BONNIE & CLYDE Reviews — Page 2

Every one has a right to their opinion, of course. I just think there's a difference between not liking the show and writing a review that offers legitimate reasons and explanations for why you feel that way about THE SHOW and not liking a show simply based on the track record of its creators or some preconceived notion you have that the show is automatically based on the movie.

My problem with the WSJ review is that it's not really about the show at all; it's about Frank Wildhorn and his history, and the Bonnie & Clyde movie. The treatment of the musical itself and the actors in it is superficial at best.

I haven't seen the film, so my only point of reference was wikipedia.

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To be completely honest, once I read the first couple paragraphs of the WSJ review, I was so aggravated with it that his praise of the set went right over my head. As for the reasons he didn't like the show - I can appreciate them, but when you preface those criticisms with a diatribe on how the show was an awful idea in the first place and isn't like the movie, I tend to put less stock in them.

And as for the movie, I have never seen it. My prior knowledge of Bonnie and Clyde consists solely of what I learned about them in my American History classes - that they were criminals who were in love and gave the authorities a run for their money when it came to being caught. Maybe it's because I'm too young (early 20s) for the movie to have been prevalent in my pop culture exposure, but it has no bearing on my conception of the show.

amNY is negative (2.5 stars):

"To say that "Bonnie & Clyde" is the best musical to date composed by Frank Wildhorn, whose previous works include the cult hit "Jekyll & Hyde" and countless flops like "Wonderland" and "Dracula," is still not saying very much - it's only barely a compliment.

...

This really had the potential to be an entertaining, action-packed musical. Yet in spite of a mostly pleasant country-and-blues score and strong, sexy performances from the doll-faced Laura Osnes and heartthrob Jeremy Jordan, this remains a problematic show that lacks focus and tends to pause and meander too often.

Bonnie and Clyde are depicted as innocent dreamers scarred by poverty and an oppressive social climate. But by trying to justify their crimes, the play simplifies the psychological elements that made the film so gripping and reduces its two main characters to cardboard cutouts."

http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/theater-review-bonnie-clyde-2-5-stars-1.3360411

This is not a good start... I really want this show to do well

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Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that everyone's idea of the show will be based on the movie, but rather that if people do walk into the theater with preconceived ideas about the duo it will be the movie that created the reference point.

You walked in with essentially a blank slate then. Maybe many will walk in with the same blank slate. I'm in my late twenties and love the movie. I didn't walk in expecting the movie at all, but it certainly was the reference point in my mind for what these characters were generally like; what the story generally was.

The film was a huge hit, and remains a fun time, so it's not unsurprising to expect many people to be familiar with it.

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So far what I was expecting after all the changes they made, but these reviews aren't the important ones. (If there even is such a thing anymore.)

Part of the problem is Wildhorn who is too passive

He never fights back at his critics. He has to realize by now he will never get good reviews so him taking on the critics will not hurt him & could help

The WSJ review says it all. The reviewer hates Wildhorn so he will never give a good review no matter what Wildhorn does. This is why Wildhorn should fight back. What will the critics do - give his next show a bad review?

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Word of mouth is Very Positive, for what it's worth

http://www.broadway.com/shows/bonnie-clyde/video/153809/word-of-mouth-review-bonnie-clyde/

Totally agree with Mr Roxy

Updated On: 12/1/11 at 07:10 PM

Word of mouth is Very Positive, for what it's worth

Haha, unfortunately it's not worth much. When was the last time they didn't like something?

Backstage is negative:

"The one thing that a show about infamous killers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow should not be is safe. Unfortunately, book writer Ivan Menchell, lyricist Don Black, composer Frank Wildhorn, and director-choreographer Jeff Calhoun have settled for a paint-by-numbers primer that presents the murderous pair as a couple of misunderstood kids trapped by the Depression.

But there were many people in the 1930s who didn't respond to poverty and oppression by robbing banks and machine-gunning those in their way. Whatever made Bonnie and Clyde special is missing from this sentimental musical, as are sufficient character development, adequate dramatic thrust, and any kind of subtext. If this is what passes for serious musical theater on Broadway today, heaven help us."

http://www.backstage.com/bso/reviews-ny-theatre-broadway/ny-review-bonnie-clyde-1005598552.story