Hemoglobin Homicide

Blood Brothers at Arts Equity

By Steven Walling

Willy Russell’s popular ‘80s musical Blood Brothers is sometimes characterized by the press as a British West Side Story. Both carry glitzy tunes and archetypal characters destroyed by fate. But where West Side Story was a melodrama American to the core, Brothers is a gory fairy tale decrying the woes of the British class system. Despite the irrelevant moral, die-hard musical buffs are sure to find this yarn endearing. Through mid-December, Arts Equity Inc. produces this blockbuster musical at the Main Street Theatre.

Very few times in a critic’s career does one meet a play in which there is little or no plot to give away, but here I find myself in that very position. After the ever-present Narrator (Sandy MacKenzie) foretells the conclusion within the prologue, Brothers essentially amounts to an extended flashback. And at three hours total running time, the drama is likely to feel over-extended. The action centers on the quasi-supernatural separation and eventual murder of fraternal twin brothers, one given away to a rich, childless couple and the other raised in his destitute mother’s household. In spite of the fact that Russell does more than a bit of telling (or singing) about events rather than simply showing them, much superfluous conversation could be excised.

Streamlining the text might aid another serious flaw, this one unfortunately due to Arts Equity’s production choices (or lack thereof). This being an intrinsically English play, using appropriate regional accent would seem to be automatic. But lacking a dialect coach, the cast of Blood Brothers veered all over the map. Dialect can either be a strong aid to realism or its downfall, and it seems that Arts Equity may have failed to provide the proper direction in this instance. It’s really either all or nothing where dialect is concerned, but a firm decision needs to be made whatever the direction desired.

Happily though, the strong point of Brothers is its music. Comprised of poppy '80s tunes infused with the flavor of old-school British rock, numbers such as “Kid’s Game” and “I’m Not Saying A Word” were exemplary of the classics of musical theatre. The small space of the Main Street Theatre is an asset for this production, making less than a dozen voices and an out of tune piano feel like a much grander ensemble (even with the nearly-full house the night I attended).

Often restricted to tiny casts, a greater number of personalities onstage was a welcome sight at an Arts Equity show. The only grating point may have been some of the repetitious metaphors, Blood Brothers without a doubt winning the world record for most spoken references to Marilyn Monroe. One benefit of the more prodigious troupe was that any weak points were generally balanced out by stronger ones. Sarah McGregor held her own as Mrs. Johnstone (the mother of the twins), and the younger characters (Dusty Richards, Joey LeBard, Jeremy Griffin, Lindsay Matheson and Chelsie Kinney) displayed a convincing camaraderie that was enjoyable to watch. However, some seemed to see performing this piece as free license to be wildly over the top: Athena McElrath as Mrs. Lyons and Dusty Richards as Mickey were especially egregious.

As for the point that Russell attempts to make with Blood Brothers, I fear that any screeds on the disparities of the British class system are inconsequential to U.S. audiences. This is fine however, as some of the points made were patently ridiculous. All wealthy children are naturally happy and well-adjusted, while those on the oppose end of the spectrum are fit only for crime and pill-popping? Hardly. But, perhaps unfortunately for the playwright, the agitprop aims of the work mostly get drowned out in an entertaining spree of song and dance. Even if the audience is aware from the start what the fate of the twins is to be, how they get there, and the emotional repercussions for those around them, is the chief interest of this yarn. For those with a more unusual taste in holiday fare, Blood Brothers by Arts Equity at The Main Street Theatre is your ticket.

The Main Street Theatre, 606 Main St.; 695.3770; $15-24 all seats reserved; thru Dec. 16th, Thurs.-Sat. doors open and bar service begins at 7:15pm, curtain at 8pm, Sun. 2pm; artsequityinc.com