Review: Strong Performances Distinguish Portland Players' BONNIE AND CLYDE

Portland Players opened its 86th season with an intense production of the Ivan Menchell-Don Black-Frank Wildhorn musical, Bonnie and Clyde, about the legendary Depression-era American outlaws. The 2009 musical theatre retelling of the short and violent lives of this pair, who robbed banks and left scores of dead victims in their wake as they evaded the law in a misguided quest for notoriety, puts a romantic spin on their legend at the same time that it does not side step the grittier aspects of this tale.

Menchell's book traces both Bonnie Parker's and Clyde Barrow's odysseys from their childhoods in East Texas, a place where poverty and hopelessness prevail, to their wild, unrealistic dreams for flamboyance and fame to their falling ever deeper and deeper into a cycle of crime that inevitably ends in their own deaths. While not excusing their life of crime, the musical attempts to understand the social context which contributed to their psychology - the feelings of being trapped by their poverty and lack of education, the stifling fundamentalist religion which offered them no comfort, the general misery of the Great Depression, and, in Clyde's case, sexual abuse at the hands of the law. Wildhorn's score, bolstered by Black's raw lyrics, makes use of country and gospel idioms, as well as the occasional tender ballad.

Michael Donovan direction is compelling and character-driven, and he elicits strong performances from the entire ensemble. His musical staging is a trifle static and there are moments where one feels a more dramatic effect is needed, such as at the very end when Bonnie and Clyde are gunned down, but overall, he keeps the pace taut and manages to tell the story with empathy. Evan Cuddy leads the seven-person orchestra with style and shapes commanding vocal performances from the cast.

The simple set (Timothy Baker, Master Carpenter - Lisa Bulthuis, Props Designer) - quite a bit recycled from last year's Wild Party with the addition of period newsreels- conjures up the shabby venues of the Dust Bowl Midwest, and the stage crew manages to move manually the various units briskly enough not to interrupt the flow of action. Jason Robinson's lighting design evokes both the hot, dry sun of the Texas exteriors and the shadowy interiors of prison cells and hideouts, and he does a good job of compensating for the house's problematic equipment. Paul Bell's costumes capture the period nicely, and his increasing use of burgundy accents for the leading couple not only suggest the "glamour" of their outlaw status but hint at the blood shed that surrounds them. Samuele Rinaldi's sound design evidences significant improvements over last season in terms of balance, front fill, and overcoming the house's dead spots, though the theatre is still plagued by the dullness of its construction, so that while volume is better, lyrics sometimes are muddled.

What engrosses the viewer most with this production, however, is the conviction of the cast. As Bonnie and Clyde, Joanna Clarke and Joel Crowley radiate white heat energy and sexual chemistry, and they each possess kinetic physicality and powerful vocal presences. Crowley imbues Clyde Barrow with a vulnerability and humanity that win audience sympathy despite his obvious misdeeds. He runs the gamut from vainglorious dreamer to trapped wild animal, to pitiful abused victim, to swaggering gangster willing to descend into hell rather than lead a life of monotony. Vocally, he sears through his songs like "Raise a Little Hell" or the tender "Dyin' Ain't So Bad" and is in total command of his character and the stage. Clarke, too, possesses a lovely rich voice, and she sculpts Bonnie's conflicts subtly and sympathetically, so that the audience completely understands the fatal choices she makes.

Ryan Walker turns in a vivid account of Buck Barrow, Clyde's devoted brother, who is torn between his religious wife and his charismatic brother, and one feels the emotional helplessness which ultimately brings him to his violent end. Kelly Mosher does a fine job playing his wife Blanche, whose strong Christian views war with her love for her law-breaking husband; she manages to walk the tightrope between Christian hypocrisy and genuine belief, and she delivers a touching final scene before her arrest. Eric Berry-Sandelin gives a finely nuanced performance as Ted Hinton, the young lawman who loves Bonnie and plays a tormented role in hunting her down. In a role that could become bland or self-righteous, Berry-Sandelin instead gives the character a boyish vulnerability and moral decency, and he uses his clear tenor to effect in the heartfelt "You Can Do Better than Him." Adam Normand creates an imposing Preacher and Second Judge, bringing his powerhouse tenor to his two big vocal numbers.

Lisa Hughes makes Emma Parker a warm and worried mother; Jennine Cannizzo and Jeff Campbell are Clyde's similarly troubled parents; Ryan Phipps is a sassy young Clyde and Antoinette Hinitt a strong-voiced, wide-eyed young Bonnie. The remainder of the ensemble each contributes nicely drawn cameos with Rachel Friedman's Trish, Sarah Kennedy's Eleanore, Hannah Perry's Stella, and Erin Aylward Walker's Salon Lady appropriately catty, small town ladies. Rick Kusturin is a frustrated Sheriff Schmid, while Adam Sobczak and Paul Jesus McIntosh each contributes a trio of characters.

Portland Players is to be commended for its willingness to mount an edgy show like Bonnie and Clyde with its sometimes difficult material and its demands for charismatic and commanding performances. That they succeed as well as they do is a huge tribute to the versatility and resources of this little company.

Photos courtesy Portland Players, Tommy Walz, photographer

Bonnie and Clyde runs at Portland Players, 720 Cottage Rd., South Portland, ME from September 23- October 8. www.porlamdplayers.org 207-799-7337