This Thursday, the London smash hit "Blood Brothers" will make its local debut at Genesee Community College.
The show, written by Willy Russell, is based on the 1844 novella "The Corsican Brothers." It has won multiple awards, including the 1983 Olivier Award for Best New Musical and a Tony nomination.
The current West End revival is one of the longest-running productions in history due to its nearly 20-plus year run. But despite its immense popularity across the pond, the musical is rarely heard of, much less performed, in America.
Director Maryanne Arena says its obscurity is one of the reasons she chose "Blood Brothers."
"I like doing shows that not everyone does," she said.
The story centers around two twins who are tragically separated at birth, grow up in radically different environments, and become best friends, all the while unaware of their biological connection.
It is a musical, with songs that Arena describes as "a cross between '70s pop and Broadway tunes." Much of the score is accentuated with dancing by Tara Pocock and Leland Fuller.
The director chose the show for both personal and professional reasons.
"The show has always been very close to me because I'm adopted, and it's partially about adoption. I think the topic of nature versus nurture is very interesting: are the genes our parents gave us ones we can't get away from, or is it a matter of our environment and how we're raised? And also, I always pick a show where the kids learn new things. In this case, it was the dialect."
Said dialect is a British accent -- but not the traditional posh one that first comes to mind when thinking of the English. The actors had to learn to talk with a "Northern British" accent, which Arena describes as having stronger Irish and Scottish undertones.
Cal Young, the first-year theater major portraying the twin Mickey, says that prior to the auditions he hadn't ever heard of "Blood Brothers."
"At first I was a little skeptical," he says. "But after a while I began to really relate to the characters emotionally."
Mickey's other half, Edward, is played by Anthony Shoap. Like his fictional twin, he is also a first-year theater major, and also wasn't familiar with the show before this production.
"At first I didn't really like it," he admits. "But I've come to like it a lot more in these past few weeks now that I'm starting to understand all the underlying subtext better."
The story is partially told by a narrator, who is alternately played by Alex Grayson and Patrick Dodge. The role of Mrs. Johnstone, the real biological mother of the twins, is also double-cast with Kiley Conklin and Emily Jones.
"I really couldn't make up my mind," Arena explains of her decision to double-cast the roles. "They all auditioned equally well."
All four of the actors agree that sharing a role improves their performance.
"It lightens the load," Grayson explains. "It's nice having someone else there to check your performance and help you out."
Although they may be playing the same parts, each of the double-cast actors has created a slightly different character.
"It's hard to justify the narrator," Dodge says. "He isn't exactly a person. He's sort of a devil-type character. It's interesting to see how Alex interprets the character -- he's not as evil and devilish."
Jones agrees that although being double-cast is "definitely a challenge," it's "something to learn from. We do things differently and have different takes on the show."
For the performances, when they are not playing their main parts, the other narrator and the other Mrs. Johnstone are in the background chorus.
"Going back and forth gives you so much energy," Conklin says. "When I'm in the chorus playing a little kid, I get so much energy, and that gives more energy to my performance when I'm playing Mrs. Johnstone."
Ian Gayford is the musical director and Patti Simmons is the choreographer.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. April 7-9 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) and there is a matinee at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 10. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for seniors, students, and GCC faculty/staff, and $3 for GCC students with a valid ID. There is a $2 discount for GCC alums with Alum ID.
Tickets can be reserved in advance or puchased at the door. For more information or to make reservations, contact the GCC Box Office by e-mail (BOXOFFICE@genesee.edu) or telephone (345-6814). The box office is open from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and also one hour prior to a performance.
