Depression-Era Gangsters Steal The Huntington Spotlight
small-town Texas waitress dreams of making it big. On the side of the road she meets a man who will change her destiny forever.
That's the beginning of "Bonnie & Clyde" with music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics by Don Black. Huntington's 5th Avenue Theater Company journeys back to the 1930s to bring a pair of American gangsters to life.
"The play centers around the story of their life together how they meet," Eddie Harbert, who directs the play, said. "What kind of fuels them to commit the acts that they do. But the thing about Bonnie and Clyde, they're known mostly for the crimes that they commit but that's not what the play focuses on. The musical focuses more on their relationship and kind of what makes a bad person a bad person."
While Bonnie and Clyde both hungered for fame and fortune, they chose a easy path to the top. Instead of singing and dancing or starring on stage or screen, they turned to crime to shove their way into the spotlight.
"She wanted to be famous," Alison Smith (Bonnie Parker) said. "She always dreamed about being like the movie stars like Clara Bow or she wanted to be on the big screen. However she was from a very small town and didn't know exactly how she was going to make it there but knew she would."
"He wanted to famous and, being from where he was, and how he grew up the only way he thought he could be famous is to do what he did," Joshua Jannotta (Clyde Barrow) said.
The musical follows the pair as they deal with family and the law. Blazing a trail of blood throughout the south they quickly fall in love and vow to take on the world together.
"I think that there's a part of it that touches me because I see the love that he had for Bonnie and really that's what drove him to do what he did," Jannotta said.
"She wasn't going to get the opportunity to go to Hollywood if Clyde was robbing banks and so her love for him drove her to be with him instead," Smith said. "And so it was a strong battle that she had between her love of wanting to be famous and her love of Clyde and she chose Clyde in the end."
small-town Texas waitress dreams of making it big. On the side of the road she meets a man who will change her destiny forever.
That's the beginning of "Bonnie & Clyde" with music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics by Don Black. Huntington's 5th Avenue Theater Company journeys back to the 1930s to bring a pair of American gangsters to life.
"The play centers around the story of their life together how they meet," Eddie Harbert, who directs the play, said. "What kind of fuels them to commit the acts that they do. But the thing about Bonnie and Clyde, they're known mostly for the crimes that they commit but that's not what the play focuses on. The musical focuses more on their relationship and kind of what makes a bad person a bad person."
While Bonnie and Clyde both hungered for fame and fortune, they chose a easy path to the top. Instead of singing and dancing or starring on stage or screen, they turned to crime to shove their way into the spotlight.
"She wanted to be famous," Alison Smith (Bonnie Parker) said. "She always dreamed about being like the movie stars like Clara Bow or she wanted to be on the big screen. However she was from a very small town and didn't know exactly how she was going to make it there but knew she would."
"He wanted to famous and, being from where he was, and how he grew up the only way he thought he could be famous is to do what he did," Joshua Jannotta (Clyde Barrow) said.
The musical follows the pair as they deal with family and the law. Blazing a trail of blood throughout the south they quickly fall in love and vow to take on the world together.
"I think that there's a part of it that touches me because I see the love that he had for Bonnie and really that's what drove him to do what he did," Jannotta said.
"She wasn't going to get the opportunity to go to Hollywood if Clyde was robbing banks and so her love for him drove her to be with him instead," Smith said. "And so it was a strong battle that she had between her love of wanting to be famous and her love of Clyde and she chose Clyde in the end."
The 5th Avenue Theatre Company presents "Bonnie & Clyde"September 20, 21, 27, 28 at 8:00 p.m.
September 22 and 29 at 2:30 p.m.
Jean Carlo Stephenson Auditorium
Huntington City Hall
Tickets $12 for all seats
To reserve tickets call the City of Huntington Foundation (304) 696-5522 or Eddie Harbert at (304) 544-2831

