I was so excited to see this show. I love the story of Bonnie and Clyde. This is the first show I saw that introduced me to Jeremy Jordan and now I completely love him (he is the only reason I saw Newsies). This is a show that has been through some shit, frankly. Critics for some reason don't like to give Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll and Hyde) credit when credit is due and I feel as though Bonnie & Clyde received a lot of flack because of that relationship. Jeff Calhoun, the director, has even been quoted as saying that he has "never had a show close while it was still playing to audiences like a hit." It's true - this show played like a hit.
Right from the beginning, it holds the audiences attention. One hears a radio playing a quaint tune (later learned to be "How 'Bout a Dance?'") and the silhouette of a car becomes clear behind a scrim, before it is lit into by dozens of bullets - the scrim rises and you see bloodied and murdered Bonnie and Clyde slumped behind the wheel of the car. Talk about demanding an audiences attention right from the start. I LOVED the way it started. It was startling, but absolutely amazing. It was really great.
I really enjoyed this set. In addition to beautiful cars, and real-looking little shacks and dusty houses, they made good use of projections, which showed the audience photos of the real Bonnie and Clyde (mugshots, iconic pictures such as Bonnie with the cigar, and newspaper headlines), in addition to photos of the real Blanche and Buck. It was really nice and innovative and they took full advantage of this - something that I think really added to the storytelling - reminding the audience that this is based on true events and these were real people.
I enjoyed this retelling of Bonnie and Clyde's story because it really made them seem more endearing and more fun. They were two crazy kids in love, Bonnie with dreams of becoming "the main attraction at the picture show, like Clara Bow" and Clyde wanting to be like Al Capone. They were very human in this and two kids in love that just followed a series of unfortunate circumstances while looking for a better life.
Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan had PHENOMENAL chemistry. It was absolutely amazing. I really felt like they were absolutely in love and could not get enough of one another. They were electric and my friend and I both left saying that we wanted a love like Bonnie and Clyde's - minus getting shot up in the end.
Melissa van der Schyff was phenomenal as Blanche and I was rather surprised that she wasn't nominated for a Tony. She was hilarious and wonderful and funny and sad and she has an amazing voice. I felt so bad for Blanche and started to tear up when she lost Buck, especially after she followed him, just to lose him anyway.
There were a few points where I got a little bored ("You Love Who You Love" cannot hold my attention at all), but overall it was a fun show and it was really nice. It was also touching that they got shot going to see their parents to give them money - they were good kids just tired of being poor. It was especially good because it made the circumstances seem less extreme, especially given the economy these days.
I'm so happy that this show managed to get a cast recording. It was so much fun and so short-lived - it will at least live on in my car.
I give Bonnie & Clyde an A-. This show closed (prematurely) on December 30, 2011 after just 36 regular performances.
