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Home > Theatre > Blondel
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
| Blondel | PAUL NICHOLAS |
| Fiona | SHARON LEE HILL |
| Blondettes | CHRISTINE CARTWRIGHT
RACHEL IZEN
JAN LLOYD |
| Prince John | DAVID BURT |
| Baron Reg | AIDAN COOK |
| Baron Harvey | PATRICK LONG |
| King Richard | STEPHEN TATE |
| Assassin | CHRIS LANGHAM |
| Newspaper Seller | DAVID ALDER |
| Duke of Austria | KEVIN WILLIAMS (replaced by
CHRISTOPHER BECK at Aldwych) |
| Fraulen Schwartzenburger | TRACY BOOTH |
| Archbishop of Canterbury | ROGER LLEWELLYN |
| Monks | CANTABILE:
(RICHARD BRYAN,
STEWART COLLINS,
NICHOLAS IBBOTSON &
MICHAEL STEFFEN) |
| Coutiers, Soldiers | SIMON BOWMAN
NEIL BRAITHWAITE
SALLY COOPER
MARIA FRIEDMAN
and members of the cast |
Production Team
| Director | Peter James |
| Musical staging | Anthony van Laast |
| Designs | Tim Goodchild |
| Lighting | Andrew Bridge |
| Sound | Martin Levan |
| Musical Director | Martin 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 |
| Trio | Blondel, 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 Stage | Company |
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
Links
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