Bonnie & Clyde (musical)


Bonnie & Clyde is a musical with music by Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Don Black and a book by Ivan Menchell. The world premiere took place in San Diego, CA in November 2009. The musical centers on Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the ill-fated lovers and outlaws whose story has been infamous since they achieved folk hero status during the Great Depression. Wildhorn described the music as a "non-traditional score, combining rockabilly, blues and gospel music". The San Diego run was followed by a Sarasota, Florida engagement in 2010.
The musical debuted on Broadway in December 2011, where it failed to impress the critics. Ticket sales were poor, and it closed after just four weeks. It was nominated for three Outer Critics Circle Awards and five Drama Desk Awards, both including Best New Musical, as well as two nominations for the 2012 Tony Awards. Subsequent productions have since been staged internationally following the submission of the work to Music Theater International, including productions in Japan, Korea and the U.K.

Background

Previously, Black and Wildhorn collaborated on Dracula, the Musical, which also had its world premiere in La Jolla. Wildhorn got in touch with Black about the possibility of writing a song cycle based on the story of Bonnie and Clyde. They released a 13-track demo recording for Atlantic Records with Michael Lanning, Rob Evan, Brandi Burkhardt and Linda Eder sharing the principal roles. The music contains elements of country and western, Blues and Broadway pop. In February 2009, the show held an industry-only reading at Roundabout Theatre Company, starring Laura Osnes as Bonnie and Stark Sands as Clyde.

Production history

San Diego (2009)

The musical had its world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, CA beginning in previews November 10, 2009. Opening night was November 22. The run concluded December 20, after 15 previews and 33 regular performances. Jeff Calhoun helmed and choreographed the production that starred Osnes and Sands, along with Melissa van der Schyff as Blanche and Claybourne Elder as Buck. It won five major San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Awards in 2009.

Sarasota (2010)

Due to a positive response from the San Diego run, the show announced a return engagement for the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida. Previews began November 12, 2010, before a November 19 opening. It ran for 8 previews and 36 regular performances through December 19, with Osnes being joined by Jeremy Jordan as Clyde. The production's artistic director Michael Edwards stated, "How it goes here, will determine whether it goes to Broadway".

Broadway (2011)

The success of the Florida production led to the show's Broadway debut in New York City. Previews began on November 4, 2011, at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, with the official opening on December 1, 2011, following the 33 previews. Osnes and Jordan reprised their roles. Ticket sales were slow, and producers announced on December 16, 2011, that the show would close on December 30. Originally planned as an open-ended run, it played just 36 regular performances. On January 2, 2012 statement, director Calhoun said that he had "never had a show close while it was still playing to audiences like a hit".

Off-West End and possible West End

The musical made an appearance Off West-End at The Other Palace Theatre in london in 2017 featuring Jamie Muscato as Clyde Barrow and Evelyn Hoskins as Bonnie Parker. The show opened on June 26, 2017, and closed on July 1.
There are some rumours that Bonnie & Clyde will make an appearance on the West End at some point in 2020, according to theatrefan.co.uk. The West End run will occur prior to a UK tour, so it is not likely that if it did make it to the West End, it would be open-ended like it did on Broadway. Whether or not it will get a London Cast Recording is also unknown. More details are expected to arrive in the future.

International and amateur productions

Broadway production

;Act I
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow sit in a car, dead.. In Depression-era West Texas, Bonnie is a 20-year-old diner waitress who dreams of a life in the movies. Young Bonnie is also onstage singing about the dream. Young Clyde sings about his dream to become a criminal, similar to Billy the Kid and Al Capone.. Clyde Barrow, who has just broken out of prison with his brother Buck, discovers Bonnie on the side of the road and a connection is made between the two dreamers as he repairs her car in exchange for a lift into Dallas. Meanwhile, Blanche Barrow urges her husband, Buck, to turn himself in and set things right with the Lord and with the law.
Bonnie ends up spending the whole day, and several thereafter, with Clyde. She tells him of her grand plans: to be an actress, a poet and a singer. Clyde convinces her to sing him a song and assures her that together they'll make both their dreams - his of a life without having to worry about money, hers of fame - come true.
The two go to visit Buck. Clyde is overjoyed to see his brother again and they talk of driving away from Dallas in the latest Ford, which is said to be able to go 60 miles per hour. However, when Clyde hears of Buck's plan to turn himself in and complete his sentence, he is strongly opposed to the idea and leaves angrily. However, Clyde is eventually caught by Ted and the other authorities, while Buck turns himself in. In the jailhouse, Ted and Clyde reflect on their love for Bonnie. Bonnie professes her love for Clyde as Blanche does the same for Buck. Buck is released quickly, while Clyde receives a much harsher jail sentence, and then faces a difficult time of continuous physical and sexual assault while in prison. At the peak of his abuse, Clyde turns to a makeshift weapon and performs his first murder. He convinces Bonnie to smuggle a gun into his cell, and Clyde again breaks out of prison, this time killing a deputy.
;Act II
Bonnie and Clyde begin a life of crime, robbing stores and traveling all around to avoid being caught. During a grocery store robbery gone wrong, Clyde shoots a deputy who was, in his words: 'trying to be a hero'. When she hears that Clyde has gone from robbery to murder, a frenzied Bonnie wants out but realizes that she is too far from what she has known to go back. In part due to the grocery store shooting, the two achieve folk hero status throughout the country, with officers in every Southern state on the hunt for them. Clyde sends occasional letters to Buck and Blanche, telling them of the adventures and opportunities they have made on the road. Buck begins to see that there is more for them out there than can be found in their current situation, and he unsuccessfully tries to convince Blanche that they should join Clyde and Bonnie.
The infamous duo, meanwhile, continue on their robbery spree, growing increasingly bold in their endeavors and graduating from stores to banks. In the midst of an unsuccessful bank robbery, Clyde is shot in the shoulder. Upon hearing of his brother's injury, Buck leaves home along with his wife, who is torn between her love for her husband and what she knows is right - to help Clyde. In the hideout, Clyde and Bonnie share a tender moment before being interrupted by Buck at the door. He is with a reluctant Blanche; her love for her husband won out in the end. Days later, Bonnie and Blanche nervously await the return of Clyde and Buck from a robbery, as Blanche questions how Bonnie can happily live the way they do. Bonnie replies that she and Clyde are the only ones truly living life to the fullest. Buck and Clyde return, with their respective partners elated to see them, but the celebration is short-lived as they learn that they have been followed by the authorities to the hideout. A shootout ensues, in which Buck is mortally wounded. Clyde quickly whisks Bonnie away, but a heartbroken Blanche stays with Buck until his dying breath and is arrested for aiding and abetting. Ted reports back to the Sheriff and they prepare to ambush the couple. A guilty Ted convinces himself he is doing the right thing.
In the woods on the way back to Dallas, Clyde wonders how his family will even be able to look at him after what he has done to Buck. Bonnie assures him that it was not his fault, but both realize that they are nearing the end of their fateful journey " / "How 'Bout a Dance?. On May 23, 1934, on a rural Louisianan road, Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed and killed by police on the way to meet their parents.

Musical numbers

Broadway production

;Act I
;Act II
†Not on the Original Broadway Cast Recording.

Casts

Regional

La Jolla

The Los Angeles Times review complimented the leads, saying that Osnes "effectively works the red-headed moll temptress angle while Stark Sands' Clyde flaunts his ripped torso as often as possible. And both possess sharp musical instincts". The Wildhorn score "is undeniably impressive". Although it notes that "stylistically, the work seems beholden to conventional forms yet curious about modern breakthroughs... what is motivating the retelling of this story?"

Sarasota

"Bonnie & Clyde opened Friday at the Asolo Repertory Theatre with a bang—actually quite a few deadly bangs—and by night's end proved worthy of all the buzz it has created...On balance, though, Bonnie & Clyde has all the markings of a musical bound for success on the Great White Way and should be mandatory viewing for all local theater enthusiasts". - Wade Tatangelo, Brandenton.com.
"There is much to recommend in this show about the two fame-obsessed Texas outlaws in the early 1930s. It boasts two star-making performances by Jeremy Jordan and Laura Osnes in the title roles, smooth and action-packed staging by Jeff Calhoun, an impressive set that also displays historic videos and photos, and a tune-filled score by Frank Wildhorn and lyricist Don Black". - Jay Handelman, Herald Tribune.

Broadway

The opening night received mixed to negative reviews. Roma Torre of NY 1 commented that the show "has many virtues but also enough flaws to keep it from blowing you away", while Thom Geir of Entertainment Weekly criticizes the show, claiming it "aims for kiss-kiss-bang-bang, but too often it's just firing blanks". However, the two lead performers, Jeremy Jordan and Laura Osnes, received generally good reviews for their performances, with critic Ben Brantley of The New York Times stating that Jordan "exudes a naturally intense presence, and he works hard at making Clyde seem both wholesome and menacing" and that "Ms. Osnes is a lovely young woman of fashion-model proportions and an instinctive, accessible elegance that reads Ingénue". The cast and crew, as well as many of the production's supporters, expressed that they felt the critics had been biased due to Wildhorn's previous Broadway track record.

Recordings

An original Broadway cast album featuring all 20 musical numbers and a bonus track, was recorded on January 2, 2012 and released on April 24.
Selected songs from the musical were given jazz re-arrangements for a live performance by the Broadway cast at Feinstein's/54 Below; the recording was released on June 6, 2016 as the album Frank Wildhorn and Friends: Bonnie & Clyde and a Whole Lotta Jazz.

Awards and nominations

Broadway production