Bonnie in search of her Clyde !

What a misspent opportunity. Great subject matter and characters only to be cheated out of a better score & more inventive staging. The show sits there like lead where it should zip along almost cinematically. The tuneful though all too generic score, is song with zest by the cast, but there is no payoff or build to this production. Is it embarrassing? No. But it sure is dull.

The star of this production is the lovely Laura Osnes. She takes what little is written on the page and infuses her character with sass and sex appeal. She's fortunate to have been given the shows few standout tunes. Jeremy Jordan, on the other hand, seems out of his element here. Sure, he can sing and is handsome, but I never felt the connection between him and Osnes, let alone being fearful of him. He isn't a strong enough actor and is never believable as the murderous Clyde Barrow. Though I bet he'll be a perfect Jack Kelly in Newsies !

Props to Melissa Van Der Schyff ( girl, change that name) for leading the supporting cast with gusto. She's one of the more sparkling things about this leaden production. A mix of Dolly Parton and Polly Holliday ( Flo from TV"s ALICE) , she makes any scene she's in come alive.

The set works as well, though they have to realize that the last several rows in the orchestra s miss most of the projections.

Good luck to the cast though. It's a talented bunch.

who cares what most of the board thinks?

You're not alone. My roommate saw this and had exactly the same feelings as you CukorLover. I strongly disagree With the "dull" comments, though. And what I told him is that to me It's not boring.

And I also disagree with the comments about the score and staging not being fit for this story. Frank has written the perfect set of songs for this story. The songs are sung very well too.

The way they intertwine the scenes on stage is also a strong point of the musical. But I think that's something you'll notice when you see it again.

"Picture Show" bugs the crap outta me too! Bonnie is supposed to be 15 at the top of the show and it’s unlikely that a 15 year old Bonnie Parker would have been aware of Clara Bow in 1925 since that was two years prior to the release of "It" and Clara becoming known as "The It Girl" as Bonnie references her. But, apparently I'm the only one bothered by the timeline faux pas.

^It was! A lot of the added songs that don't move the plot where not there in La Jolla.

I agree- I thought the cast was super talented but the show didn't really move me. I didn't have really any empathy for Clyde and didn't really get his motivation. I didn't care for the pictures of the real people all the time either... I know it's a true story; don't need to see the real people who look nothing like the actors to remind me! I was more impressed by Osnes' stunning singing than her acting... when she sang "Dyin' Ain't So Bad," another audience member yelled out, "SAAANG it, girl"... which (though uncalled for at a Broadway show) reflected my thoughts. Rather than being emotionally wrapped up in the climax of the show, I was thinking, "She's nailing those notes." I also found it kind of awkward when Clyde says, "Sing for me!" and she sings "How "Bout a Dance" and he's saying, "Oh, wow... good singing!" That is jarring in a musical when the characters aren't LITERALLY singing in the story... maybe just was a personal thing for me. Overall, I was stunned by the talent, particualy Osnes and Van Der Schyff, but the show didn't pull my heartstrings (which is what I crave when I see a show).

Updated On: 11/29/11 at 10:09 PM

Can we all agree on the fact that Claybourne Elder is hot?

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I've heard from a few people who seemed to think it was adequate but dull--so I don't think that's *that* rare an opinion.

OK I have to ask, what's a "non-character" bod?

Both Jordan (who is shirtless for some time) and Elder (who appears in a tank-tee-shirt) have modern gym bodies, not posing types but shapley arms and defined chests.
Neither Barrow brother would have developed bodies like that, hell it was the depression, skinny was "in".
It would also make more sense for Clyde to be a bitch in prison if he wasn't so fit.

CATSNYrevival - Actually, at the top of the show Young Bonnie is at age ten. There's a line at her fathers funeral that she was baptized there just a few months ago on her tenth birthday. She's not fifteen until the second time we see her when she wants to get married. I'm not sure if that helps with your timeline problem any, but just pointing that out. The part that should bug you is the fact that the real Bonnie was only four when her father died, not ten. :P

After I saw the show, I became more curious about Bonnie & Clyde - mostly because my dad said he didn't enjoy the show that much because a lot of the facts were changed. So, I've been reading to see what was changed. A lot of the events in the musical are true, they just fudged them a little, I'm assuming so the show won't run for four hours. But there's no doubt they did their research. It was probably just easier for them to use the same girl at both ages instead of hiring an even younger girl for just a couple of minutes on the stage. Either way, I still think it's a great show.

I enjoyed the show a lot. I think there were a couple songs that could be cut to move the show along a little, The preacher's song with the revival type section, and the driving song for example, they seem to stop the show in it's tracks.

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^I completely agree.