Bonnie & Clyde -- 1st Preview Today- Page 7

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/6/11 at 11:42am

All these mostly positive comments make me excited to see it this afternoon. It's good to know we're not going to see another Wonderland!

[ACL2006]

Posted: 11/6/11 at 12:16pm

Very pleased to read all the mostly positive reviews. Might be putting this show on my list for Feb./March viewing.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 11/6/11 at 1:28pm

I'd love to hear the demo if anyone would be so kind as to oblige.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 11/6/11 at 2:01pm

"The bisexual claims are false. in or out of prison"
That's quite a statement seeing how there are a multitude of rumors going either way. The only one who knows Clyde's true sexuality is Clyde (and the men he had sex with).
The musical seems to be taking as many librties with the myth as the film, in the end what matters is whether their story is compelling and exciting. Most people here so far seem to "like" the musical, no one is jumping up and down about it. When the movie came out it was a sensation, and it stands today as a seminal work.

[notabb]

Posted: 11/6/11 at 3:04pm

I'll admit I never seen a Wildhorn musical before but I really enjoyed BONNIE AND CLYDE. The two leads are easy on the eyes , can act and sing wonderfully. The score is a lot of fun. I loved The World Will Remember Us and How Bout A Dance. Osnes and Jordan are a very charismatic couple And their younger versions are great. Well cast , well staged and well sung. I'd certainly grab a discount seat and check it out. Hope it's recorded soon.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/6/11 at 6:40pm

Saw the matinee today....and I agree with most of what's been said already. Count me among those who was very pleasantly surprised by the show. Without a doubt, the best Wildhorn show and easily his best score. There are some nice tunes in there, though there are still a few of his generic ballads that you could swap between any of his shows. Louis Hobson's song isn't terrible, but I agree that it needs to be cut. It grinds the show to a hault, and he's given nothing to do during the song. All he does is stand in place and sing. The only cringeworthy moments in the score for me were the random gospel songs the fat white guy tried to sing. Who thought they were a good idea?

The book is a huge improvement over any other Wildhorn show. For the most part, it avoids a lot of the triteness that his shows typically have. Act 1 needs some serious cutting and tightening, though, as the show doesn't really get going until near the end of the first act. I loved act 2, however, and feel it's pretty solid already. The problem with act 1 was a lack of tension. It felt like, to quote Officer Lockstock, "too much exposition." Once the "chase" plot kicks in, the show really gets moving.

Jeremy Jordan and Laura Osnes are both giving performances that should establish them both as A-list Broadway talent. They've got real chemistry and in a few spots, seriously elevate the material. Jordan's voice is simply outstanding, and Osnes has a really strong voice as well. Together, the two of them are fantastic. I enjoyed Jordan just a little more, possibly because I found Clyde's story slightly more interesting and thought he had a bit more of an arc than she did.

Overall I really enjoyed it, mostly because of the outstanding performances given by the two leads. The preview period can only help them and I think with some tightening to act 1, the show could be really entertaining. I'd be very interested in seeing it after it's frozen to see what changes they make.
Updated On: 11/6/11 at 06:40 PM

[wexy]

Posted: 11/6/11 at 8:41pm

On Friday I was at Kodama having dinner and I was sitting next to to two of the tech guys from the show. He said they had the show for friends and family on Thursday and they were hoping that the first real audience would like it..

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 11/6/11 at 10:53pm

Adam - I acutally thought the random renditions of "God's Arms are Always Open" to be pretty funny and an interesting subplot. It gives Blanche's character much more depth since it establishes an inner conflict as she

*spoiler*



must decide between her newfound religious beliefs and supporting her husband and brother-in-law. Though I agree the choreography on those numbers was laughable.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 11/6/11 at 11:45pm

Glad to hear it's an overall good show wit good writing.

[michellek45]

Posted: 11/6/11 at 11:48pm

I saw the evening show tonight, and you can put me in the "enjoyed it" column. I agree with pretty much everything that's been said here- especially about the police officer. I thought his character was strangely both underwritten and overwritten- they gave him just enough development to set him apart from the other generic police figures, but not enough for him to be seen as anything more than a caricature. He also weirdly contradicted himself: one second he was all, "We have no jurisdiction in that area," the next he was ready to go and shoot up Clyde. I think Bonnie had a little bit of this abrupt flip-flopping about leaving Clyde or not, but hers was less obvious and not as annoying.

There were some really questionable lyrics throughout the show (the Al Capone references became tedious), but nothing glaringly terrible, and certainly not a whole song-full. Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan were both amazing and gave stunning performances. Jeremy's best portion was the scene surrounding "Raise a Little Hell," and I think Laura's was "Dying Ain't So Bad."

Act I gets a little sluggish toward the middle, but it has some nice early comedic moments. Blanche, I thought was great, both the actress and the character. She tended to steal scenes, especially when she was with her rather dull husband Buck, who I didn't care for very much. The hair salon scene was certainly not an essential plot-mover, but I thought it was funny and worth keeping. Like others have been saying, more of a conflict needs to be set up during it.

The beginning is one of my favorite parts, though I'm not going to describe in detail because it's only really affective if you don't know what happens beforehand. That said, I think the ending doesn't quite work- I see why they ended it the way they did, but it was lacking something.

[philly03]

Posted: 11/7/11 at 1:06am

"The only cringeworthy moments in the score for me were the random gospel songs the fat white guy tried to sing. Who thought they were a good idea?"

Are you talking about Michael Lanning (The Preacher)? He's got an incredible voice... Not to mention it's one of Frank Wildhorn's most ideal voices. Listen to some of his Civil War solos or other Wildhorn tunes, I would think your opinion would change.


-
They are in talks for the cast album for B&C... The album will not be recorded until the show has been frozen, especially for those who know how much WONDERLAND was reflected from cast album to stage.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/7/11 at 1:09am

^I hope they at least record "This Never Happened Before" as a bonus track.

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/7/11 at 1:10am

Sorry, but I also found the Preacher's song(s) to be the only embarrassing moments of the show.

[kyl3fong2]

Posted: 11/7/11 at 5:18am

Does anybody have audio for the show? I'd love to hear it if you have it! Thanks :)

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/7/11 at 6:22am

Its really uncouth to ask for people to admit they have recorded a show.

[SamIAm2]

Posted: 11/7/11 at 7:25am

There are several song tracks on YouTube and also on the show's website.

[SamIAm2]

Posted: 11/7/11 at 8:31am

Speaking of YouTube, I found this video of Laura Osnes singing this song ("Fly Away"?) at a cabaret back in Feb. of 2009, before the LaJolla run of B&C. I'm guessing that it is a song from this show that eventually got cut, especially because there's also a video of her performing "How 'Bout A Dance?" at that same show. Anybody know anything about it, whether or not this is the case? Anyhow, Laura sings the hell out of this song and it's well worth a listen.

Fly Away Updated On: 11/7/11 at 08:31 AM

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 11/7/11 at 9:42am

Plenty of my feelings have already been hashed out at length.

I enjoyed the show more then I possibly would have imagined. I have previously seen J&H (loved it), Scarlet Pimpernel (thought it was ok), The Civil War (hated it) and Wonderland (did not like it, was amused but thought it cheesy).

I did not think the beginning was as slow as everyone else. Agree with cutting the Driving song even though I like it. I wasn't into the church song, catchy as it was and it did somewhat fit.

The two leads were fantastic and by the end I was invested in their characters. For me that is a very important aspect. If you don't care what is happening with the main characters then the plot is completely flawed. At the end I was thinking "no, don't drive, don't get in the car" and when the theater went dark I was on the edge of my seat even though we all knew what was ultimately going to happen.

I will recommend this show to friends and family.

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 11/7/11 at 12:26pm

Just scored two tickets for tomorrow's performance. Are all seats full view? Have any changes been made yet and/or does anyone expect any changes? Running time? Thanks.

[sorano916]

Posted: 11/7/11 at 4:13pm

Speaking of YouTube, I found this video of Laura Osnes singing this song ("Fly Away"?) at a cabaret back in Feb. of 2009, before the LaJolla run of B&C. I'm guessing that it is a song from this show that eventually got cut, especially because there's also a video of her performing "How 'Bout A Dance?" at that same show. Anybody know anything about it, whether or not this is the case? Anyhow, Laura sings the hell out of this song and it's well worth a listen.


Um... isn't "Fly Away" from 'Catch Me If You Can'?

[SamIAm2]

Posted: 11/7/11 at 4:21pm

Thanks, apparently so. I hadn't come across it before.

[broadwaybabytn]

Posted: 11/7/11 at 7:24pm

Listening to "Dyin' Ain't So Bad," I find myself thinking of Chess... Wierd?

[ReggieonBway]

Posted: 11/7/11 at 7:40pm

I think the incredible thing about Laura is the fact that she's constantly improving as a performer. You can listen to recordings of her from back when she did Grease and compare them to recordings of things she's done this year and they're barely comparable - back then, she had potential. Now she's brilliant, and she's clearly still improving.

[SamIAm2]

Posted: 11/8/11 at 2:41pm

ReggieonBway, I agree. You have to totally respect the way that she has developed both her talent and her career. It is so much fun watching Laura get better and better and better. Having followed her from the beginning, it is a pleasure to watch her grow.

[charlesjguiteau]

Posted: 11/8/11 at 9:32pm

We just saw the Sunday evening performance-- a dynamite staging of a very skillful show.

Tobin Obst's sets and clothes served the show simply and beautifully, completed by the shimmery projections of Aaron Rhyne. At times you'd get WPA-era documentation of the real events, and at times you'd see gorgeous evocations of floral wallpaper fragments to suggest those humble Texas parlors. We adored the use of a hidden Baptismal pool center stage that (SPOILER ALERT) could later serve as a burial plot. Fans of "Godspell" should just hush up about overlapping imagery in the two shows; theirs will be long gone when Bonnie and Clyde are collecting their Tony's next June.

Gotta say that Ivan Menchell's book played just beautifully for us-- coherent and sharp and structured to serve the score perfectly. And how WAS the score by the much-maligned Wildhorn? Frankly, the first 5 or 6 songs in Act I had us completely in their thrall, with superb lyrics by the usually unremarkable Don Black. For at least half the show, we didn't have the same misgivings as other posters about the contemporary pop-folk sound, and actually applaud the orchestrations for maintaining a sweet blue-grass twang or hard-driving rockabilly sound (no, not strictly period, but evocative all the same). We'd say that Act II took a serious step downhill starting with a TERRIBLE lyric called "Made in America". Ugh!! Seemed like they ran out of new musical ideas to keep up with the acceleration in the book. The swell staging started to repeat itself and the surprises grew fewer and fewer.

Of course in the mouths of Laura Osnes, Jeremy Jordan and Melissa Van der Schyff, any score would sound like a masterpiece-- those three could absolutely do no wrong. Dynamite performances all, but damn, that Jeremy Jordan kid is like the hottest thing on two feet the way he owns that stage! I would have loved to see the added complexity that a notion of Clyde's bisexuality or impotence would have brought to their relationship, but what they DID show was choice. Wish the tease of Jeremy's bare butt hadn't been snuffed out by a swift blackout the moment he rises out of the bathtub after that gorgeous ballad on the ukulele called "Bonnie". That song was hands down the Act II high-point for us. That and the last minute of the show-- If you weren't convinced till then, those final moments prove that this is a musical that knows EXACTLY what it's doing most of the time, and precisely how to get there.

So bravos all around-- this is a really worthy addition to the season and wow, does that happily surprise us!