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WARNING SPOILER!!! - Click here for Short Synopsis (Teaser)
ACT 1
Inside a small church in small-town Louisiana a preacher is concluding his sermon (Keys to the Vaults of Heaven). When the sermon ends, the congregation leaves, with the children running and playing in the street outside (Overture [orchestra]). The street clears, leaving behind three farm children, fifteen year-old Swallow and her younger siblings Brat and Poor Baby. The children are horrified when they see Ed, a neighbour, attempting to drown a sack of unwanted kittens in a water filled barrel (What's He Doin?/I Never Get What I Pray For). When Ed leaves, Swallow rescues the sack from the barrel and opens it to find the kittens still alive. The children resolve to keep them, although they will have to hide them from their father in the barn. The Snake Preacher and his followers arrive and begin setting up a tent where people can come to dance with snakes in order to test their faith in Jesus. The children are fascinated, but realising they are late for supper they rush home.
At home they apologise to their father for being late but he gently tells them to sit down for their supper. The childrens mother died some time previously, the family all miss her and they are eating Swallow and her father remember a song she used to sing, "Whistle Down the Wind". After supper, Swallow leaves to feed the kittens the children have secreted in the barn. In the darkness she is frightened by a sudden noise and movement and discovers an injured man hiding under some sacking. She asks who he is but the man, startled, can only exclaim "Jesus Christ!" before lapsing into unconsciousness. The other children rush in to see why Swallow screamed, and she informs them that, as they were promised in church, Jesus has returned (I Always Prayed). Swallow warns the other children that they must keep his presence a secret and care for him until he is well again.
At a bar in town Sam and Ed are performing to the crowd (Cold) when the Sheriff arrives with a warning that a convicted killer has escaped and is on the loose in the area. He warns the assembly that the man is dangerous and needs to be re-appprehended For the Sake of All the Children.
Back at the barn Swallow brings the man some food and a bottle of wine she has taken from the house. The man is grateful but tries to tell swallow he is not what she thinks he is (Soliloquy). But Swallow will not be swayed in her beleif, thinking he is testing her faith. She asks him to bring back her dead mother (If Only), which he tells her he cannot do.
In Town, the next day, Amos, a white boy, meets up with Candy, a young coloured girl. Both are disaffected with the local town, Amos has been in trouble with the Sheriff and Candy has been put down because of her race. They resolve meet again that night in order to leave town together (Tire Tracks). The townsfolk lament the changes that have come over their town which mean it is no longer the Safe Haven it once was.
At the barn children from all over the town begin to arrive. Brat and Poor Baby only told a few of their best friends but the word has spread and all the children want to see Jesus (Long Overdue). All the children agree that must keep his presence a secret from the grown-ups who would persecute him again (The Tribe ["When Children Rule the World"]). They beg him to tell them a bible story and offer him gifts of trinkets, promising that they will always love hime No Matter What [Part 1]. Elsewhere, the townsfolk are angrily determined to find the fugitive and remove him from their town (No Matter What [Part 2]).
ACT 2
In the town the, the townsfolk are gathering to begin their fugitive hunt (Opening).
At the barn, the man tells Swallow that a friend has hidden a parcel for him in the railway tunnel and asks her to retreive it for him. But the tunnel is four miles away, too far for her to go that night. He suggests she take her father's car and tells her that sometimes it is alright to break the law. Each of them notice that the other is shaking and try to comfort each other (Try Not to be Afraid). the sound of a motor-bike heralds the arrival of Amos. The man tells Swallow to get Amos to take her to retreive the parcel then hides before Amos enters the bar. Amos has come to say goodbye but will stay if Swallow wants him to. He knows Swallow is hiding something and tries to get her to exchange secrets with him (Let's Make a Promise). He tries to kiss her, telling her that A Kiss is a Terrible Thing to Waste and asking her to run away with him (Tire Tracks [reprise]). Swallow declines, but asks him to take her to the railway bridge to fetch the parcel. As they leave, the man, hiding in the darkness where he was listening to the conversation, swears vengeance on Amos if he harms her.
At the tunnel, Swallow retreives the package but is almost killed by a train. Grateful to Amos, who pulled her out just in time, she agrees to tell him her secret, first making him swear that he will tell no-one else. Then she tells Amos that Jesus is back and hiding in her barn. Just then the Sheriff and search party arrive. They think they have found their quarry (Over Here), but are disappointed to find it is only Swallow and Amos. The Sheriff is angry, however, to find Amos alone with a young girl in such a remote place. He sends Swallow home with one of his deputies and gives Amos a severe warning. When they all leave, Earl emerges from the tunnel where he was hiding all along and has overheard Swallow's secret.
Back home, her father confronts Swallow about the changes that have come over her and the bottles of wine that have gone missing from the house (If Your Mother Was Here). She tells him he has changed too and complains that when her mother died he would not talk about her. She runs off and finds Brat comforting Poor Baby because his kitten, the runt of the litter, has died (No Matter What [reprise]). She tells him that God must have had a reason for taking the kitten and suggests they go ask Jesus to explain it to them. The Man, confronted with this question, can only weakly explain that everyone dies in the end (So Many Cries).
In town Candy has been waiting for Amos, but when he eventually arrives, hours late, his only concern is to find Swallow, insisting that she is in terrible danger and rushing off again to find her. Earl arrives, and maliciously tells Candy that he saw Amos and Swallow together at the tunnel and that Swallow is hiding the fugitive (Now the Noose/I Asked for a Christmas Bonfire). Nearby, the Snake Preacher's revival meeting is in full swing (Wrestle With the Devil) when Candy, bent on revenge, interrupts and announces Swallow's secret to the whole town. Swallow arrives and Amos swears he was not the one who told her secret, but the damage is done and the townsfolk resolve to take the fugitive whatever the consequences (No Matter What [the Outrage] / Tower of Fire).
Swallow runs home to warn Jesus that the townsfolk are coming for him. He takes out the gun that was in the parcel Swallow retreived for him and prepares to run but Swallow begs him to stay, promising she will protect him (There's a Prayer). He tries to convince her that he is not who or what she thinks he is (The Nature of the Beast) but she replies that he is testing her faith and she has passed the test. All the children arrive, and surround the man to protect him. When the townsfolk arrive, they are helpless to act since he has all of their children as voluntary hostages (Fire Sequence). But the man sends the children out a few at a time, last of all Swallow whom he again reminds "Try Not to be Afraid". Once he is alone, the man splashes around a can of petrol before setting fire to the barn and turning it into an inferno.
Some time later, when the fire has been out, the Sheriff searches the ruins but can find no sign of the fugitive. Her father tries to tell Swallow the man was not what she thought but her faith still cannot be shaken and she is convinced he will return.
Finale (Thunder is Rolling / Whistle Down the Wind [reprise]).
Whistle down the Wind is the stage adaptation of Mary Hayley Bell (Mills)’s 1959 children’s book, which was made into a hugely successful 1961 film starring her own (and actor John Mills) daughter, Hayley Mills. The book, and the movie that followed it, were set in Lancashire and were raw-edged tales of Northern life. The book, being intended for children, broke new ground in a childrens novel by tackling spiritual and emotional issues in a frank and straight-forward manner, whilst the movie launched the career of Alan Bates.
The story centres around a group of youngsters who mistake a fugitive killer hiding in a barn for a reincarnation of Jesus. The children then try to protect the man from the adults who are searching for him. It is a story of childhood innocence, and to a certain extent too, one of redemption as the innocent love of the children begins to affect the fugutive and bring out the good inside him.
Where the stage show departs from it's predecessors, and what is by far its biggest demerit, is that it has been re-located to the American deep-South, to be precise, Louisiana. This opens the door to introduce new sub-plots concerning issues of religious extremism and racial bigotry to enhance the story - but only in a very cursory, half-hearted sort of a way - whilst on the negative side it robs the story of the essential simplicity and dourness that gave the original such real emotional impact. Forgive that betrayal and then there are the small matters of some humourless and less than sympathetic characters and side issues that are opened then seemingly abandoned (the racism of the Sheriff and radicalness of the Snake Preacher are hinted at then seemingly dismissed) - not to mention the introduction of an element of soul-less American kitsch.
But all that being said, if you can take the show for what it is, then what it is trails a long way behind Webbers better works - Phantom, Evita, Cats etc. - but if it is not great, it is still, at least, enjoyable. Musically, it does not match the the style or elegance of any of the aforementioned, but it is well staged with impressive sets and, most importantly of all, a first class cast. The two leads in particular, Jonathan Ansell as the fugitive and Carly Bawden as Swallow come out of the show with huge Credit. Ansell, who first came to public attention as a member of the male singing quartet G4 on TV's 'X Factor', and has since established his credentials as a solo tenor, is here making his first foray into musical theatre. And a highly successful introduction it is too. He has real acting talent to match his incredible vocal prowess and brings real strength and conviction to the role. Carly was, perhaps, just a little too assured as the impressionable youngster, but there could be no faulting her vocal talent - she sings superbly, with a voice that is as rich, sweet and clear as you could possibly hope for. And, not more than an inch or two taller than her twelve year-old on-stage sister (a superb performance by young Alicia Kemp from Heckmondwike), she easily passed for the fifteen-year-old teenager she represented. About two dozen local youngsters are included in the show and they get what easily the best, and certainly most memorable, of the individual musical numbers, "No Matter What" and "When Children Rule the World", and perform them so well as provide one of the musical highlights of the show.
Much of the action takes place inside the barn, which is rendered with wooden walls on two sides with huge stacks of hay bales on the third (the fourth being open to the audience. These lift and slide away with remarkable ease to be replaced with alternate backdrops and props representing other locations, like the main street of the small town or the house where the children live.
Overall, musically it is a good show, but emotionally it never quite manages to hit the mark. There are plenty of moments that ought to bring a tear to the eye, but somehow never do. In other words, we enjoy the show, but we are not moved by it as we should be. It is a shame that Webber didn't have the courage to resist commercialism and keep the story in its original location and truer to the original ethos. One feels that if he had, this might have been another 'Evita'.
Musically satisfying and delightfully staged with some great individual performances but unfortunately lacking in emotional impact.
Don Gillan - www.stagebeauty.net
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