Bonnie & Clyde: A Fun Ride

Slow Burn Theatre’s performance of Bonnie & Clyde was one of their best yet. We were fortunate to be invited to the press night. As fans of Slow Burn, this was our second favorite show after Next to Normal. We only call it second because the story in Next to Normal was so good.
We liked many things about Bonnie & Clyde last night. What stood out most to this writer were the great voices of the cast, particularly leads Jessica Sanford as Bonnie Parker and Bruno Faria as Clyde Barrow. The two had a strong chemistry. Sanford fulfilled the sexy role with aplomb, and Faria filled the stage with energy.

Juliette Valle also impressed with her voice as young Bonnie. Not only did she sing beautifully, but the character of her voice also matched the older Sanford’s, making the transition between the two seamless. It was brilliant casting, or luck, or perhaps both.

There were no weak points in the cast. Nicholas Ismailoff infused Young Clyde with youthful energy. Christian Vandepas and Kaela Antolino were captivating as Clyde’s brother and sister-in-law. Patrick Rodriguez and David Cohn sang and acted well in their roles and we always love Kaitlyn O’Neill who played Bonnie’s mother. Also enjoyable was the lively ensemble and gorgeous stage setup:


Keep in mind that the story itself is troubling. It glamorizes criminals who killed police officers and others. But to the credit of the creators and performers, they more than hint at that irony during the show. Read more about the real Bonnie & Clyde on Wikipedia.
We’ve enjoyed Slow Burn’s performances at West Boca High. We’re happy for them that next season they’ll be moving up in the world to the Broward Center, though a little sad for ourselves and our community that we won’t have them so close any more. We will hold out hope that they’ll find a way to do a few shows somewhere close.
On the bright side they’re not done here yet. Bonnie & Clyde plays at West Boca High through February 8th. Good seats are going fast so we recommend buying tickets soon. It will be followed in April (still at West Boca High) by the smash hit Rent, and we expect those tickets to go fast too. Buy tickets here.