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BLONDEL


Musical with lyrics and book by Tim Rice and music by Stephen Oliver.

Theatre Royal Bath
Opened 8 September 1983
Closed 24 [??] September 1983

Palace Theatre Manchester
Opened 28 September 1983
Closed 8 October 1983

Old Vic Theatre London
Previewed 31 October 1983
Opened 9 November 1983
Closed 14 January 1984

Aldwych Theatre London
Opened 21 January 1984
Closed 22 September 1984

A musical for the 80's - the 1180's

The rock opera Blondel tells the story of the slightly legendary 12th century minstrel Blondel who refuses to acknowledge that his missing King, Richard the Lionheart, is dead. He sets off round Europe to find Richard, armed only with his lute, his vocal group the Blondettes and a song nobody likes much; assisted only by the lovely Fiona, hampered by the evil Prince John, the Duke of Austria and a hired assassin. Before long, much more than Blondel's musical ambitions are at stake.


Cast
BlondelPAUL NICHOLAS
FionaSHARON LEE HILL
BlondettesCHRISTINE CARTWRIGHT
RACHEL IZEN
JAN LLOYD
Prince JohnDAVID BURT
Baron RegAIDAN COOK
Baron HarveyPATRICK LONG
King RichardSTEPHEN TATE
AssassinCHRIS LANGHAM
Newspaper SellerDAVID ALDER
Duke of AustriaKEVIN WILLIAMS (replaced by
CHRISTOPHER BECK at Aldwych)
Fraulen SchwartzenburgerTRACY BOOTH
Archbishop of CanterburyROGER LLEWELLYN
MonksCANTABILE:
(RICHARD BRYAN,
STEWART COLLINS,
NICHOLAS IBBOTSON &
MICHAEL STEFFEN)
Coutiers, SoldiersSIMON BOWMAN
NEIL BRAITHWAITE
SALLY COOPER
MARIA FRIEDMAN
and members of the cast

Production Team
DirectorPeter James
Musical stagingAnthony van Laast
DesignsTim Goodchild
LightingAndrew Bridge
SoundMartin Levan
Musical DirectorMartin Koch

Musical Numbers
ACT ONE 
Monks Introduction (1)Monks
Blondel and Fiona (2)
a: All I Need Are Words
b: How Long Can Someone Wait
c: I'm A Monarchist
d: Artists Are Tragic and Sensitive Souls
Blondel, Fiona, Monks, Blondettes
The Ministry of Feudal Affairs (3)
a: Opening Ensemble
b: Fiona's Plea to John
c: Richard's Intervention
d: Economic Acrostic
e: Crusade Rally
Monks, Fiona, John, Richard and Company
The Least Of My Troubles (4)Blondel, Fiona and Blondettes
Lionheart(5)Monks, Richard, John and Company
No Rhyme For Richard (6)John, Blondel, Fiona, Baron Reg, Monks
TrioBlondel, Fiona, John
Assassin's Song (7)John, Assassin
Running Back For More (8)Monks, Blondettes, Fiona
ACT TWO 
Blondel in Europe (9)Assassin, Blondel, Fiona, Blondettes, Monks and Company
Saladin Days (10)/ I Can't Wait To Be King (11)Monks, Richard, John
The Inn At Salzburg (12)/ Blondel's Search (13)Blondel, Fiona, Newspaper Seller
The Duke of Austria's Quarters (14)Fiona, Duke of Austria
The Cell (15)
a: Reunion
b: Death of a Statesman
c: Tribute to a Statesman
d: The Wrong Train
Blondel, Assassin, Richard, Fiona, Duke
Westminster Abbey (16)
a: John's Coronation
b: Richard's Return
Monks, John, Archbishop, Richard, Blondel, Company
I'm a Monarchist (reprise) (17)Blondel, Fiona, Blondettes and Company
Running Back for More (reprise)Blondel, Fiona
The English StageCompany

The last song was added to the running list in the Aldwych Theatre programme. Numbers in brackets indicate track number if on cast recording


Notes

The performance on 8 November 1983 was a Special Gala Performance staged in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

Blondel was the opening performance of the newly refurbished Old Vic Theatre and was the first of that season's subscription season - an idea that the new owner, Ed Mirvish, had imported from his theatre in Toronto, Canada where he claimed that 85% of seats where sold in advance to subscribers.


Cast Recording



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