BONNIE AND CLYDE LONDON REVIEW
ARTS THEATRE, LONDON
SATURDAY 23RD APRIL @ 7.30PM
**** 4/5
I thought I’d switch it up for London Theatre Week and visit a show I’ve never seen before. Bonnie and Clyde is a show that is on a limited run so I thought it would be worth the risk. Here’s a look at my Bonnie and Clyde London review.
PRE-SHOW THOUGHTS
Bonnie and Clyde is a show I know very little about. Of course, I’m a huge Jeremy Jordan fan so I’ve seen some YouTube clips and listened to the soundtrack a lot. As soon as I saw that Jordan Luke Gage was cast as Clyde, I knew I had to see it. Everyone has raved about his performances as Romeo in & Juliet and JD in Heathers and I missed him in both roles!
THE CAST
As always, the cast is the best part of this production. I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen any of them in any show before and now I’ll be keeping tabs on their future work. We’ll start with the lead couple of Bonnie Parker (Frances Mayli McCann) and Clyde Barrow (Jordan Luke Gage). There was some serious chemistry between these two. McCann goes on a real journey as Bonnie where she starts off naive and full of ambition before meeting Clyde and her ultimate demise. Her voice is crystal clear with an incredible range. I hope to see her in plenty more roles, preferably as a nice character to show her range.
Gage is charming and evil yet you still fall for him. Just think of how many serial killers throughout history have been considered charming once they flash that killer smile! You get to see a range of emotions despite his criminal tendencies as he starts off a little cocky before becoming violent and vulnerable in places. You can see why he’s already had an array of leading roles because he is flawless. His voice can be soft and then rocky within a minute with the most incredible range. I thought he was going to blow the roof off during Raise a Little Hell! Such power! I went in thinking it was Jeremy Jordan’s role and nobody else’s but left thinking Gage was made for the job. Can you tell? I’m now part of his fan club.
THE SUPPORTING CAST
To support them, George Maguire as Clyde’s brother, Buck, and Natalie McQueen as Buck’s wife, Blanche, are far from back-ups. McQueen’s Blanche is the best character and she makes her even better. She isn’t afraid of anyone and has the funniest one-liners of anyone. McQueen has perfected her southern accent in 9 to 5 and uses it once again here. I just wish she got an extra song because her vocals are as good as her accent. Maguire seems like a smaller character than I thought but he played his character well with what he was given. Again, I’d have loved him to get more stage time with McQueen.
Two more characters that deserved more stage time were Cleve September as Ted Hinton and Ako Mitchell as the Preacher. September’s Ted gets a fair bit of stage time yet we don’t get a deep dive into his character. He gets as much as he can out of the character with a beautiful voice to boot. Mitchell as the Preacher had such soul to his vocals and brought the house down with his songs.
THE PRODUCTION
Once again, the cast and the music make this show. Despite this show having a short Broadway run, it’s got a cult following because of the score. It’s not a traditional musical soundtrack with blues, country and rock ‘n’ roll being the basis with the odd ballad thrown in. I’ve had it on repeat since seeing the show and love it!
Now to my least favourite part, the script. I have to be really honest and say it’s basically non-existent. Characters will say a few words, a song will start/finish, then a blackout. Then it was rinse and repeat. The actors had very little dialogue to sink their teeth into. However, they really tried with what they were given.
I also felt the timeline was a bit rushed. You see Bonnie and Clyde meet, get together and suddenly we’re three months down the line without much of an explanation. I’d have just liked a more cohesive story and timeline throughout as it felt rushed through in parts yet padded out in other places.
I’d personally say this show needs a transfer to a much larger stage because whilst the set and props were incredibly for the space, it did feel a little squished at times. It was a small ensemble and I’d have loved to have seen a larger cast fill a huge stage. The lead cast certainly has the vocals and stage presence to fill somewhere bigger.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Despite the script being weak, the cast and music do the bulk of the heavy lifting. The soundtrack is incredibly catchy that you’ll be singing it for days/weeks/months after seeing it. For me, the cast was stellar and the biggest highlight. Considering I’d never seen any of them in any show before, I’ll be looking to see them in other stuff after Bonnie & Clyde finishes.
The show is only open until mid-July so you’ll need to rush to get to London to see it. My four-star Bonnie and Clyde London review might seem generous considering my negatives but I thought the cast deserved it!
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