San Jose Stage Company's BONNIE & CLYDE to Begin 6/4

Everyone knows the lore: Bonnie and Clyde were lovers. They were also fearless, shameless and alluring and they became the country's most wanted.

San Jose Stage Company presents the Regional Premiere of the explosive new musical, Bonnie & Clyde - with music by Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Don Black and book by Ivan Menchell. Bonnie & Clyde opens at The Stage with previews June 4, 5 and 6, opening night and gala, Saturday, June 7. The show runs through July 27.

At the height of the Great Depression, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow went from small-time nobodies in West Texas to America's most renowned folk heroes. Their electrifying story of love, adventure and crime captured the excited attention of an entire country.

Bonnie & Clyde originally premiered in November 2009 in La Jolla, CA, and opened on Broadway in 2012 earning two Tony Award nominations, including best score. Composer Frank Wildhorn described the musical genre as "nontraditional score, combining rockabilly, blues and gospel music."

"This is the perfect way close our season with guns a-blazing," said Randall King, Artistic Director, San Jose Stage Company. "You can't really escape America's fascination with it's outlaws...it could be our inherent rebellious spirit."

Bonnie and Clyde became synonymous with an image of Depression-era chic, a world where women chomped cigars and brandished automatic rifles, men robbed banks and drove away in squealing automobiles, and life was lived fast because it could be short.

Eighty years ago, on May 23, 1934, the young couple's 21-month crime spree came to an end. Their robberies and mayhem spanned Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Missouri, killing at least 13 people. The Barrow Gang had escaped from police, and were soon killed in an ambush near Gibsland, Louisiana.

"Bonnie & Clyde feels like a wild and wonderful ride with this company of actors, shooting their way out of one of The Stage's most challenging and fulfilling seasons," added King.

In the title roles are Allison F. Rich* as Bonnie Parker, Cliff McCormick as Clyde Barrow with Halsey Varady* as Blanche and Will Springhorn* as Buck Barrow and Randall King* as Hamer. Also, featured are Lucinda Hitchcock Cone*, Noel Anthony Escobar*, Michael Doppe, Judith Miller,
Bruce Carlton, Jill Miller, Ashley Garlick, Courtney Hatcher, Mikey Perdue, Matthew Provencal, Angelina Wahler, and Quincy Shaindlin.

*Members of Actors' Equity Association

Michael Navarra directs, with musical direction by Allison F. Rich and choreography by CJ Blankenship. Designers include Giulio Perrone (Set), Jean Cardinale and Tamara Cooper (Costumes), Michael Palumbo (Lighting), John Koss (Sound), and Garland Thompson (Video).

Local South Bay/San Jose footnote: The grandfather of a current Stage Company subscriber gave Clyde his last haircut a few weeks prior to the deadly ambush.

Bonnie & Clyde begins previews on June 4 and opens on June 7. Performances are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm and runs through July 27, 2014.

Tickets range from $25 - $50 and are available at www.thestage.org or by calling the box office at 408.283.7142. Visa and MasterCard are accepted, and discounts are available for groups, students and seniors. The theatre is handicapped accessible.

The Stage is located at 490 South First Street at William Street in downtown San Jose's South First (SoFA) area.

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