Blood Brothers is a riveting, face-paced musical written by Willy Russell and is loosely based on the novella ?The Corsican Brothers? which was written in 1884 by Alexandre Dumas.

Blood Brothers debuted in 1983 and won the Oliver Award for Best New Musical. There have been several productions of the musical including one on Broadway and the current production in London which began in 1988. It is still running today at the Phoenix Theatre in London. To date, it is one of the longest running musicals in history.

Over the years, the musical has developed a strong cult following and has seen several cast changes. The current cast consists of Natasha Hamilton who plays Mrs. Johnstone and is wowing audiences with her powerful and impressive vocals. Stephen Palfreman plays the role of Mickey and been portraying this character quite impressively for years. Simon Willmont is excellent as Eddie and the role of Mrs. Lyons is played brilliantly by actress and singer, Vivienne Carlyle. The Narrator is played by Phillip Stewart who does a fantastic job portraying the sinister and menacing role that captivates audiences.

Blood Brothers is a two act play that centers around the familiar theme of twin brothers who are separated at birth. One is raised poor, the other is raised in luxury, and they come to meet a tragic end. The musical also explores the differences in classes.

At the beginning of the musical, Mrs. Johnstone who is a working class woman and who been abandoned by her husband discovers that she is pregnant with fraternal twins and fears she cannot raise both sons because she already has five other children.

Mrs. Johnstone confides in her boss, Mrs. Lyons who persuades Mrs. Johnstone to give up one of her twin sons to her. Mrs. Lyons promises to give the boy a life of luxury and privilege. Mrs. Lyons cannot have children of her own.

Mrs. Johnson raises Mickey and Mrs. Lyons raises Edward. The two women try to keep the boys separated in life, but one day the boys meet, become friends, form a strong bond and become ?blood brothers.?

Mrs. Lyons moves away, the boys are separated for a time until Mrs. Johnstone moves near Mrs. Lyons, and the boys meet again and form a close relationship. They are older now and they fall both fall in love with the same girl whose name is Linda. Edward goes off to college and Mickey gets a job. Linda and Mickey marry. Mickey turns to crime after losing his job and is sent to prison for his crimes.

When Mickey is released from jail, Linda turns to Edward for help because Mickey is addicted to pills. From Mrs. Lyons, Mickey finds out that Edward and Linda are having an affair. Mickey gets a gun, kills his brother and is then shot and killed by police.

The musical ends where it began with the narrator asking. ?Did you ever hear about the Johnstone twins??

Blood Brothers is a fast-paced well-acted musical that is sure to entertain audiences for many more years.