Blood Brothers by Willy Russell

Last night our study abroad group went to go see the show Blood Brothers written by Willy Russell in the Phoenix Theatre in London's West End. Our seats were in the balcony, but I was only three rows from the front and almost all the way to one side of the theatre, I thought the seats were decent and I really only couldn't see one side of the stage which had two levels, but apparently the only thing up top of the second level was the band, so I didn't miss anything visually. My overall critique of the show was that it was well done. There were a couple parts where the actors spoke a little fast or where they could have spoken up and there were a few times when the band over powered the actors who were singing. The set created the mood. Part of the story takes place in a slum town, and the stage definitely fit that feel. There were a few times where, from where I was sitting, the actors missed their light and there were a few scenes which I thought the lighting didn't match the tone of the song or mood of the story. The costume designer did a good job putting the cast in time period clothing and then decided to put the narrator, which I interpreted throughout the play to be the devil, in a tuxedo making him obviously different and more noticeable on stage. The director put the narrator on the stage, wether leaning against a wall, door frame, or looking out a window as if observing the events taking place on stage, for every scene which I liked but there were a few times in which his different outfit drew eyes away from the scene and towards him to observe what he was doing. The character who played Mickey for last night's show, Karl Greenwood, reminded me a lot of Tucker in the children's show. The narrator for the show, Craig Price, sort of became this creepy guy and in a lot of ways reminded me of Brady's Reddin in Gone to Earth. The narrator also had a very powerful and captivating voice which drew the audience into what he was saying and the story itself. Overall, crew did a great job and the cast was well picked. The cast was good at keeping the audience drawn in by using humor and pauses in the right places. I think everyone did a great job producing and performing Blood Brothers, it's definitely one I would recommend to others.