Either from the 1967 Oscar-winning movie that starred Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway or from the 2013 television mini-series, you are probably familiar with the saga of Depression-era small time crooks Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.
And if you subscribe to the notion that any story can be a musical if it is adapted well, you should be intrigued by what composer Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel) has made of this tale of unlikely folk heroes. True, the show lasted a mere month on Broadway in late 2011, but that commercial failure only increased the interest of Slow Burn Theatre, which is producing the area’s professional premiere.
As Wildhorn, lyricist Don Black and book writer Ivan Menchell see them, Bonnie and Clyde were more interested in garnering fame than fortune. As a pre-teen Bonnie (Juliette Valle) puts it in song early in the show, she yearns to be the next Clara Bow, while Clyde’s dream is to follow in the shoes of Billy the Kid or maybe Al Capone. No wonder Bonnie is enthralled when a true crime magazine describes her as a “ravishing redhead” and Clyde feels gratified when the bystanders during a bank robbery ask for his autograph.
Instead of his usual pop anthems, Wildhorn writes a countrified score with a Texas twang and a rock beat, plus the occasional gospel rouser. Jessica Brooke Sanford (Bonnie) is outstanding crooning a sultry come-on, “How ’Bout a Dance,” and Bruno Faria (Clyde) is a charismatic loose cannon, eager to “Raise a Little Hell” (as the song puts it) and drive fast getaway cars. If the role fits him particularly snugly, that is due in part to his already playing it in Florida Atlantic University’s Festival Rep last summer.
Perhaps the best voice in the cast belongs to Kaela Antolino as Clyde’s Bible-toting sister-in-law, Blanche. She wraps her lungs around the wistful “That’s What You Call a Dream” with authority and scores in a power duet with Bonnie, “You Love Who You Love,” defending their romantic entanglement with outlaw brothers. Blanche’s henpecked husband Buck (Christian Vandepas) is not really cut out for a life of crime, but he idolizes Clyde and follows his lead to a bloody end.
Without being excessive, director-choreographer Patrick Fitzwater lays on the gunfire and blood squibs as the Barrow gang stumbles into violence. He leads his 19-member cast through a couple of peppy dance numbers and scurrying up and down Sean McClelland’s multi-level, scrap corrugated-metal unit set.
Broadway may still not be ready to embrace Wildhorn and his bombastic musical theater proclivities, but Slow Burn demonstrates that Bonnie & Clyde can be sure-fire entertainment.
BONNIE & CLYDE, Slow Burn Theatre Co., 12811 W. Glades Road, Boca Raton. Through Sunday, Feb. 8. Tickets: $40. Call: 866-811-4111.