Bonnie and Clyde is on its way to Broadway after debuting at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego in 2009 and cleaning up at the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Awards, winning all five nominations. These awards mean little to Broadway, but they are proof that the Frank Wildhorn, Don Black, and Ivan Menchell creation will be able to move some Bonnie and Clyde tickets once the cast is set and the musical makes its way from the pre-Broadway production at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Saratoga, Florida to the bright lights of the Broadway theaters.
The story of a ill fated romance is not the first collaboration by Wildhorn and Black. They previously wrote Dracula, the Musical, another play that traveled from the La Jolla Playhouse to Broadway. While Dracula may have fizzled in 2004, Bonnie and Clyde is set to flourish in a much different climate in 2010 or even 2011.
The musical stays true to the Bonnie and Clyde roots, penning songs with a far more rockabilly and blues feel in addition to standard Broadway pop material. The music is only part of the draw. The story of the romance between Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow as they cross the country robbing banks during the Great Depression has been captured on paper and in the movies. The adoption of the story by the stage seemed inevitable.
