"Bonnie & Clyde - The Musical" by Regis Theatre Company
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.
Here's another musical that I've not seen before, although have loved the soundtrack for a few years now. I now love the musical and any future production will have to live up to Regis's fantastic show.
When Bonnie and Clyde meet, their mutual cravings for excitement and fame immediately set them on a mission to chase their dreams. Their bold and reckless behaviour turns the young lovers' thrilling adventure into a downward spiral, putting themselves and their loved ones, Buck Barrow - Clyde's brother - and Blanche, Buck's wife, in trouble with the law. Forced to stay on the run, the lovers resort to robbery and murder to survive. As the infamous duo's fame grows bigger, their inevitable end draws nearer.
The musical starts with young Bonnie & Clyde, showing where their roots started, and takes us all the way through to almost the end, and I say that because we all know the inevitable outcome but, with a few areas in this historical saga, we know what happens, we just don't need to see what happens.
Curtis Salmon plays Clyde Barrow, in is his first appearance with Regis after taking a few years hiatus from the stage. One thing you'll notice about Curtis is his voice. He seems to be able to turn to any genre, and there are several within this musical. He has a nice Country twang in his voice, but then he really suits the more blues/rock sound, and then again, his gentle duet with Bonnie in the reprise of "Dyin' Ain't So Bad" is heartfelt. There were echoes of Harry Nillsson and Paul Williams at times in Curtis' vocals; a true vocal chameleon.
Evie Burke is Bonnie Parker, and gets her first leading role in a Regis show, and what a way to showcase her abilities as a leading actor. Like all the actors here, she has a great voice. For me the highlights, and this was difficult to whittle down, was her duet of "You Love Who You Love" and the sublime "How 'Bout A Dance". A wonderfully feisty performance all round.
Harvey Latter is Buck Barrow. Harvey is turning into one of the busiest local actors around of late, appearing in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" and "The Wizard Of Oz" within the last six months. Playing the elder Barrow brother, he shows that slightly more sensible side, influenced by Blanche; a role that is quite different to any of his other roles I've seen him perform.
Amy Parker plays Blanche Barrow, and another Regis debut actor. Blanche was very religious and while this was brought out at times by Amy, what I liked was that it was not overtly religious, almost brought into play when Blanche remembered, but then faded out again. A good example of this was with the "twinkie" scene. You really felt that she was fighting a losing battle where Buck was concerned and his alliance with his younger brother, and Amy brought out that faithfulness, especially when Buck was killed, not wanting to leave him to die alone, resulting in her own arrest.
Robert McAuley plays Ted, which is quite different to the characters Rob normally plays. I don't think that I had really noticed what a strong voice Rob has, or maybe previous roles I'd seen didn't give rise to showcase Rob's vocal talents. Either way, there was no way you can miss Rob's vocals. The character is slightly obsessive over Bonnie which gives Ted an unhealthy reason to eradicate Clyde. As I said, not the run of the mill character that Rob has brought to the stage in the past and Rob not only delivers this physically but displays that obsessiveness through his facial expressions.
Desrick Francis plays The Preacher, and anyone who has read my reviews previously will know that I am a fan of this big man with a big voice. Des seems to get cast as a man of the cloth a lot, but that could be one reason to unleash that wonderful gospel voice, showcased in "God's Arms Are Always Open". He has power in that voice that can make a bald man's hair stand on end. You could tell from the audience's reaction that they too appreciated that wonderfully rich vocal ability.
Young Bonnie is played by Emilia Shapcott and Young Clyde played by Edward Rawson, who has a very powerful voice, which quite surprised me, pleasantly.
The hard working ensemble consist of Matt McAuley (Deputy Johnson/Bank Teller/drunk customer/Prison Guard), Laura Davey (Cumie Barrow/Eleanor/Governer Ferguson), Emily Owen (Emma Parker/Trish), Sky Marsden (Stella), John Hand (Sherrif Schmid/Judge/Storekeeper), Arden-Caspar Jennison (Deputy Bud/Archie/Joe/Prison Guard), Lilli White, Mariko Jones, Emma Weir and Eleanor Carty (Captain Hamer).
The soundtrack to this musical has a bit of something for everyone with several earworms; try getting "Raise A Little Hell" out of your head!. There is blues, rock, country, bluegrass and a sprinkling of gorgeous ballads. Musical Director is Charlotte Daniel who led the wonderfully talented nine-piece ensemble, and I will admit it's really nice just to hear solo violin and banjo sections within a musical.
The set design was wonderfully simple but with the most solidly constructed car I've seen outside a professional touring show.
Sound is by Sean Renshaw and Lighting by Matt Powell.
Directed by Ollie Turner, assisted by Kayleigh Buckley.
Choreographed by Emily Owen.
"Bonnie & Clyde The Musical" is at the Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton until Saturday 10 September, and would be an absolute crime to miss.
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