By Judith Cookis Rubens
When a show enjoys an extraordinary run, it's tempting to examine just why it holds up over time.
The melodramatic 1983 British musical "Blood Brothers," for example, is London's longest running musical. Based on the Alexandre Dumas novella "The Corsican Brothers," the sweeping show also enjoyed a two-year stint on Broadway in the '90s.
Farmers Alley Theatre has mounted an ambitious staging that surprisingly works in such an intimate venue. Director Kathy Mulay pulls together a multi-talented cast and crew to highlight the best elements of this broad narrative about a cursed set of fraternal twins, separated shortly after birth. The boys, Mickey and Eddie, unbeknownst to their parents, become fast friends, and, later, enemies.
Despite some intrinsic flaws with British playwright/lyricist Willy Russell's story and synthesized score, this fully committed cast finds a way to keep emotions grounded in reality.
We first meet Mrs. Johnstone, a working class mum who's barely getting by with a big brood already when she learns she's carrying twins. Knowing she can't possibly feed two more mouths after her husband leaves her, she's coerced into giving one of her babies to her rich employer, Mrs. Lyons, who cannot have children. The mentally unstable Mrs. Lyons plays into Mrs. Johnstone's superstitious nature and swears the birth mother to a secret plan to keep the boys apart for life. If they meet, it will mean death for them both, Mrs. Lyons warns.
Of course, they meet by chance as 7-year-olds and quickly bond. Eventually they fall for the same girl and take different paths in life, thanks to their class divisions, and, possibly, fate.
Considering the opening scene shows the brothers lying dead, some element of suspense is already dampened from the start. We know the ending. Perhaps that's why Russell feels the need to remind audiences with foreboding, often repetitive musical rhymes, delivered by a lurking narrator (Adam F. Carter) each time the boys meet. Carter has an impressive voice, but it's hard to overcome this strange device of hokey warnings like "Shoes Upon the Table" and "The Devil's Got Your Number."
The first act is the stronger of the two, as we watch Mickey grow up poor but loved by his birth mother, while Eddie, the privileged one, seems lonely and smothered by his mother. When the boys meet, it's like they find missing pieces of themselves in one another.
Contrasted against the mostly ominous rock-opera melodies, there are bright spots in several upbeat numbers that show Mickey, Eddie and friends playing cowboys and Indians, and hanging out as teens ("Kids' Game" and "Long Sunday Afternoon").
One wishes Russell would have quit with one or two Marilyn Monroe references, but, sadly, he tries to stretch a metaphor about the starlet's tragic life throughout the story, and includes not one, but three reprises, of a song in her name. We know the boys are doomed, but it's almost more bittersweet to watch them play innocently as children. We don't need such constant reminders of the tragic ending.
W. Douglas Blickle creates a perfectly proportionate and cleverly transitioning set that depicts Liverpool streets and interiors and exteriors of homes. It allows the story to seamlessly span years and places.
With a large cast of 15 and a small stage, it's all the more impressive that director Mulay's tight choreography helps give the story a larger scope. Strong lighting and sound design help drive it all home.
Without an amazing cast, the story might lapse into soap opera. Among its standouts is Chicagoan Bernard Balbot as the soft-hearted but troubled Mickey. Balbot completely morphs from a fidgety, unfiltered 7-year-old, to a shy, self-conscious teen before drifting into a hardened ex-con. His performance is not-to-be-missed, and elevates this musical into something more. Whether in scenes with his mother, brother or childhood crush, Linda, Balbot's Mickey is thoroughly engaging.
Jennifer Chada's Mrs. Johnstone is quite moving and believable, especially her sense of regret and longing when face-to-face with Eddie, the son she abandoned. Dublin native Keith Allen has an easier time finding the chaste joy in 7-year-old Eddie over his later scenes as an adult, but Allen and Balbot together make a fine brotherly duo, their voices blending well. Sandy Zwier brings the right nervous energy to the increasingly paranoid Mrs. Lyons, while Hannah Sielatycki makes a delightfully alluring Linda, the object of the boys' affection since childhood.
While much has been written about "Blood Brothers" as a commentary on class, it's more interesting to watch these actors age their characters. Watching children's innocence and acceptance get stamped out, slowly over time, is almost the bigger statement of this musical. And perhaps the reason it still connects with audiences.
REVIEW:
'Blood Brothers'
Farmers Alley Theatre, 221 Farmers Alley, Kalamazoo. Thursday-Sunday June 19. $25-$29. 269-343-2727. http://www.farmersalleytheatre.com.
