Yesterday afternoon I went to see Bonnie and Clyde The Musical at the Garrick Theatre in London's glitzy West End.
My luck was in, or so I thought - when I arrived a member of theatre staff said, "congratulations! You just got upgraded!" My £15 seat was now a top price one. Oh, cool.
Perhaps my seat move should have been a clue to this particular crime (of a ) muscial though. The reason for the move - or so I soon deduced - was that whole sections of the theatre were closed due to poor ticket sales. Oh. Ah. Right.
Cut to the chase - and chases there were aplenty in the two hours running time - the musical is fine. Just fine. Talented cast and orchestra. Talented folk behind the writing (Book / Ivan Menchell, Music / Frank Wildhorn, Lyrics / Don Black, Director / Nick Winston). It's just the whole thing felt woefully under-powered. No chemistry between the leads. The shots were wide of the mark.
Indeed presenting the story of outlaws Bonnie Parker (Frances Mayli McCann) and Clyde Barrow (Jordan Luke Gage) with no death scene is a bold move. Maybe the idea of ending their story in a shootout would be a bit 'too sad'. Maybe. But this production is in no way moving enough to have earned that – it's like making a show about the Titanic with no iceberg. Jaws without a shark.
The musical felt weirdly oblivious to the reasons why Parker and Barrow are still famous a century on from their 1930s killing spree. But if this rose-tinted musical romance was all we had to remember them by, I’m sure their memory would soon expire from sheer boredom.
That said, Clyde's Bible thumping sister-in-law Blanche (Jodie Steele) had some fun lines and Dom Hartley-Harris's preacher sang up a storm.
It's closing soon. So, walk slowly for a ticket. There's loads available.
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