Bonnie and Clyde

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A musical about bank robbers and murderers runs the risk of glorifying the violence too much. And while Frank Wildhorn's latest musical does show us quite a bit of blood, and it does portray the duo in a fairly sympathetic light, in the end, it does not turn them into heroes.

Act one of the musical chronicles the pair's youth (with Kelsey Fowler and Talon Ackerman giving wonderful performances as the young Bonnie and Clyde) and subsequent meeting, ending with Bonnie helping Clyde escape from prison. Act two shows them on their robbing spree and the efforts of law enforcement to apprehend them.

I found act one a bit draggy, taking too long to get to their meeting and partnering. Also, the subplot of Clyde's brother Buck and his wife takes up a bit of time. While the attempt to show the dichotomy between the two couples is a good idea, the sub-plot breaks up the action a bit too much. Act two is more action packed, and very bloody. This is not a show for those who dislike gunshots.

There has been a demo recording floating around for a while, so I went in thinking I would know the songs. Nope. Most of the songs on the demo have been dropped, and the lyrics on the others have been altered. And near the beginning of the second act I had a moment of confusion, because the song being performed was one I think Wildhorn used already in a different musical.


We saw understudy Cassie Okenka as Bonnie, and I really liked her. She had an excellent voice and I felt that she played well with Jeremy Jordan's Clyde. Melissa Van Der Schyff had the alomst comic role as Blanche Barrow, and she made you believe that she would follow her husband anywhere. Louis Hobson, although looking quite nice as the "good boy" deputy who has a thing for Bonnie, seemed to be a bit wasted. His only song ends up as a duet with Clyde, and he's hampered by the fact that he's holding a cigarette the entire time. The ensemble is quite good, but I think the Preacher has a bit too much stage time. And with a decent ensemble, why is the actress playing Clyde's mother also playing the governor? It was a very odd moment seeing her in the second role.

The show uses (but does not over-use) projected photographs and video. The best effect is the updated tally of people killed by the gang, this makes it clear that these were not nice people. Which leads me to my biggest problem with the show. I know it's based on "fact" but I don't quite get the motivation for Bonnie going with Clyde. I'm never a fan of "You love who you love" and the I will follow him wherever he goes mentality. Both Bonnie and Blanche think they can "change" their men, but in the end, they end up paying horribly for that belief.

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