REVIEW: "Blood Brothers" in Bloomington

Performance: Saturday, October 17th @ 2:00pm

Location: Ruth N. Halls Theatre

(Indiana University Theatre Department Bloomington, IN)

The curtains have barely closed on this powerful musical and I am driven to post my review. Blood Brothers, Oliver Award winner for Best New Musical in London and a multiple Tony Award nominee in New York, tells a poetic, yet heartwrenching story of twin boys separated at birth only to be pulled together by an invisible bond of which they are unaware. However, this bond also leads them to the same woman.

It was unfortunate to see such a small audience in attendance, though this can be attributed to Homecoming weekend, rather than the quality of the production. There was not a single performance to be disappointed by; I can only highlight the best of the best.

Mandy Striph (Mrs. Johnstone) has been a favorite of mine since her performance last season as Dolores in The Wild Party. I appreciated seeing her versatility on the stage as the mother of the twin boys, one of whom she gives up at birth for fear of not being able to support both. As Mrs. Johnstone slowly ages over the course of the show, the subleties Striph brought to her made the transition seemless. The same gradual transformation was just as exquisitely done by Julia Mosby (Mrs. Lyons), as the secret adoptive mother of one of the boys. Both Striph and Mosby effectively conveyed the weight and worry that burdened them in their decisions.

I also found myself hypnotically drawn in to Matthew Martin's portrayal of the Narrator. The sing song rhyme of the Narrator's dialogue added a melodic quality to the production and Martin's performance added an element of intrigue. As he moved in and out of events taking place, one had to wonder whether his insight predicted or prescribed what would unfold. His dramatic choices made one feel both uneasy and yet still, captured in the moment.

Julia Mosby (Mrs. Lyons), Matthew Martin (Narrator), & Mandy Striph (Mrs. Johnstone)

Looking more broadly at the production as a whole, what made the story believable were the costume choices that aided in the aging of the twins (Martin Brent as Mickey and Matt Birdsong as Eddie), as well as the other children. I am sure I could not have been the only skeptic that college aged students could draw an audience in to believing they were 7 years old. It took only moments to see these men as the young boys being portrayed. From 7 to 14 to 18 years old, these actors and actresses grew and changed in ways that kept the audience vested in the story they had to tell.

Blood Brothers opened the 2009-2010 Indiana University Theatre Department's season with a bang. One can only hope the remainder of the season will continue to build on this wonderful beginning.