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| Cast of Bonnie and Clyde (Ashley Joncas) |
Bonnie and Clyde
Studio 18 Productions
(at 12th
Avenue Arts)
Through August
13, 2016
How to Mount a
Production of a New Musical When You’ve Never Produced a Show Yourselves: I
guess the answer is: “Be Studio 18 Productions!” Somehow, the young folks (Matt Lang and Alia Collins-Friedrichs) heading up this effort to bring the
Seattle premiere of Bonnie and Clyde (the musical) to town found a way to get
the rights, get a highly sought after venue (12th Avenue Arts) and a
stupendous cast for this effort, and they pulled it all together!
Bonnie and Clyde debuted on Broadway in 2011 and is
written by Frank Wildhorn (music), Don Black (lyrics) and Ivan Menchell (book).
The show did not do very well and only lasted a month before closing. It is, of
course, based on the lives of the infamous duo who lived, loved, and robbed in
Texas, destined to die in a hail of bullets. Laura Osnes originated the role
and she probably was able to elevate the production by force of will.
A local claim to
fame, if you will, is that local musical theater performer, Louis Hobson, originated the Broadway
role of Ted Hinton. Ted Hinton, whether real or fictional is unknown, is a
young lawman who falls in love with Bonnie, who never does really love him. In
this local production, Randall Scott
Carpenter is one of the standout performers as Ted.
Another standout
is Kate E. Cook, a new transplant
from Arizona who wows as Blanche Barrow, Buck Barrow’s wife and sister-in-law
to robber-turned-murderer Clyde. Kate’s performance eclipses even other strong
performers and you should keep an eye out for her. I understand she’ll be seen
in Village Theatre’s Singing in the Rain.
And another name
to keep in mind is Victoria Rosser.
One of the standouts in Sound Theatre Company’s Parade in the spring, I look forward to a role that brings her
powerhouse vocals front and center.
The leads, Jasmine Jean Sim as Bonnie and Zack Summers as Clyde, acquit
themselves well, as does Brian Pucheu
as Buck. Pucheu has an amazing voice and, unfortunately, this role didn’t show
it off. It did show his acting range. Sim and Summers had good chemistry, a
crucial element to the show.
Most of the
problems with the show are in the choice of material and the execution (oops,
pun unintended) of its music, primarily. I know lauding “bad guys” is a “thing”
these days, on tv and movies, too, but why are these two people so compelling
that they deserve a musical? The musical skirts the idea that they’re worth a
psychological examination into how they sought fame and fortune illegally, but
the book does not make a compelling presentation. Also, the music, a blend of
rockabilly and standard musical fare, does not impress. In fact, the second act
ends with SIX reprises and one of the
reprises is a SECOND reprise!!!!
Seriously, the songs weren’t that great to begin with, so why do we need ‘em
over again?
The lyrics are
pretty good though, overall. One of the best songs is sung by Blanche to Buck –
“You’re Goin Back to Jail” – and reflects a humor that ends up lacking in the
rest of the script. If more of the show would make fun of these killers, it
might actually have had longer “legs” than it did.
Kudos to this
young company in their success so far, and it’s great that musical theater
lovers can see this show on its feet, live. It’s only two weekends long, so you’ll
need to be quick or you’ll miss it.
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