Production History
Willy Russell originally wrote and presented Blood Brothers as a school play in 1982 in conjunction with Merseyside Young People's Theatre (MYPT, Now operating as Fuse: New Theatre For Young People). He then developed the musical for a production at the Liverpool Playhouse, in 1983, starring Barbara Dickson and Andrew C. Wadsworth. It was only a modest success. Nevertheless, the show transferred to London's West End on 11 April 1983 at the Lyric Theatre and ran until 22 October 1983, winning the Olivier Award for Best New Musical and another Olivier for Dickson's performance. The story is an updated version of the 1844 novella The Corsican Brothers by Alexandre Dumas, père.
Blood Brothers had a year-long national tour beginning in 1987, produced by Bill Kenwright (and directed by Kenwright and Bob Tomson), leading to a revival at the Albery Theatre, opening on 28 July 1988 and moving out of that theatre on 16 November 1991. The original cast was led by Kiki Dee as Mrs Johnstone, Con O'Neill, who, as Mickey, won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in 1989 and Robert Locke as Eddie. The musical transferred to the Phoenix Theatre on 21 November 1991, where it closed on 10 November 2012. Due to close on 27 October, its run was extended by 2 weeks with producer/co-director Bill Kenwright bringing back his favourite cast, including ex-New Seeker Lyn Paul and original narrator Warwick Evans. When Blood Brothers closes after a West End run of more than 24 years, it will have played more than 10,000 performances in London, making it the third longest-running musical to ever play in the West End. The UK tour is scheduled to continue at least into 2013.
The central role of Mrs. Johnstone has been played by, among others, Angela Richards, Barbara Dickson, Stephanie Lawrence, Clodagh Rodgers, Lyn Paul, Siobhan McCarthy, four of the Nolan sisters (Linda, Bernie, Denise and Maureen), Melanie Chisholm (making her West End debut and receiving an Olivier nomination in 2009), Niki Evans and Amy Robbins. Mickey has been played by the likes of Sean Jones, Antony Costa and Stefan Dennis. Notable actors to play Eddie include Mark Hutchinson. Past Narrators include Warwick Evans, Carl Wayne, David Soul, Keith Burns. Philip Stewart and Marti Pellow.
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