The Blood Brothers musical takes place in Liverpool between the 1950′s and 1970′s. It tells the story of Mrs. Johnstone, a working class single mother pregnant with twins. Unable to care for both of them, she gives one to her wealthy employer and keeps the other. Fearful of a superstition promising tragedy should the brothers ever learn the truth, both mothers vow to keep their arrangement a secret.
Inevitably, Mickey (the boy Mrs. Johnstone kept) and Eddie (the one given away) meet and become friends. The musical then follows them for the next 20 years beginning when they meet as children and, finding that they share a birthday, vow to be “blood brothers.” As teenagers, they both fall in love with the same girl, Linda.
As adults, their lives separate according to class. Eddie graduates from Oxford and becomes a councillor. Mickey loses his job and ends up in prison. Through Linda, their lives intersect again as their mothers look on worriedly.
Blood Brothers originally premiered in 1983 at the Lyric Theatre. Despite winning the Olivier Award for Best Musical, it closed within a year. This current version began in 1988 and has been running ever since.
Willy Russell’s score is a mixture of catchy pop songs and heartfelt ballads. The song “Marilyn Monroe” binds the show together but it’s “Tell Me It’s Not True” that brings audiences to tears.
The Blood Brothers musical doesn’t have the big special effect that seems to be requisite in musical theatre today. It’s not about celebrities, historical figures or magical creatures.
And it doesn’t need to be. Instead, it’s about families, friendship and love. It’s about class differences and post-war life in Liverpool. It’s about what can happen when a mother tries to give her child a better life. The characters seem like real, three-dimensional people in difficult but recognizable situations.
Unafraid of being upstaged by the scenery, musical theatre performers have flocked to appear in Blood Brothers. The role of Mrs. Johnstone in particular has attracted some of the biggest stars of the West End as well as Britain’s biggest pop stars, including Barbara Dickson, Marti Webb, Kiki Dee, Petula Clark and Mel C.
Musical theatre audiences looking for something a little different and a little deeper can see Blood Brothers any Monday through Saturday evening or at matinees on Thursdays and Saturdays.
Tags: blood brothers, catchy pop songs, class differences, heartfelt ballads, lyric theatre, magical creatures, musical theatre performers, olivier award, war life, willy russell