All right, it's a cheap joke, but not much cheaper than the sordid melodrama that serves as the basis for Russell's play, for which he also wrote the music and lyrics. First peformed in Britain in the early 1980s - the heyday of Thatcherism - Blood Brothers is the story of the Johnstone twins, Mickey and Eddie (played by David Cassidy and Tif Luckenbill, respectively). They're the last of a long line of children born to Mrs. Johnstone (Petula Clark), who appears blissfully unaware of the notion of birth control. Unable to support two more children on her small salary as a maid, she agrees to give up Eddie to her employer Mrs. Lyons (Elinore O'Connell), whose biological alarm clock is ringing so loudly it seems to have addled her brain. Through a series of coincidences that any fan of Dickens will recognize, the boys become fast friends despite the best efforts of their mothers. As they reach adulthood, Eddy rises to become a city councilman while Mickey sinks into crime, depression, and drug addiction. The inevitable romantic conflict ensues over Mickey's childhood sweetheart, Linda (Yvette Lawrence) and Mickey ends up shooting both Eddy and, somewhat improbably, himself at the same time.
All this ought to be moving and even tragic, but I found it manipulative and, after three hours of this stuff, somewhat annoying. None of the principal characters are ever really fleshed out, and their actions seemed to me to be motivated more by the author's desire to produce a downbeat condemnation of a stratified, greedy society than by their own inner workings. This is aggravated by the introduction of a narrator (skillfully sung by Mark McGrath) whose main function seems to be to remind us, as often as possible and in rhymed couplets, of how tragic all this is going to be.
Willy Russell has a much-deserved reputation as the author of sharp, socially-conscious comedies such as Shirley Valentine and Educating Rita. This first attempt at a dramatic musical, however, is surprisingly inept. His music doesn't help his script much, either, being as banal as it is unmemorable. The only tune I can still recall is the opening number "Marilyn Monroe" - probably because it's reprised so often.
That said, there's no getting around the fact that Blood Brothers has a terrific cast. Former teen idols Petula Clark and David Cassidy are thoroughly impressive as Mrs. Johnstone and Mickey. Clark has tremendous stage presence and a good, strong, theatrical voice. Cassidy sings well and invests his generally two-dimensional character with surprising life.
The same can be said for Tiff Luckenbill in the even more superficial role of Eddy. He, Cassidy, and Yvette Lawrence (as Linda) are completely convincing both as 19-year-olds and as children, despite the fact that they're obviously adults. It's a nice example of theatrical illusion in action. In fact, every member of this small ensemble cast is impressive.
In short, I found Blood Brothers to be a sentimental and manipulative knockoff of Charles Dickens, redeemed only by the stellar performances of its cast, the pit band, and the skillful direction of Bill Kenwright and Bob Thomson. In all fairness, though, I should mention that the opening night audience gave it a standing ovation. As we say over on the Internet, your own mileage may vary.