Bonnie & Clyde -- 1st Preview Today- Page 14

[PopAria]

Posted: 11/20/11 at 10:42pm

If memphis found an audience imagine what Bonnie & Clyde can do...

[broadway7117]

Posted: 11/20/11 at 10:47pm

I've been a bit concerned about an audience too. The cast album should help and if it gets some nominations and hangs around till the Tonys (show doesn't have that high of operating costs), that will help as well. Word of mouth seems pretty good at this point.

[broadwayfever]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 1:43am

Besides the Book of Mormon, this is the best musical that I have seen in a very long time...can't wait to see it for a 3rd time.

[roadmixer]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 3:39pm

AN EXCELLENT SHOW! I hope it gets a fair shake and finds an audience. Saw this blog which I agree with:
http://newlinetheatre.blogspot.com/2011/11/bonnie-clyde.html?m=1

[denali.fire]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 6:08pm

I loved this show.

As for the OBCR..Let's get 'er done!

[NovaNurse7]

Posted: 11/22/11 at 4:57pm

I saw the evening performance this past Saturday (11/19) after having seen it the week before. There weren't many noticeable changes the second time around, but the show did feel tighter. Also, I spoke with Melissa Van Der Schyff (Blanche) after the show and she did say that the show is officially frozen. I think having over a week to run the show as is before the critics see it will help make the show even tighter. I'm very interested to see what the critics have to say about this show. I personally love it, but you never know.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 11/24/11 at 12:13am

O K kids, don't shoot me.
What a BORE!
How could this story and these characters been turned into one of the dullest musicals I've ever sat through.
It's not really bad, it never even reaches that level, it's just song after song that have little or no character developement, no passion or tension.
From one of the first songs: The World Will Remember Us (whose hook is almost a note for note rip-off of It Don't Mean a Thing If it ain't Got That Swing) pretty much every song reminded me of another better song I've heard before. Osnes and Jordan are talented but the material never lets them shine. Osnes comes close with Dyin' Ain't So Bad, but the song (and lyrics) do her in. Jordan's acting is one note (as it was in NEWSIES) Whenever he becomes introspective, I didn't believe it. Melissa Van Der Schyff comes off best because she is just too good to be tied down by the material. Her Partonish voice is so special I wish she had just kept singing all night. Leslie Becker scores as Ma Barrow and the Govenor as does Mimi Bissette as Bonnie's Mommie. I wish Bissette had a song (was it cut?) she has a unique voice.

Questions: Why do they keep using pics of the actual people who look very little like the actors?
What gym do Clyde and Buck go to? Their bods are so out of character and period it was jarring.
Why does Clyde get all freaked out after killing a cop when he has already beat his prison rapist with his semi-bare hands?

I felt the show had no point of view or reason to sing. The ending is a complete let down (I was down already), it just sorta ends.
For me the show did nothing to change my status of Wildhorn as a writer of fair to good pop ballads that do nothing to enhance character or story.

This show could run, worse have but it's as flat as Plano Texas and twice as boring.

Im my opinion, of course.
Updated On: 11/24/11 at 12:13 AM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/24/11 at 12:37am

^Emma Parker did have a song, but it got cut.

I'm sorry you didn't like it. I'd like to think you may have appreciated it a bit more in La Jolla when it had a slightly better song stack and a more streamlined book.

[2]

Posted: 11/24/11 at 1:32am

Why does Clyde get all freaked out after killing a cop when he has already beat his prison rapist with his semi-bare hands?
I wondered that, too, but then I realized that killing a guy who has been brutalizing you for months is a little different, psychologically, then killing a cop in cold blood; I'm sure he was feeling more justified in the former scenario. Lol I never made the "It Don't Mean a Thing..." connection until now; I actually thought there was a musical phase in "The World Will Remember Us" that sounded like something from Ace of Base. Wildhorn really does excell in writing songs that don't move the story along but rather wallow in a moment (and, quite often, beat it to death), but I ended up liking most of the songs in B&C I really didn't care too badly.

[Pit Mole]

Posted: 11/24/11 at 11:38am

Curtainpulldowner: as Broadwaydevil noted, and I agree," You sure seem to have a lot to critique without seeing the show. Not saying you aren't entitled to an opinion but in my experience, it's impossible to have such sharp views of a show without ever seeing it.

I hope you have a chance to catch B&C and I'd be interested to hear your thoughts."

Now that you have seen a preview of the show, you are certainly entitled to express your opinion, as you have done. I would say however, that it would probably be obvious to even the most casual reader of this thread that your biases against Wildhorn (as well as virtually every other facet of the production) were so plainly espoused in all of your previous, before-viewing posts, that it is a bit of a stretch to regard your "review" too seriously. I'm wondering (strictly from a psychological point of view) if some the the seemingly excessive harshness in your review is an attempt to justify and shore up all of the negativity that your pre-attendance posts contained...



Read more: https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?page=13&thread=1038574&boardid=0#ixzz1edik9Wym

[Pit Mole]

Posted: 11/24/11 at 11:38am

Accidental double posting. Updated On: 11/24/11 at 11:38 AM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 11/24/11 at 11:55am

You are right.
I went in with a lot of negitivity but would have liked nothing more than to be surprised and enjoy it. But I didn't. I haven't been going to the theatre for 50 years or so to dislike something. I take no pleasure in stating the fact that I was bored, which is the last thing I want to be as an audience member. I paid to see it because I was very interested.
I thought the cast was very talented, everyone (cept the preacher) was in fine voice, but the score doesn't let anyone show their best. There were no showstoppers and most numbers were met with tepid applause, untill the end of course when everyone automatically stood.
I know I am in the minority about this show but that's what I thought. I hope they do well.

Updated On: 11/24/11 at 11:55 AM

[Donthatecongratulate]

Posted: 11/25/11 at 12:34am

Where to start?

Just saw this and I loved it! Sincerely loved it, and i don't LOVE much. Based on former critiques, I think it's gotten a lot tighter. When I saw it, the audience leapt to their feet at curtain call.

I liked the backstory with the younger Clyde & Bonnie (the young Bonnie looks like a cute version of a white Rihanna), and I didn't feel like Act One was that slow. It was like great foreplay that led up to some intense ass...shooting, blood, and mayhem.

Jeremy Jordan is one the SEXIEST people I've ever seen on a stage. That man oozes charisma & is a shoo-in for a Tony nom. IMO he's a gorgeous blend of a young Harry Connick meets Daniel Sunjata. Just sexy as hell. He's extremely energetic and gives a fully invested performance in great voice.

Osnes on the other hand is a beautiful young actress, (if just 5 cheeseburgers shy of looking like a fully developed woman), but has a long way to go on the acting side. Her voice is pretty and her acting got the job done, but she nowhere near possesses the charm and energy of Jordan. I felt like she wasn't edgy enough to honestly portray a chic who would run off with a thug. I actually thought her Nellie Forbush was edgier and had more personality. She'll be really great one day when she lets go a little more onstage like Jordan.

Melissa was wonderful and had amazing depth to her character-Tony nom for sure.

I guess I'm one of the few on here who loved the preacher because his vocal style, and tepid personality seemed very authentic to his character and the time period. His voice is amazing and his character was the complete antithesis of the violence of Clyde & Bonnie (inside joke) so I found his underacting, if you will, very appropriate.

Hobson wasn't good. Great voice, but yeah, not great. Maybe if he was even hotter than Jordan that would have created better conflict **SPOILER** for Bonnie to be torn, or for the audience to think she was crazy for not choosing the hotter guy with an actual job. But with Hobson in that role, it created no real conflict for Bonnie cuz why would she choose the pudgy dud?

Side note, the actor playing Clyde & Buck's father mesmerized me. He barely said anything but is a perfect example of terrific physical casting with his "gentle giant" physicality and classic facial structure. On the other hand, Bonnie's mom was laughable at best.

As far as WIldhorn's score, it didn't seem consistent to me. There were really great songs like "This World Will Remember Us", "You're Going Back To Jail", "When I Drive" seemed very period appropriate while "Dyin Ain't So Bad", "You Love Who You Love"-great stand alone song btw, seemed like contemporary pop. That did take me out of the show a bit. But I liked so many other things, and WIldhorn's had such a tough year that I gave him a pass.

One thing that's highly annoying is all of the people on here comparing the show to actual historic events and the movie version. This is "Wildhorn/Menchell's Bonnie and Clyde", and more importantly ART. (puns abound) Artistic license should be a given and people should have an open mind to accept what's being presented and not what they expect the show to be.

overall, i think it's great. I'm going out on an early limb & saying this will get a best musical nom.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/25/11 at 12:42am

I just didn't find Jordan sexy at all. He's SOOOO short, and I don't think he has a "gym body" at all.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 11/25/11 at 2:19am

Yeah... well... you have a big behind!

[Donthatecongratulate]

Posted: 11/25/11 at 6:06am

If Jeremy Jordan doesn't make you cream, then you don't have gonads.

[Markecib]

Posted: 11/25/11 at 9:04am

If anyone missed this from the NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/24/theater/frank-wildhorn-composer-of-bonnie-clyde.html?_r=1&ref=theater

I agree this is probably his best overall complete score.

It's been 2 weeks since I've seen the show and still have a lot of the songs stuck in my head.

In response to the showing the newspaper clippings and pictures, I think it works because it's a constant reminder that these people were real. As stated earlier when I saw the show I didn't mind the preacher songs, especially Made in America, it showed how poor and desperate these people were, but Michael Lanning was not in good voice when I saw him.

My biggest gripe is Hobson, who, from reading the last few posts, still hasn't found a way to play his character. Does he just slam his hand on tables to show anger still?

[HBBrock]

Posted: 11/25/11 at 10:57am

For what it's worth, three of us saw this on Wednesday night and all loved it! Great cast, great direction, set design, and we all really enjoyed the music.

Would definitely put this as a must see this season.

[NYTheatre01]

Posted: 11/25/11 at 12:13pm

Hey ripped man, I respect your opinion, but you have to remember that not everyone thinks a "gym body" (as you describe it) is sexy! And, not everyone likes "tall" people. Jeremy Jordan is one great looking guy, and one of the new upcoming Broadway Superstars! And, in a lot of our opinions, the PERFECT height and body type!

[GatorNY]

Posted: 11/26/11 at 9:31am

I was just so glad that this show did not have the same problem as Wonderland, wherein it was clear that Frank had written a bunch of songs and then they shoe horned them into a story.

And, I agree that to be sexy is much more than having big muscles...which are fun, but there's much more to pulling of a sexy character than having big biceps.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 11/26/11 at 10:53am

I'm glad that Jeremy Jordan doesn't have a gym body seeing as how he's playing a Depression-era character who didn't have the money, time, or spare energy to work out.

Updated On: 11/26/11 at 10:53 AM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/26/11 at 11:15am

Any word on the cast album?

[SNAFU]

Posted: 11/26/11 at 11:52am

Add me to the list of people who don't find Gym bodies sexy. For some reason they scream Naracissist to me.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/26/11 at 12:08pm

Yeah, I'm not really into gym bods, either. In shape is nice, but there is a point where it starts looking manufactured. Like botox, cheek implants, fake tans and eyebrow waxing, a chiseled bod can look just as fake and unnatural to me. I understand how others can find it attractive, but it's just not my favorite aesthetic.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 11/26/11 at 12:13pm

Jeremy Jordan is not sexy to me at all. And I don't like gym bodies either. I just think he's pretty run of the mill. Now Stark Sands... that's a different story. I wish he had stayed with the show.