Bonnie & Clyde ~ Marie Clark Musical Theatre ~ Review

Musical Theatre.   South Australian

The Arts Theatre – Fri June 20

The action begins where the story ends. Gangster duo Bonnie and Clyde gunned down in a hail of bullets. For the briefest of moments I think I may be witnessing the shortest musical in history. But of course the musical is not about the ending everyone knows. Marie Clark Musical Theatre’s latest production Bonnie & Clyde brings us the full story of what led to this eventful moment.

So we meet both Bonnie and Clyde when much younger (they never lived to be old!) – Alyssa Faranda as young Bonnie dreaming of being a famous writer and film star, and Maisie Lewis as a chirpy young Clyde already a bit too enamored with guns and adventure.

Set in rural America in the Depression, at first I find the strong American accents rather jarring (the musical owes more to “Oklahoma” than “Les Miserables”), but the cast being from Adelaide I have to marvel at how well the accents are being captured.

There are strong performances from Ava-Rose Askew as Bonnie Parker and Kristian Latella as Clyde Barrow, both of whom start out wanting more excitement than home town life can offer. Bonnie more obsessed with fame than infamy – she would have loved social media – and it seems to be mainly her passion for Clyde that leads her astray. Clyde begins as a small time gangster whose situation changes when a minor robbery goes wrong and ends in murder. We watch in awe as Latella turns Clyde into something much darker as the murders continue. David MacGillivray is also very watchable as Clyde’s brother Buck, who is torn between being an upstanding citizen and good husband, and his love for his brother.

The script sails dangerously close to caricature at times, particularly in dealing with the law enforcement officers. This aspect is saved by a very human performance from Zachary Baseby as Ted Hinton, who is also torn between his keen respect for the law, and his love for Bonnie, even to the point of him considering ways to sabotage efforts to capture her.

The music by Frank Wildhorn with lyrics by Don Black does enough to keep us well entertained. Some of the songs are there to progress the story (“You’re Going Back to Jail”). There are some Gospel tinged songs from Rodney Hrvatin as The Preacher (‘God’s Arms Are Always Open/Made In America”) to set the flavour of rural America in which the action is set. “This World Will Remember Me” strongly sets the aspirations of the doomed couple. But every now and then there is a standout song from unexpected places, not always the two leads. Carolina Fioravanti as Blanche Barrow, whose job until this point has been to get some laughs but also to try to keep the Barrow gang on the right side of the law, stops the show in the second half with the memorable ballad “That’s What You Call A Dream”.

The nine piece Bonnie & Clyde Orchestra, enthusiastically conducted by Serena Cann, is a real delight. They handle the varying styles of music with ease and always sound ‘in the moment’ but never obtrusive.

Lucy Trewin in her directing debut keeps the action moving – there are no flat spots, and has us believing the relationships between the various cast members. There are several fabulous ensemble numbers choreographed by Deborah Proeve. The costumes and routines are real highlights.

With a large cast having a wide range of skills and experience, and from a band of enthusiastic volunteers all working hard to support the performers, Marie Clark Musical Theatre has once again come up with a very lively and enjoyable performance, showing that community theatre can definitely present a high quality show that is worth your while supporting.

4 Stars

Adrian Miller

Bonnie & Clyde continues at The Arts Theatre various times until Sat June 28. Click HERE to book tickets.

#theclothesline