The murderous couple Bonnie & Clyde and their infamous story of adventure and romance have hit the stage at Salt Lake City’s Pioneer Theater Company. This version, directed by decorated and experienced actor and director Gerry McIntyre, adds a spin to the original musical. “I’ve added numbers to the show so it’s completely different than Broadway. Broadway just told the story,” McIntyre said. “No one really moved at all.” Pairing his revamped version with a Tony-nominated score by composer Frank Wildhors, Bonnie & Clyde is a celebration of quintessential American musical genres like gospel, rock & roll and blues. To see first-hand how McIntyre and the talented crew at Pioneer Theatre reinterpreted the lawless lovers’ Broadway number, I caught the show on opening night on Feb. 23rd, 2024.
The decorated cast of talented actors included PTC alumn Alanna Sanders who played Bonnie Parker, with her passionate vocals and strong acting that really made the audience feel for her character and understand her raison d’etre. “So when we were talking about casting Bonnie, it was such an obvious choice that it should be Alanna Sanders, because she’s, first of all so talented…She could do anything,” McIntyre said. “And that’s the part about diversity that I find perfect when we can cast somebody no matter if they’re a historical character, that we can still have someone who’s just talented.”
PTC newcomer Michael William Nigro’s charismatic performance as Clyde Barrow gave the audience a new perspective into the deranged outlaw’s psyche and how he ended up in this situation in the first place. Nigro and Sanders’ tandem performances demonstrated strong, electric chemistry in their scenes, encouraging their literal ride-or-die romance to come to life on stage.
Penny Hodson, who played young Bonnie during opening night’s performance, gave her all to draw out audience sympathy for Bonnie and her life story. Kiyan R. Wyness, who was cast as young Clyde the same night, demonstrated strong and intense vocals, emphasizing juvenile Clyde’s yearning to succeed and escape a bad situation, even if it meant breaking the law.
Other standout performances included Dan De Luca, who plays Buck, Clyde’s brother, and Gina Milo, who plays his wife, who gave a chemistry-filled and humorous (at times) performance. Similarly, April Armstrong and Marry Fanning Driggs, who played Bonnie and Clyde’s mothers, respectively, delivered a heart-wrenching performance showing a mother’s loss of her children.
The stage was alive with the electricity of the cast on stage. With musical numbers ranging from the romantic ballad that is “Dyin Ain’t So Bad” to the upbeat and hilarious “God’s Arms are Always Open” to the historically eye-opening “Made in America” the cast and ensemble sang their hearts out..
The stage and costume design really set the scene to show that these characters are in the dirty 30s, one of the hardest and most depressing times in America’s history. The interactive set, though simple, featured mugshots of Clyde, Bonnie, Clyde’s brother, Buck and his wife, Blanche, plastered as if they were wanted signs. As each of the characters experienced their big moments in the show, their respective poster would light up for added drama.. The production’s costumes were equally designed with the period and theme in mind. Like Bonnie’s gorgeous, though humble dress, which honored her beauty while staying true to the reality of economic disparity. Clyde’s outfits were more simple and rugged, really displaying his focus on the chase and his love, disregarding the less-important things in life.
Overall, this is the musical to be at for a laugh, a cry and for everything in between. The action and the drama are impressively performed by the cast, and the audience is left inspired, and maybe a little envious, of the larger-than-life adventure had by history’s most notorious couple
This show will continue to run at the Pioneer Theater Company until March 9, find tickets at Pioneer Theatre’s Website.
