County Road 130, Nederland CO (one mile up the road to Eldora) in the auditorium on the second floor, on the following dates:

- Friday April 18 at 7 p.m.

- Saturday April 19 at 1 p.m.

- Saturday April 19 at 7 p.m.

  Tickets are $7, seniors and kids 5 and under are free. For more information or to reserve tickets call Rachel at 303-642-0277 or send an email to laura.marts@bvsd.org