Review: BONNIE AND CLYDE THE MUSICAL at Moorhead High School

Rebecca Meyer-Larson and her talented students from Moorhead High bring the story of the infamous outlaws Bonnie and Clyde to the stage. This is the first time this musical has been performed in the area. A friendly warning that it may not be suitable for young children, as the show includes violence, mature language and simulated gun shots.

I knew very little about this musical before I attended the show, and I purposely didn't listen to any of the music or watch leaked clips and I still found myself singing along halfway through most of the songs.

As usual Moorhead High has a plethora of talent and I can imagine casting this show was not an easy task. To prove that point a few of the key roles were actually double cast, so depending what night you attend you may see a different Bonnie or Blanche. I was able to see both the "Oklahoma" and the "Texas" cast and they all brought their A game.

To kick things off we get to meet Young Bonnie and Young Clyde portrayed by Ashlyn Kanuch and Caleb Clow. I will say that the future of Moorhead High Theatre is in great hands. These two freshmen absolutely owned the stage in that opening number "Picture Show". The voices, the stage presence, they had it all. We are lucky to see them both a few more times throughout the show. I can't wait to see more from both of them.

At the end of that song we get to meet older Bonnie and Clyde and they move into "This World Will Remember Me". Harrison Timm as Clyde I think is his best performance to date. You May remember him from the MHS production of Matilda and his hilarious portrayal of Rudolpho. We are treated to numerous solo's by Harrision throughout the show including "Raise A Little Hell", "Bonnie" and one of my favorites from Act I "When I Drive".

Like I mentioned earlier I was lucky enough to see both actresses portray Bonnie. The best part about this was that they each brought something different to the role, it really was a different show each night.

Sophie Schulz was the first one I saw and all I can say is wow. Sophie never ceases to amaze me on stage. She really shined on every song she was a part of but two of my favorites were "You Love Who You Love" with Blanche (CeCe Bedore) and "Dyin' Ain't So Bad".

Ingrid Rygg as Bonnie on the opposite night was another treat. Ingrid has a very powerful and beautiful voice and some of the songs we heard her on were"How 'Bout A Dance" (and the beautiful dancers on stage) and "Too Late To Turn Back Now".

Charlie Maki as Buck was brilliant. From seriousness to comedy and back again he has it all. His scenes with Blanche (both of them) were so good. I loved his performance on "You're Goin' Back To Jail" with Blanche and the Salon Women. He was also great in "When I Drive" and "You Can Do Better Than Him".

Next up we have Blanche portrayed by CeCe Bedore and Lydia Horan. Two absolutely wonderful singers/actresses who both brought so much to the roles.

CeCe has amazing control of her voice for someone so young. She truly shined on "You're Goin' Back To Jail" and "You Love Who You Love" with Bonnie.

Lydia performs like a true stage veteran. She captures the innocence of Blanche perfectly and her duet on "You Love Who You Love" brought me to tears.

Two more vocalists that really stood out for me were Martan Gregoire as The Preacher and Jack Nichol as Ted. Martans vocals on "God's Arms Are Always Open" were amazing and we also hear him open Act II on "Made In America". Jack Nichol did a beautiful rendition of "You Can Do Better Than Him" and probably got some of the loudest cheers the night I was there.

A shout-out to a few of the actors/actresses, that were not featured vocalists. India Carlson as Emma (Bonnie's mom) was truly magnificent. She had some beautiful scenes with both Bonnie's and showed some true emotion on stage.

Ethan Larson as Sheriff was hilarious. He played the bumbling, over the top Sheriff perfectly.

Jordan Jensen and Kolton Doucette as Cumie and Henry (Clyde and Buck's Parents) both had some great scenes with both young and old Clyde. Jordan's final scene with Buck was such a beautiful performance that brought many audience members to tears.

I do have to mention the dancing on "When I Drive" featuring Clyde, Buck, Joe (Finn Larson), Carl (Leif Carlson), Edward (Sam Schaefer), Fred (Martan Gregoire), Floyd (Colton Vallager) and Tommy (Kolton Doucette). This was probably my favorite dance number of the whole show. Such much fun!

I also want to mention "You're Goin' Back To Jail" featuring Blanche, Buck and the Salon Women which is easily the funniest song of the show.

The whole ensemble and everyone involved in this show did such a wonderful job!

A huge thank you to the Pit Orchestra led by Brian Cole for providing this beautiful music to help bring the show to life.

Congratulations to Rebecca Meyer-Larson and everyone involved in this production on another successful Moorhead High Musical.

*** Photo Credits - Robby Njos

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