Front Row Centre Theatre Review: BLOOD BROTHERS

Theatre Review by Mark Andrew Lawrence (frontrowcentre@rogers.com)

After 60 years, Clarkson Music Theatre is finally getting around to some contemporary shows. Not that BLOOD BROTHERS is all that contemporary. Willy Russell's musical premiered in London in 1983 but it is still running in London's west end. Its ongoing popularity is due in part to Russell's unusual score, with its Liverpudlian folk influences.

The cautionary tale tells of Mrs. Johnson who gives up one of her newborn twin boys to the childless neighbor Mrs. Lyons. The boys grow up a few blocks apart, Mickey Johnson in a crowded tenement house while Eddie Lyons enjoys posh surroundings. The mothers have forbidden them to play together – so naturally the boys become best friends. The divergent paths of their adult lives lead to tragic consequences. Despite an uneven and overlong first act, the show packs a powerful punch.

The seamless construction offers few natural breaks for applause throughout the show but the audience at Meadowvale theatre rose to their feet applauding heartily at the curtain call.

Part of the applause was for the show itself, but a good deal was reserved for the outstanding ensemble led by Jo Kemp. As Mrs. Johnson, she sings the score in clear, characterful voice and plays the world weary but loving mother with the proper mix of grit and tenderness. Director Bob Riddell has coaxed similarly detailed performances from Gregg Shanks as Mickey and Matthew McCarthy as Eddie. The boys have an even tougher assignment spending much of act One playing 7 years olds. That they are believable and avoid falling into caricature is a credit to all involved.

The other adults in the cast are equally good including John Gillis as the doom-prophesying narrator; Michelle Ferguson as the Linda the girl who loves both boys and Owen McLaughlin offering a rough-hewn portrait as Mickey's n'er-do-well older brother.

Musical director Bob Hardinge does a terrific job keeping the six-piece band in support of the singers aided by Greg Salisbury's sensitive sound design. At the reviewed performance there were a few minor sound glitches, and the follow spot seemed to have trouble finding its mark but these minor flaws do little to detract form the overall effect. Clarkson Music Theatre is offering a professional level production at community theatre prices.

BLOOD BROTHERS continues at the Meadowvale Theater, 6315 Montevideo Road, January 26, 27, and 28 at 8 PM with a 2 PM matinee on the 28^th. Tickets are limited but check with the box office at (905) 615-4720.