Theater Review: Bonnie & Clyde

Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan. Photo: Nathan Johnson

They've Got the Lore Down, but Not the Lure
By Lauren Yarger
A musical about Depression-era outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow might not be on everyone's most wanted list, but the Broadway show starring super vocal talents Laura Osnes  and Jeremy Jordan singing one of the best scores to date from Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Civil War, Wonderland) is worth a quick getaway to the box office.

Ivan Menchell's book sticks close to the facts about the couple who left a trail of bank robberies and murders across the south central US before being gunned down by the law in 1934. He offers a lot of details about who they were and how they ended up choosing an outlaw lifestyle and removes some of the glamour associated with them and enhanced in the popular film about them in the 1960s starring sexy Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. What he can't capture, perhaps because there is no real explanation for it, is why the couple are regarded as heroes of any kind. They weren't very nice or likable people -- and they're not really here either, so it's hard to get on board with them as the leads of a musical. Menchell at least gives us enough insight to make them interesting, though. And it's all worth it, just to hear the music.

The couple (he was 20, she was 19) meet in poverty in West Dallas, TX and fall almost immediately in love (despite the fact that Bonnie has an absentee husband). Clyde has always gotten into trouble with his brother, Buck (Claybourne Elder), but Buck's devoutly religious wife, Blanche (Melissa Van der Shyff) convinces him to make a fresh start and to turn himself in to authorities after he and Clyde break out of jail. The preacher (Michael Lanning) baptizes him (with a terrific ballad/gospel number called "God's Arms Are Always Open") and for years, tries to live a straight life with Blanche.

Clyde resolves to have money, clothes and Bonnie and supports himself by committing small robberies while dreaming of becoming famous like his boyhood hero, Billy the Kid (Talon Ackerman plays a young Clyde, already convinced he can solve any problem with a gun). Bonnie's mother, Emma (Mimi Bessette), urges her daughter to forget about no-good Clyde and encourages the courtship of lawman Ted Hinton (Louis Hobson). Fame and attention also attract Bonnie, however, who once dreamed of being a movie star (dynamic singer Kelsey Fowler plays young Bonnie). She wants out of nowhere Texas.

Abused during his latest time in jail, Clyde turns to murder. Bonnie breaks him out and the two begin a life of crime together.

"We are the heroes that people look up to and that feels great," they sing.

Life on the lam isn't all it's cracked up to be, however, and Bonnie thinks about leaving. Their overwhelming need for each other -- and periodic trips back to visit their families -- help push doubt aside. Eventually Buck and Blanche join them on their robbing and killing rampage.

The harsh story is offset by a paneled, changing set by Tobin Ost (who also does the period costumes) lighted by Michael Gilliam and home for projections of photos and other images by Aaron Rhyne. Jeff Calhoun directs (and also is credited with choreography, though there are no real dance numbers as we expect in a musical) and wisely starts with the couple's ambush in their Ford V8. We know how it all ended -- this is a story of why.

The real star here, however, is Wildhorn's terrific score (with smart lyrics by Don Black). Sounding different from any of his other musicals, it's right up there with Jekyll & Hyde for having some really lovely ballads, belt-challenging climbs for several of the singers and there's a beautiful duet for Blanche and Bonnie  "You Love Who You Love" (think "In His Eyes"). The beauty of the blues-driven music and the excellent vocal quality of the cast make this enjoyable, even if the lure of Bonnie and Clyde proves less so.

Bonnie & Clyde are in the line up at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, 236 West 45th St., NYC. Discounted tickets are available by clicking here.

Christians might also like to know:
-- Minor language
--God's name taken in vain
--Adultery
--Blood, violence