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Blood Brothers
By Crystal A. Johnson
Director Bryan Rasmussen has outdone himself with the delightful musical production of Blood Brothers at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks, at the corner of Sunnyslope and Ventura Blvd. Blood Brothers is now in its twentieth year of production at the Phoenix Theatre in London. A note to the musical hater that typically says," You lost me at hello," Rasmussen who is not a fan of the musical platform, completely fell in love with this production when he saw it 20 years ago in London. Blindly making the judgment not to see Blood Brothers because it is a musical would be a mistake. It is an excellent production.
In many ways, aspects of the story are predictable, its premise simple; however, it is layered with subplots. Furthermore, the execution of the story makes up for the predictability. To be fair, it is more than gently hinted that something is bound to go awry. It is a play which revolves around old wives' tales and superstition. There is a haunting air to the production with a narrator (Gil Darnell) who pops in and out at unexpected times and places. Beyond the darkness of story are themes of love, deception, privilege, poverty, friendship and family.
It is the tale of two brothers separated at birth. Due to financial difficulties, a single mother with a house full of children can not imagine feeding two more mouths. In desperation, she agrees to allow her infertile employer to fake a pregnancy only to eventually take possession of one of twins. The mother's decision allows one brother to live the life of privilege while the other will experience growing up poor. As fate would have, it the boys meet and instantly for a bond. They declare themselves, "Blood brothers." Unbeknownst to them they are actually fraternal twins. Each looks at the other friend (twin) admiring and wishing to be somewhat like the other. Mickey is the brother from the wrong side of the tracks. As his brother Eddie sees it, Mickey gets to play in the dirt and exposes him to the use of fun curse words. As Mickey sees it, Eddie wears fine clothes and really lives the life up on the big house on the hill.
The cast is splendid and diverse. Many of the key roles are colorblind in regards to casting. Mueen Jahan Ahmad is one of the more seasoned actors with an impressive resume of television credits. He is especially good at doing a variety of accents throughout the play. Eduardo Enrikez does double duty as producer and actor. He plays Mickey in Blood Brothers. Enrikez's performance is strong as he convincingly plays a child throughout much of the play, however, after intermission his portrayal as both a teenager and young man leaves a lot to be desired. His character matures to an adult but has an incessantly whiny tone which borders echoing Brando's cry out "Stella!" from the grave. Ryan Nealy plays twin brother Eddie. Nealy's performance as a child is solid. His performance strengthens toward the end of the play when his character blooms into adulthood. Gil Darnell embodies a somewhat sinister yet enchanting portrayal as the narrator.
The matriarchal character, Mrs. Johnstone is played by Pamela Taylor. Her portrayal of Mrs. Johnstone delivers an empathetic performance, yet I wanted more. No doubt she is a talented singer, but as far as performance goes, subtle emotional nuances could enrich her portrayal of the troubled matriarch.
In all, the music and singing talent is great. The musical score is, at times, reminiscent of 70's musicals such as Tommy or Godspell. Musical Director Carson Schutze does a fantastic job.
Performances are scheduled Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3 pm, through November 23rd.
www.BloodBrothersLA.com
866-811-4111.
There are also dinner show packages with Ole Tapas Restaurant and Bar.