Theatre Review—

DCT Takes A Chance And Prevails With The Story Of The Johnstone Twins

By Julie Stern

BRIDGEPORT — “Have you heard the story of the Johnstone twins?” sings the narrator in a slick, seductive whisper as he stands over two corpses at the opening of the hit London musical Blood Brothers. The show, a sort of “ballad opera” reminiscent in tone of Bertold Brecht, first premiered in this country in 1988 at the Downtown Cabaret, where it is now being revived under the sure hand of its original director, Richard Sabellico.

In the superstition-drenched slums of modern Liverpool, Mrs Johnstone, a hapless poverty-stricken mother of seven learns she is having twins. Unable to care for all her children and fearful of having them taken away by the authorities, she strikes a terrible bargain with the rich lady who employs her as a cleaning woman: The employer, Mrs Lyons, will take one of the babies and pretend it is her own (her husband is conveniently away on a nine months business trip).

In desperation, Mrs Johnstone agrees, knowing that at least one of her sons will grow up in luxury. But hanging over her head is the old saying that when twins are separated at birth, if they ever discover the truth, they will both die. And Mrs Lyons is haunted by jealousy and fear that Edward will learn that she is not his real mother. Despite her promise at the outset, Mrs Lyons fires Mrs Johnstone and forbids her to see the boy again.

However, opposites can be very attractive, and the Lyons mansion is only a stone’s throw away from the Johnstone hovel, where Mrs Johnstone lives with her three youngest children. There is “our Sammy” (with a metal plate in his head that makes him prone to murderous rage), Donna Marie and Edward’s twin, Mickey.

By the time they are seven (“nearly eight!”) Edward and Mickey have found each other with the delighted enthusiasm of Tom Canty and Edward Tudor in Mark Twain’s Prince and The Pauper. The overly sheltered little rich boy and the tough but good-hearted little survivor become fast friends, vowing to be “blood brothers” for life.

The actors age before the audiences’ eyes as the children grow into raucous pre-teens. When, under the leadership of the hoydenish Linda they create a disturbance in the park and attract the attention of the local police, the Lyons decide to move away, to rescue Edward from “bad influences.”

With the fatal irony of Greek tragedy, the Johnstones are relocated as well, to a housing project close by the Lyons’ new house, and when the children are in high school — Mickey and Linda at the local secondary modern, Edward at a fashionable private school for boys — they meet again and reforge their alliance.

The British class system and its gap between rich and poor is a major theme of this play. While the kids are still in school, however different their economic circumstances, their meetings and pastimes are innocent and idyllic, from a make-believe game of cowboys and Indians at age eight, to an evening at a fun fair ten years later.

But, once their school days are over, reality sets in. While Edward sets off for University, with slicked down hair and a scarf in college colors tossed casually over his shoulder, Mickey, in jeans and a pea jacket, starts work at a factory. While Edward meets “wonderful people” and goes to dozens of parties,  Mickey gets Linda pregnant, marries her, and is laid off from his job.

The ending is inevitable, and comes as no surprise, having been revealed at the outset. What makes this show so exciting and moving. and at times funny, is the portrayal of time passing. When the actors play little kids they do so with joyful gusto. Mickey is so full of hopeful enthusiasm as a kid that it is easy to see why Edward idolizes him and Linda is attracted to him.

Similarly, as a bumptious teenager sassing his teacher and sneaking off to see a dirty movie, Mickey is still decent and charming, offering the tightly buttoned Edward a view of life that is appealing and genuine.

This show is a musical. After all, that’s what Downtown Cabaret does, and does really well. Playwright Willy Russell (Educating Rita, Shirley Valentine) is responsible for everything himself: book, lyrics and music. His favorite influence was the Beatles (although also reminiscent of Kurt Weill) so the songs are both catchy and sardonic, loaded with meaning rather than pretty sentiments.

J.D. Branson’s set is stunning, and Hugh Hallinan’s lighting design is, as always, perfectly done. The eight-piece musical group supervised by Nathan Hurwitz is up to DCT standard.

Australian Maree Johnson is making her American debut as Mrs Johnstone and she dominates the stage. The role calls for its actor to alternate between flirtatiousness, gallantry and weariness as she tries to keep her brood together, worries about portents of trouble to come, and still reaches out to Edward in the guise of “his friend’s mother.”

Ms Johnson has a powerful voice, as does Matthew Shepard, who plays the narrator, warning us of the trouble to come. Randy Redd and Max Von Essen do a great job as the two brothers heading down divergent paths, and Kirsten Wyatt is fine as Linda.

Blood Brothers is more serious than typical DCT musical fare, addressing as it does the harsh inequalities that divide English culture. You won’t walk out smiling and tapping your foot, but you will be moved and affected deeply.

More power to Downtown Cabaret for giving people another chance to experience this powerful and entertaining work. We took our own sons to see it when they were teenagers and they never forgot it.  It’s worth taking your older children to see now.

 (Performances continue through May 20. Contact Downtown Cabaret Theatre at 203-576-1636 for curtain times and ticket details.)