MARBLEHEAD — OK, this may take a minute, but it's what happens when you never say no to anything.
Alison Brookes, 51, is a doctor, a primary care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. But she's also a performer scheduled to appear as guest singer in the Marblehead Little Theatre production of "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris," opening tomorrow night.
Brookes is one of four guest singers handling the role at various times, along with Judith Black, Betty Lautner and Elloree Crowe.
The musical's Gallic origins should be familiar to a woman who once worked at a butcher shop in France. Of course, Brookes has also been an emergency room doctor in Gibraltar. Dealt with juvenile delinquents in Switzerland. Toured and lived in Africa from the Sudan to Morocco. Was employed at a medical school in Grenada on the day U.S. troops rescued American students. Lived in Jamaica. Gave lessons in sex education here on the North Shore. Is a wife and the mother of two young men. She acts. She sings (sometimes in her temple.) She dances. And raises ducks.
"I do everything," she says. "I try everything. Go through every door — in terms of good life experiences. ... I basically never say no to anything."
And she talks. Almost compulsively, as someone who measures about 5 feet tall but still has a big story to tell.
Brookes was born in London and brought up by parents she describes as "Jewish hippies. ... We seemed to spend our entire life in temples." She studied medicine and traveled, "just because it could be done. There are so many wonderful things to do."
Always, she says, she was motivated by a desire to meet and learn about people. Even as a doctor, her concern is less the science and more the individual seeking treatment.
In Grenada, during the aftermath of a communist coup, she was confined to a dorm with American students and watched the 82nd Airborne come to the rescue. "There were quite literally helicopters and planes everywhere overhead. ... And these magnificent men showed up."
She flew by cargo plane to the United States and had to hitchhike back to the United Kingdom. But she would return to America, eventually earning citizenship.
Brookes married fellow doctor Anthony Zietman, now a renowned cancer specialist, also at Mass General. The pair lived in northern Nigeria and Sierra Leone before coming to the United States in the 1980s.
Moving to Marblehead, Brookes "wanted to live near the sea and hear the sea gulls." At Temple Sinai, she indulges her love of music. "I like to elicit the romance from the liturgical singing."
Some years ago, she joined the Little Theatre and played Jacqueline in "La Cage Aux Folles" mainly because she could speak French. "It was amazingly liberating. I loved it." The experience had a lasting impact.
"It was the first time I wore lipstick. ... I wear lipstick to this day." High heels are another gift from Jacqueline.
Director Anne Lucas sees Brookes as an ideal choice for her new role. "She has sung Brel's music in French before."
More than that, her style suits the songs. "She's a real chanteuse or torch singer," she says. "She has that petite fragility that (famed French singer) Edith Piaf had. She has that look about her. ... The kind of delicate stature of a Piaf. Waiflike. I don't know if she weighs 100 pounds soaking wet."
Brookes, who lives in Salem now, raises ducks and turkeys. She traces this passion to her empty-nest syndrome, as her sons have gone out into the world. "I'm completely obsessed with the fact that I don't have little ones at home."
Given her background and personality, the "Jacques Brel" show was a natural.
"I love the songs of Jacques Brel particularly," she says. "It's all about connecting with people who are not the same as you."
Her stage experiences began at a young age when she played — appropriately enough — Alice in "Alice in Wonderland." Performing offers an opportunity "to make people cry and to make them think." It can be terrifying to face an audience, but Brookes is anything but cautious.
"I don't care if I make a fool of myself," she says. Her eye is on other goals. "I'm far more interested in making everybody else feel something."
If you go
What: "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris"
When: 8 p.m. on July 24, 25, 26, 31 and Aug. 1; 2 and 8 p.m. on Aug. 2
Cost: Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door
Where: Marblehead Little Theatre, 12 School St., Marblehead
Information: Call 781-631-9697 or check out www.m-l-t.org
