BONNIE AND CLYDE were pretty looking people – but I can tell you people they were the devils children. That’s how the old ballad goes, and it pretty much sums up what is a powerful and compelling story. So when it was turned into a full-on musical production you just knew it was going to be something special. Indeed it was, winning the Best New Musical award last year.
It actually started as a sold-out concert at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, a full version of Nick Winston’s production then ran at the Arts Theatre before setting up camp at the larger Garrick Theatre.
Now, the show is out of London and on the road and getting here next week, and what a line up we have in the cast.
Stars of the stage and small screen will be joining the cast of the award-winning Bonnie & Clyde The Musical when it embarks on its first-ever UK and Ireland tour, bringing hell-raising thrills to Wales Millennium Centre next spring.
Coronation Street and Strictly Come Dancing star CATHERINE TYLDESLEY will be making her musical theatre debut in the role of Blanche Barrow. ALEX JAMES-HATTON (star of Heathers and Newsies) is playing the role of Clyde Barrow. After wowing audiences in the West End and International Tour of Bat Out of Hell, KATIE TONKINSON is Bonnie Parker.
They are joined by SAM FERRIDAY (Heathers, Jersey Boys) who is playing the role of Marvin “Buck” Barrow and R&B and soul singer-songwriter JAZ ELLINGTON (who has appeared on The Voice UK and Eurovision: You Decide) in the role of The Preacher.
You can watch the tour tailer at the top of the page, but here’s Clyde himself, Alex James-Hatton to tell us more about the show. We caught up with him this week in Sunderland, where the production is playing before heading down to Wales.
This is a bit of a homecoming who grew up in South Wales and trained at the Arts Educational Schools, London. As you’ll hear during our interview, getting to stand and sing on the Donald Gordon stage, a place he’s seen many times from the auditorium, will be very special…..
Bonnie & Clyde were two small-town kids from the middle of nowhere became the biggest folk heroes in all America. They craved adventure – and each other.
Fearless, shameless, and alluring, this award-winning production has garnered a mass following, much like the infamous pair themselves, and now they are set to take our capital by storm.
Discover the electrifying story of love, adventure and crime that captured the attention of an entire nation.
If you want to watch Catherine’s performance in full just go here – ‘Now That’s What I Call a Dream‘ in the Bonnie & Clyde lounge……
The real life story of Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow. Is an incredible one. They were American criminals who traveled the United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The couple were known for their bank robberies, although they preferred to rob small stores or rural funeral homes.
Their exploits captured the attention of the American press and its readership during what is occasionally referred to as the “public enemy era” between 1931 and 1934. They were ambushed by police and shot to death in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. They are believed to have murdered at least nine police officers and four civilians
They have a few reincarnations on the big and smaller screen, and were even a best selling song for Georgie Fame in 1968, which came on the back of the first movie in 1967.
The 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in the title roles, revived interest in the pair and focused on their romantic relationship, as much as the one they had with the guns and banks. Back in 2019 the Netflix film The Highwaymen looked at the Bonnie & Clyde story from the point of view of the pursuing lawmen.
For me however, the musical really takes the story to another level.
This tour follows two successful seasons in London’s West End at the Arts Theatre and the Garrick Theatre. The West End cast album, released in July, is well worth a listen too.
The musical features music by Tony nominee Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Tony and Oscar winner Don Black, and a book by Emmy Award nominee Ivan Menchell.
The production is directed and choreographed by Nick Winston, with set and costume design by Philip Witcomb, musical supervision by Katy Richardson, associate musical supervision by Nick Barstow, original arrangements and orchestrations by John McDaniel, additional arrangements and orchestrations by Jen Green, lighting design by Zoe Spurr, sound design by Tom Marshall, video design by Nina Dunn, wig design by Darren Ware, and casting by Jim Arnold CDG.
BONNIE & CLYDE THE MUSICAL gets to the Wales Millennium Centre next week from Tuesday 26th through to Saturday 20th March. Performances are at &30pm each evening with a 2:30pm matinee on Wednesday and Saturday. Tickets start at £16 and you can get yours HERE.
