Blood On My Face

I went back and forth about seeing "Bonnie And Clyde" because initial word on it was mixed. A lot of people like it, just as many did not, and still a fair number were in the middle. Most people say, though, that this is Frank Wildhorn's best score to date, and that became a factor on why I decided to see it. Wildhoen is loathed by a lot of Broadway purists because he writes pop songs for musicals, but I do  think he writes well-crafted pop songs, so I gave this one a go. Well, count me in among the "middlers." It isn't my favorite musical, but I did not dislike it either. The whole thing seemed rather tame for a musical dealing with killers. The edgiest thing I got from it was the blood that spilled on my face towards the end of Act 1, The man behind me had it bad: his beige coat was soaked in blood that he looked like the Columbine gunman when the lights went up.  The show has four fantastic star powers in Jeremy Jordan, Laura Osnes, Melissa van der Schyff and Claybourn Elder. There's a heart in the piece, but it shows late in the show, after a lot of people may have already given up on it. The stage design is creative - hunks of wood that move and tumble, and some people have complained about the projections but I thought they were used effectively. It was enlightening to see pictures of the real crime scenes as the same situations unfolded. In my opinion, seeing this show is not a waste of an evening - there's a tuneful pop/country score that us very Wildhorn, and Jordan's and Osnes' voices and bodies are very well showcased. I hope their performances get recognized, even after this show is long gone. I suspect there will be better shows ahead for them, and now at least I can say in the future, "I saw them when..."