‘Bonnie and Clyde’ recounts duo’s relationship against backdrop of extraordinary music
TheatreZone opens its 19th season with Bonnie & Clyde: The Musical. Set to a Tony Award-nominated musical score of power ballads and jazz and blues numbers by the legendary Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, Civil War, Dracula), Bonnie & Clyde: The Musical follows the arc of youthful fantasies 
gone horribly wrong.
Based on the book by Ivan Menchell, the musical recounts the electrifying true story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow from the unique perspective of the duo’s relationship against a background of extraordinary music.
“The music in Bonnie & Clyde is rousing and dramatic,” notes founding TheatreZone Artistic Director Mark Danni. “Power ballads and jazz and blues numbers evoke the era and capture the relationships between the couples. The beautiful orchestration by John McDaniel uses guitar, mandolin, banjo, violin, flute, and many more instruments to express the emotions in the musical.”
Bonnie & Clyde’s composer Frank Wildhorn and lyricist Don Black received a 2012 Tony Award nomination for “Best Original Score” and 2012 Drama Desk Awards nominations for “Outstanding Music” (Wildhorn) and “Outstanding Lyrics” (Black).
TheatreZone’s six-person band is conducted by Charles Fornara. Musicians are Joe Otero (guitar, banjo, mandolin); Erik Berg (violin); Zachary Deeter (clarinet, English Horn, flute, piccolo, alto sax, soprano sax); Adam Costello (bass clarinet, clarinet, tenor sax); Joe Choomack (bass), and Scott Crawford (drums).
Most people know the story of Bonnie and Clyde from the 1967 neo-noir crime film starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. The musical provides more psychological depth to the couple’s union and motivations.
As audiences will discover, Bonnie (Brittany Ambler) is a starstruck 20-year-old waitress dreaming of fame as an actress, poet and singer. Clyde (Robert Koutras) romanticizes Billy the Kid and Al Capone and imagines a life of wealth and ease obtained by store and bank robberies. They meet after Clyde breaks out of prison and is already on the run. Bonding over shared fantasies of larger-than-life destinies, they fall in love. With Clyde leading the way, they go on a robbery spree that turns to murder.
From two small-town nobodies to Texas law enforcement’s worst nightmare, the pair’s bold and reckless behavior turns their thrilling adventure into a downward spiral as they achieve the fame they sought, albeit ill-begotten. Forced to stay on the run, the infamous duo’s notoriety grows, and their inevitable end draws near.
“Bonnie and Clyde are 20th Century legends whose criminal escapades captured the fascination of the country during the Great Depression,” Danni observes. “The show depicts their criminal exploits as well as their backgrounds and romance, which are keys to understanding their characters. In addition, the relationship between Blanche Barrow (Rachael Lord) and Buck Barrow (Matthew Blake Johnson), Clyde’s sister-in-law and brother, is also expertly drawn in the book by Ivan Menchell.”
Bonnie & Clyde the Musical runs at TheatreZone January 11 through the 21st. Read here for more information.
December 4, 2023.
About the Author
Tom Hall is both an amateur artist and aspiring novelist who writes art quest thrillers. He is in the final stages of completing his debut novel titled "Art Detective," a story that fictionalizes the discovery of the fabled billion-dollar Impressionist collection of Parisian art dealer Josse Bernheim-Jeune, thought by many to have perished during World War II when the collection's hiding place, Castle de Rastignac in southern France, was destroyed by the Wehrmacht in reprisal for attacks made by members of the Resistance operating in the area. A former tax attorney, Tom holds a bachelor's degree as well as both a juris doctorate and masters of laws in taxation from the University of Florida. Tom lives in Estero, Florida with his fiancee, Connie, and their four cats.