Le monde des musicals

Le rideau s’ouvre sur une veillée funèbre : les corps de deux jeunes garçons reposent…
Tout a commencé il y a une vingtaine d’années, le jour où Madame Johnstone, mère célibataire de sept enfants, apprend qu’elle est enceinte de jumeaux. Face à sa détresse, Madame Lyons, son employeuse, qui ne peut avoir d’enfant, lui propose un pacte secret : elle prendra Edward, Madame Johnstone gardera Michaël et personne ne devra connaître le lien unissant les deux enfants.
Sept ans plus tard, Mickey et Eddy se rencontrent par hasard et scellent leur complicité en devenant "frères de sang". Les deux mères déménagent pour briser cette amitié qui leur rappelle le pacte originel. Mais les deux garçons ont un destin commun et vingt ans d’amitié "fraternelle" ne suffiront pas à éviter la tragédie finale…

Acte I
In about 1960, Mrs Johnstone is unable to pay the bills and cannot support her family after her husband walks out on her, so she takes a job as a cleaner for a wealthy local couple, Mr and Mrs Lyons. Soon she finds out she is pregnant but she can barely afford to have the child.
Mrs. Lyons is desperate for a baby but is unable to conceive, and would like to adopt a child but her husband does not agree. Mrs Johnstone finds out that she is going to have twins and explains to Mrs Lyons that she cannot afford two more babies. Mrs Lyons then suggests that Mrs Johnstone give one of the babies to her. Mrs Johnstone apprehensively agrees to this and is made to swear on The Bible to keep to the deal. Mrs Johnstone has the twins (Mickey and Edward), but then regrets having agreed to give one away. She lies to her other children, saying that the other baby had died and gone to heaven.
Mrs. Johnstone continues to work for Mrs Lyons, but Mrs Lyons soon feels that Mrs Johnstone is paying too much attention to the child that she has given up to her. She fires Mrs Johnstone, who wants to take the baby with her, but Mrs Lyons plays on Mrs Johnstone's superstitions by telling her that "if twins separated at birth learn that they were once one of a pair they will both immediately die". Mrs Johnstone refuses to take the money that Mrs Lyons gave her and leaves without the child and money.
Seven years later, Mickey, the son Mrs. Johnstone kept, meets Edward, the other twin, and after learning they share the same birthday, the two boys make a pact to become blood brothers, with Mickey calling Edward: Eddie. Mrs Johnstone finds them and sends Eddie away, telling him not to come round again or else the "Bogey-man" will get him. Later in the day Mickey goes to Eddie's house, and Mrs Lyons throws him out. She and Eddie argue on the subject, and Eddie swears at her. Mrs Lyons slaps him and immediately regrets her reaction. She realises that he has learned to swear from Mickey.
Mickey is playing with some neighbourhood children including his friend Linda. Afterwards, he takes her to see Eddie, and the three of them sneak off to play, but are caught by a policeman when about to throw stones through a window. Mrs Lyons tries to find Eddie. She becomes worried about Eddie's friendship with Mickey, as she has started to believe the superstition that she herself had made up. She decides to move and persuades her husband who realises she is becoming ill. When Eddie says goodbye, Mrs Johnstone gives him a locket with a picture of herself and Mickey, as the boys separate.
The scene shifts to the time towards the end of the 1960s when the Johnstone family are being rehoused from the condemned inner city slum area of Liverpool to a new council house in the overspill town of Skelmersdale.

Acte II
It is now the mid 1970s and Eddie, Mickey and Linda are now 14 years old. The Johnstones' lives have improved since moving, and they have not seen Eddie in all this time. Mickey has a crush on Linda, who is obviously interested in him too, but Mickey does not know how to act with her. Both of them are suspended after mouthing off to their teacher. Eddie is suspended from his boarding school for refusing to give up Mrs Johnstone's locket to a teacher, but he will not tell his mother who it was from. Mrs Lyons sees Mrs Johnstone near her house and her worries are renewed. Eddie and Mickey bump into each other in a field, but do not recognize each other. They become friends again, each wanting to be like the other. They finally realize who the other is and meet up with Linda. Mrs Lyons flies into a rage and tries to kill Mrs Johnstone, but she couldn't and Mrs Johnstone just showed her out of the door.
Four years later, an 18-year-old Eddie has feelings for Linda, but will not say anything, as he knows Mickey likes her too. Eddie leaves for university, but not before encouraging Mickey to ask Linda out. During Eddie's absence, around the turn of the 1980s, Mickey is made redundant from his factory job due to the recession, which forces him onto the dole. He soon discovers that Linda is pregnant, and they decide to get married. Eddie returns at Christmas ready to party and have fun, but Mickey realizes that they are now very different; after a small fight with Eddie, they part. To get money, Mickey assists his brother Sammy in a robbery that goes wrong, and becomes an accessory to a murder committed by Sammy. He is sentenced to seven years in prison.
In prison, Mickey falls into a deep depression. When released early for good behaviour, he is still dependent on anti-depressants, and he turns away from Linda. She contacts Eddie, who is now a councillor, and he gets them their own house and gets Mickey a job. Linda worries about Mickey and meets up with Eddie. Mrs Lyons sees them together and tells Mickey about it. Mickey, distraught over Eddie and Linda's innocent affair, grabs the gun that Sammy hid before he got arrested and then storms down to the council offices to confront Eddie.
There, Eddie is giving a speech when Mickey storms in with the gun. Mickey asks why, even though Eddie has everything and Mickey has nothing, Eddie would take away the one good thing that Mickey had — Linda. Eddie denies this intention, and the police enter, demanding that Mickey put the gun down, Mickey lowers the gun. Mrs. Johnstone runs in and, in an attempt to stop Mickey from shooting Eddie, tells the two brothers the truth. Mickey despairs that he was not the one given away, because then he could have had the life given to Eddie. Mickey, distraught, gestures carelessly with the gun towards Eddie. This sad story ends when the police misinterpret this action and gun Mickey down as he accidentally shoots Eddie, killing him. Mrs Lyons's superstitious prediction has come true, and the Narrator questions whether class was more to blame than superstition.
The story ends some time around the mid 1980s.

1 Blood Brothers peut-être considéré comme un Top musical

updated version of the 1844 novella The Corsican Brothers by Alexandre Dumas, père

1981: Play)
Commissioned by Paul Harman's Merseyside Young People's Theatre Company for Secondary school children. First performed at Fazakerley Comprehensive, Liverpool in November 1981.
The BBC filmed the first rehearsal of Blood Brothers with the Merseyside Young People's Theatre Company and with Willy Russell in attendance making changes to the script. The film followed the young actors through to the very first performance at Fazakerley Comprehensive School and was later shown as part of BBC schools Education programming.

1982: From Play to Musical
Willy spent the whole of 1982 turning the small scale production of Blood Brothers into a full scale musical. Revising the book, writing the lyrics and composing all the music himself.

1983: Liverpool & London 1
He then developed the musical for a production at the Liverpool Playhouse, in 1983, starring Barbara Dickson and Andrew C. Wadsworth. Produced in association with Bob Swash Ltd and directed by Chris Bond. From it's hugely successful Liverpool production it transferred to the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, where it became the musical hit of the season, winning three awards for its author/composer and one for its leading actress/singer Barbara Dickson.

1987: UK Tour
Blood Brothers had a year-long national tour beginning in 1987, produced by Bill Kenwright (and directed by Kenwright and Bob Tomson).

1988: London 2
This tour was leading to a revival at the Albery Theatre, opening on 28 July 1988 and closing on 16 November 1991. The original cast included Con O'Neill, who, as Mickey, won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in 1989.

1991: transfert to London 3
The musical transferred to the Phoenix Theatre on 21 November 1991, where it is still running.

Acte I
Overture – Orchestra, Company and Narrator
Marilyn Monroe – Mrs. Johnstone and Company
Marilyn Monroe (Reprise) – Mrs. Johnstone
My Child – Mrs. Johnstone and Mrs Lyons
Easy Terms – Mrs. Johnstone
Shoes Upon The Table – Narrator
Easy Terms (Reprise) – Mrs. Johnstone
Kids' Game – Linda, Mickey and Ensemble
Bright New Day (Preview) – Mrs. Johnstone
Long Sunday Afternoon/My Friend – Mickey and Eddie
Bright New Day – Mrs. Johnstone and Company

Acte II
Entracte – Orchestral piece
Marilyn Monroe 2 – Mrs. Johnstone and Company
The Devil's Got Your Number – Narration
That Guy – Mickey & Eddie
Shoes Upon the Table (Reprise) – Narrator
I'm Not Saying A Word – Eddie
Miss Jones – Mr Lyons, Miss Jones and Company
Marilyn Monroe 3 – Mrs. Johnstone
Light Romance – Mrs. Johnstone
Madman – Narrator
Tell Me It's Not True – Mrs Johnstone

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Blood Brothers

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Blood Brothers