piccadilly kim

(originally from november 16, 2006 -- and spoiler alert for the musical blood brothers)

I just wanted to recommend that anyone's who looking for a good, thought-provoking musical in London might want to check out Blood Brothers. If you do, come back and help me sort through these mental meanderings ...

--was it tacky to mention Marilyn Monroe what, 9 times? in one musical?
--okay, let's trace that dance motif and talk about it ...
--Mickey was perfectly cast; Eddie was way too old and perhaps a bit too camp?
--was the narrator the devil?
--at first all the superstition stuff seemed a bit over the top, but by the end I think I was okay with it ...
--have you ever heard of the superstition of not putting new shoes on a table?? I'd never heard of it before.
--I can forgive the semi-weak plot device of Mrs. Johnston not running to call the police because she's superstitious as it was kind of necessary for the plot -- can you?
--the whole thing felt a little too melodramatic and over the top at the beginning, but again by the end I think I was okay with it ...
--gosh, I feel sorry for Mickey!!! I just want to give him a hug!
--nothing ever really happened between Linda and Eddie, right?
--why exactly did Mickey go to jail? And what exactly happened that October night? Did Sammy kill a man? If so, why didn't Sammy go to jail? What happened to him??
--anyone else note the irony of double casting Mr. Lyons as the milkman who danced with Mrs. Johnston at the beginning of Act II?
--that looking glass breaking, salt spilling song started to get kind of catchy, eh?
--was "class" a way too obvious rhyme at the end? But I think I can forgive it, too.
--the English seem much more opposed to medicating depression in general; what do you think of that?
--I sympathize so much with Linda, as long as she never slept with Eddie, in which case I would sympathize with her significantly less.
--what was going on with Mickey's sing-songy lyrics about being seven, almost eight? Did they mean to make that a song but then decide not to or what??
--when they moved to the country, at first it seemed like Linda was another sibling -- where was her mother??
--anyone else seeing vague Harry-Ron-Hermione bits? Maybe it's just the two guys and a girl thing ... yeah, I think so ... I wasn't thinking Phantom-Raoul-Christine but probably could have been just as easily ...
--okay, did I get this right?: Mickey shot Eddie and immediately thereafter the sharpshooter shot Mickey?
--do you hate or feel sorry for Mrs. Lyons?
--wasn't it awfully lucky they were fraternal twins?
--did it feel pseudo-(and not as good!)Shakespearey ("In fair Verona ...") to anyone else at the narrator's prologue?
--I liked the scrim thing at the beginning and opening of Act II. It was also cool that Act II was actually decently long!
--so, if I wanted to get out there and do something about the class system in England now ... what would I do?? (Besides cry. I'm sure I wasn't the only one with a tear or two in sight ...)