Bonnie & Clyde -- 1st Preview Today- Page 5

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 11:15am

^Bonnie's mom used to have a song in that scene. It just got cut.

[Emmaloucbway]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 11:18am

Kyle4

Those are too many ellipses for me. sorry. I'm an ellipsis-user too, but not as much *and as obnoxious, no offense* as you. I read the first paragraph of your B & C review and i counted at least 15.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 11:37am

CATSNY- They must not have changed the scene around that song because you just felt the cue line coming on, but then no song. Bonnie and her mother could have had a song together, but not another ballad. They would need a "Lucky" from Floyd Collins type song. In fact I wish the show had be orchestrated to sound more like a Floyd Collins than what it did.

[Calvin]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 11:48am

I'll echo the "much better than I expected" sentiment. I enjoyed the score more than anything of Wildhorn's since I saw a very early version of J&H in Houston ages ago. I liked some enough that I'll likely buy an album should it become available.

But -- and SPOILERS from this point -- how could a musical about Bonnie & Clyde feel so utterly devoid of conflict? Blanche is a great character in the first act but is incredibly underwritten in the second. Maybe we could have seen a bit more WHY she suddenly turned around and became a de facto member of the gang?

Was the sheriff's role larger at some point? I mean, his death had about the same emotional gravity of when Bank Teller A gets shot. And throwing in Ma Ferguson as a character just so she could throw her hands in the air and pound the desk a few times seemed superfluous. (not to mention a few violations of the Chekhov's gun rule)

Overall, a mostly decent score with a few great standouts, nice opening and two strong leads, but a very draggy show in several spots.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 11:55am

Isn't Jeremy Jordan like 5'8? How tall is Laura?

[SamIAm2]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 1:02pm

Laura is 5'5".

[Calvin]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 1:16pm

He didn't seem short to me. He wore a hat most of the time, which probably helps.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 1:23pm

It's good they cut the mom's song. It was awful and stopped the show in a bad way
and needed to go. That's what I thought in Sarasota.
Other than that, I really like this show.

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 1:39pm

About the "short" question (or issue?), the real Bonnie was 4'11", and Clyde was 5'4."

[kyle4]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 2:04pm

hey drama mama... do you realize you told me that i " should LEAN to write " ? that is BRILLIANT... comedy... concision... good work, drama !!!!

emma... thank you for being my ellipsis counter... i love and HONOR the ellipsis... so the fact that you stopped your day/evening and counted some of mine... well, it means a LOT to me...

whizzer.... ha !!! i know... when the WHOLE set went dark... and you saw grey clouds and stars... that actually MATCHED the housedress on that 15 year old girl/mom... i was frightened... i thought... she is gonna sing... lord oh lord, they are gonna make her sing.. instead, she knelt down and gave that half-hearted screech and marched up the planks and into the heavens... MUCH ADO about NOTHING....

speaking of COUNTING.... someone should consider counting those planks of wood...

ain't NO ABACUS large enough !!!

oh and that "good guy" cop gets some SUPER LAME... SUPER CORNY... shockingly LITERAL lyrics to sing... cute guy... but, i feel bad that he has to deliver those SAPPED OUT songs !!!

p.s. the men's room line was AROUND THE FREAKIN block... and NO LINE for the ladies... KUDOS ladies... how'd that happen ?

i case you did not read the review on my blog... here is the link...

http://thetheaterbuff.typepad.com/the-theater-buff/2011/11/bonnie-clyde-first-preview-thoughts.html

as a courtesy....

[SamIAm2]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 2:30pm

Kyle4, to me your review came off more as a vehicle for you to be snide rather than as an attempt to objectively review the show. Unfortunately, this resulted in my discounting the validity of what you had to say. I say this not as an attempt to slam you but as honest, hopefully constructive feedback. Others' criticisms of the show seemed more fair and well thought out.

[AGermano]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 2:49pm

I'm assuming that because people got rush tickets at 5:45pm last night that they sell the rush throughout most of the day (while they have tickets left...) Can anyone who goes for the rest of the week let me know how late they were able to get a rush ticket for?

[kyle4]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 2:50pm

sam...

DISCOUNT ACCEPTED !!

http://thetheaterbuff.typepad.com/the-theater-buff/2011/11/bonnie-clyde-first-preview-thoughts.html

[wickedfan11]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 2:50pm

Who are the understudies?

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 3:39pm

Picture of the Playbill isn't coming out so here it goes:
Swings: Katie Klaus, Sean Jenness, Cassie Okenka, Justin Matthew Sargent.
For Young Bonnie: Rozi Baker
For Young Clyde: Jack Tartaglia
For Bonnie Parker: Marissa McGowan, Cassie Okenka
For Clyde Barrow: Jon Fletcher, Justin Matthew Sargent
For Buck Barrow: Matt Lutz, Justin Matthew Sargent
For Blanche Barrow: Alison Cimmet, Katie Klaus, Garrett Long
For Sheriff Schmid: Daniel Cooney, Tad Wilson
For Ted Hinton: Matt Lutz, Justin Matthew Sargent
For Emma,Cumie and Gov. Ferguson: Alison Cimmet, Garrett Long
For Henry: Sean Jenness
For Bud: Justin Matthew Sargent
For Preacher: Daniel Cooney, Sean Jenness, Tad Wilson

[massofmen]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 4:48pm

most people are going into this thing with awful expectations. If you went into the show with moderate to high expectations how would you feel about the show?

i went into high fidelity with the lowest of expectations and had a good time because of that. Doesn't mean the show is good, just means because I went in with low expectations it was good.

[michellek45]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 5:16pm

AGermano, the good buzz about this show must have gotten out really fast because I went today a bit before three and they were all sold out. I'm going to try tomorrow morning, get there probably about 11 (I think the box office opens at 12 on Sundays...correct me if I'm wrong).

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 5:38pm

Massofmen - While I certainly went in with the mindset that it could be a disaster and if it was I would just laugh it off and be thankful that I didn't spend too much on the show, I was certainly hoping for the best and expecting to have an enjoyable evening.

There's no denying the powerful performances the leads are delivering, that seems to be pretty unanimous. The score is also very catchy but certainly not brilliant and the show is well done overall. I tried to be as objective as possible as a viewer and as a reviewer in this thread and stand by my statements: it's a solid show with extraordinary leads.

Sure, it could use some work, but only two people that I count in this thread really didn't care for the show at all (and one of them is Kyle, anyone remember his thread bashing The Book of Mormon?). Just about everyone I spoke to and heard enjoyed the show, at least to an extent, but I can't speak for everyone. No way to know unless you go.

Updated On: 11/5/11 at 05:38 PM

[leefowler]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 6:37pm

I find it interesting that no one (unless I overlooked it) has compared this musical to the Warren Beatty movie. I think this musical has lot of good things in it...it has, if not a first rate score, then a first rate second rate score. It's superbly cast, and well directed. The first preview seemed pretty slick to me, at least for a first preview.

Spoilers follow, maybe...

But, even thought the movie was released in 1967, it's actually much more daring artistically that the musical version. The characters are much more vividly drawn in the movie...the character of Blanche, which Estelle Parsons won an Oscar for, is now a fairly conventional comedy second lead. Warren Beatty's Clyde is sexually impotent in the film, and is a very complex character...in the musical, he's just a nice boy who's head-over-heels in love with Bonnie (prison rape aside...). It's possible that the musical is closer to the actual facts than the movie is, but the movie didn't make the mistake of spending so much time setting up the situation. The bank robbing in the movie starts right away, not after a hour and a half of exposition.

It might not be fair to compare the musical to the movie, but let's face it, Frank Wildhorn and company would have never written a Bonnie And Clyde musical if there hadn't been an acclaimed movie with the same source material. And I'm not sure about the wisdom of making a slightly better than average musical out of one of the most brilliant movies of the 60s.

Posted: 11/5/11 at 7:37pm

Saw the show this afternoon. Put me in the pleasantly suprised column. I'm not much of a reviewer, but wanted to share some thoughts.
First...how great to see something original. Tired of all the jukebox and movies turned to musicals.
Biggest suprise...the score. I was expecting period music, but instead got a nice mix of rockabilly, gospel, ballads, and Broadway style rock. Standouts for me were How 'Bout a Dance, You Love Who You Love, and Dyin' Ain't So Bad. As mentioned by previous posters the cast sings the hell out of the score.
The two leads were phenomenal. Great voices and even better chemistry. Have never seen Laura Osnes before...what a talent!
Sets and projections were also well done without being overdone.
The show was a lot more story driven then I expected. In my opinion this lead to a few moments of drag during the first and second act. Not sure what I would trim though.
Melissa Van Der Schyff was also a standout performance. Loved her acting and the Dolly Parton twang in her voice.
Overall a show worth checking out.

[SamIAm2]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 8:27pm

Here's an interesting interview with Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan about the show, the characters and the history.
Osnes/Jordan interview

Posted: 11/5/11 at 8:37pm

Thanks for the link.
Makes me appreciate the show even more!

[kyl3fong2]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 8:39pm

After reading all these reviews, now I REALLY want to go see this show.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 11/5/11 at 8:44pm

best12bars, Clyde was 5'7", not 5'4".

Calvin, I'm guessing Ma Ferguson is featured because she coaxed Frank Hamer out of retirement in order to hunt down Bonnie and Clyde, which he did (with the aid of J. Edgar Hoover).

I'm not familiar with this show's storyline, but as a lifelong B & C enthusiast, some of the brief summaries don't make sense to me. For one, it wasn't a sheriff who tracked them down. Hamer was a Texas Ranger. Secondly, it appears the main-cop-turned-sheriff everyone's referring to is Ted Hinton. At least, the part about having a crush on Bonnie and being part of the posse that killed them. Hinton was a sheriff's deputy and knew Clyde's family in his youth and was a frequent customer of Bonnie's when she was a waitress. Indeed, he had a sort of crush on her, but he was already married with a kid.

Is Hamer not featured at all, just like their getaway driver D.W. Jones and Henry Methvin, the accomplice who betrayed them?

Also, can anyone give a full summary of the story? I'm curious.

Posted: 11/5/11 at 8:53pm

I was fascinated by the story. Knew nothing going in.
SPOILER!

Ma Ferguson does coax Frank Hamer Texas Ranger out of retirement.
He helps track down B&C with the help of the sheriff.
The sheriff visits Bonnie where she works and has a major crush on her. This leads to few songs about his unrequited love which some posters felt should be cut, but I felt added to the plot.