Following its stellar 50th anniversary spectacular presented in August and September, The Great American Melodrama has returned to its usual fare—but not to the tried and true melodramas of the past.
This fall the company is taking its first steps into the next 50 years with a brand new world premiere of a melodrama written by Jordan Richardson (who as a former music director is certainly no stranger to veteran Melodrama audiences).
Bonnie & Hyde is a mash-up of two very different tales featuring couples that really need no introduction: 1930’s American outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, and the title characters of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Described in Melodrama promos as a compendium of “crime, comedy, and chaos,” the hybrid story is pretty much all that and a little bit of clever confusion as well.
The bad guys outnumber the good guys here, but then we wouldn’t be enjoying the antics of the villains or rooting as hard for the underdogs if that weren’t the case.
Jill Price and Rollins Mosley as the infamous outlaws on the run have a friend in tow named Blanche, played by Annaliese Chambers, who is constantly campaigning to change the gang’s name to, you guessed it, “Bonnie and Clyde and Blanche.” Which actually isn’t that bad an idea, given that the three make a pretty awesome trio of cunning crooks who also sing and dance—their rendition of “Out of My Head” in the first act pretty well justifies changing their name to “B&C&B.”
Joining them in the bad guy department is, of course, Mr. Hyde, played by an outstanding Kelly Brown, whose alter ego (and good guy) Dr. Jekyll is played by the equally outstanding Joshua Kenebrew. His attempts to straighten out the chaos are aided by Natalie Mara and Will Kinnon, who as Texas Rangers are hot on the trail of B&C&B.
Jokes are made, and alliances are formed, leading to some pretty entertaining songs in the second act, including Mara, Brown and Price harmonizing on “A Hero Lies In You,” and Mosley and Kinnon belting out “No More Mr. Nice Guy.”
The multiple sets, props, and costumes required for Bonnie & Hyde work beautifully, thanks to the scenic design by Shubam Rajpal, prop design by Nathan Miklas, and costume design by Renee Van Niel (Bonnie’s beret, Blanche’s cloche hat, and J&H’s spats shoes are just the right touches).
John Keating’s direction and choreography bring Richardson’s work to life in classic melodrama style. Combining Stevenson’s campy horror story with the legendary tale of bank robbers on the lam makes for a creative and audience-pleasing concoction.
No wonder Blanche wants in on the action.