Two major points in Bonnie & Clyde's favor are its young stars, Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan, who not only possess the requisite sex appeal for their roles (in this account, their crime spree seems motivated primarily by pheromones), but also have charisma and vocal strength to spare. And Melissa Van Der Schyff, as goody-two-shoes outlaw in-law Blanche Barrow—she is married to Clyde's brother, Buck (Elder)—is a wow throughout, with a voice like a country stream. But as the plot thickens into violence, the writing lacks the heft to support it; when it takes aim at larger targets, like the Depression penury that made Parker and Barrow into folk heroes, it wobbles. Skillfully directed by Jeff Calhoun, Bonnie & Clyde doesn't glamorize its subjects, as Arthur Penn's 1967 film was accused of doing, but it does sentimentalize them; they are introduced to us as children, dreaming of fame, and never grow far beyond that. No matter how many innocent people they kill, this musical's Bonnie and Clyde remain—like the show itself—not great, but not that bad.
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Book by Ivan Menchell. Lyrics by Don Black. Music by Frank Wildhorn. Dir. Jeff Calhoun. With Jeremy Jordan, Laura Osnes, Claybourne Elder, Melissa Van Der Schyff. 2hrs 25mins. One intermission. See complete event information
