Bonnie & Clyde The Musical In Concert – Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Bonnie & Clyde The Musical In Concert at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London.

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Fourth Wall Live, the company which regularly brings Broadway stars such as Chita Rivera, Kelli O’Hara and Sierra Boggess to London, presented two performances of a legendary Broadway flop, rightly labelled the “most wanted” musical in the West End, just like its two protaganosits, the FBI’s most wanted in their time.

What was announced as a concert version happily turned out to be an almost fully staged production, thanks to the expert hands of director-choreographer Nick Winston, happily adding in some dance in two production numbers where there had been none in the original Broadway production. There was also a basic but effective set and costume design from Philip Witcomb who previously collaborated with Winston in the wonderful revival of Mame at the Hope Mill Theatre two years ago.

This is arguably Frank Wildhorn’s best score, on par with Jekyll & Hyde and The Scarlet Pimpernel, which surpisingly never made it to the West End either. Despite its failure on Broadway, closing after just 36 performances over ten years ago, Bonnie & Clyde has developed a cult following, stemming from a reputation already earned during its tryout at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego (2009), people’s fascination with the story, the humability of the score and the charismatic original lead performances from Jeremy Jordan and Laura Osnes.

For this first London outing, the great Osnes had to bow out, but Jordan made it to London where he has already appeared several times in concert at the London Hippodrome and Cadogan Hall. His presence surely contributed to the fact that the two concert performances sold out in just a few minutes.

Coming fresh from starring as Seymour in the Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors, Jordan really owned the part of Clyde, bringing it some humorous distance through his visceral connection with the London audience (fans got to know him through the film of Disney’s stage version of Newsies plus his appearance in season two of Smash and the movie version of The Last Five Years).

Replacing Osnes was Olivier-nominated Frances Mayli McCann, recently seen in the successful musical Heathers, who not only performed the role brilliantly but also cunningly looked the part if you see a picture of the real Bonnie Parker.

Trevor Dion Nicholas was a showstopper as the preacher in the opening number of Act II. Natalie McQueen impressed as Blanche Barrow, the wife of Clyde’s brother, convincingly portrayed by George Maguire, and Liam Tamne (as Ted) also showcased his great voice during several numbers.

Completing the star-studded cast were Casey Al-Shaqsy as Stella, West End veteran Gillian Bevan as Clyde’s mother and the always excellent Debbie Kurup as Texas governor Miriam Ferguson.

At the end of the second concert came the great news that Bonnie & Clyde would transfer to the Arts Theatre in April. This is a well deserved move for a musical with such a complex and relevant book by Ivan Menchell, clever lyrics by British legend Don Black and that rarity in musical theatre today: an accessible, versatile and tuneful, slightly country-flavoured score (hummable songs like ‘How ’Bout a Dance’ and the tear-jerking ‘Dyin’ Ain’t So Bad’ by the popular but underrated Broadway composer Wildhorn).

The Arts Theatre transfer won’t benefit from the presence of such a big stage and large orchestra, so these two concerts were clearly very special.

Patrick Honoré