Illinois State University’s School of Theatre and Dance and the School of Music collaborated to present the musical Bonnie and Clyde by Frank Wildhorn, Ivan Menchell, and Don Black. Performances will take place November 3, 4, and 5 at 7:30 p.m. and November 5 and 6 at 2 p.m. in the Center for the Performing Arts Theatre.
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are most often associated with the “Public Enemy” era of American history. The term first passed through the American press in 1930, where it identified and decried the influence of Al Capone and other mobsters in the city of Chicago. The following year, a film named The Public Enemy dramatized Chicago’s criminal underworld in the new spectacle of cinema. The film ended with an ominous message: “The ‘Public Enemy’ is not a man, nor is it a character—it is a problem that sooner or later we, the public, must solve.” Throughout the 1930s, the American press continued to use the term to describe other outlaws, fugitives, bandits, and criminals, including the infamous Bonnie and Clyde. However, this had the unintended consequence of making “crime” and “spectacle” synonymous.
The 1930s also marked the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Especially in areas that relied on agriculture, like the Midwest, dissent was at a high during these years. Radical politics may have represented one variety of alternatives in the 1930s, but in Bonnie and Clyde we face another set of reactions: the classic Romantic revolt against “society.” Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow do not seek justice, but fame. Bonnie fantasizes being like Clara Bow and publishing poetry. Clyde wants to be like Billy the Kid, the movie star James Cagney (who played the main character in The Public Enemy), and Al Capone: “I’m gonna be the guy kids look up to / They’ll cut their hair the way I cut mine / Capone was just like me when he started-some guy / He made it big-and so will I / Capone is more to me than a hero / I wanna be like him.” Bonnie and Clyde want to turn the world on its head, but only to submit it to their egos, not the needs of the collective. They understand what is wrong in the world, but they succeed only in perpetuating its worst excesses when they cheat, rob, and kill their neighbors.
Director María Amenábar Farias and dramaturg Brenden Delcorio emphasize the moral ambiguity in Bonnie and Clyde. Are the titular characters ultimately redeemable? Were they born evil, or are they simply logical products of their environment? Are they villains for daring to step outside of the lines of the law, or heroes for exposing the hypocrisy of our political-economic system? Amenábar Farias and Delcorio also want to question the relationship between morality and legality in Bonnie and Clyde. Those characters may be deeply flawed, but the same can be said of the police officers and politicians that make appearances in this show. Another central concern is what the relationship between Clyde and law enforcement, as well as our memory of Clyde, would look like if Clyde were not white.
This production of Bonnie and Clyde is Amenábar Farias’ thesis project toward her M.F.A. degree. She was selected as the September GradBird Scholar by the Graduate School at Illinois State University. In a recent interview, she spoke with them about her work in identity-conscious theatre practices:
Can you explain your research and the importance of it within your field?
My research focuses on how we can use the power of theatre to create social change in our communities, especially in the context of racial equality, cultural diversity, and women’s rights. I am especially interested in exploring how we can use identity-conscious casting and rehearsal practices to create social change. Identity-conscious casting and rehearsal practices are tools meant to empower the artists in the room, through which the identities of the artists are acknowledged as much as they are comfortable with, letting that inform the creation of characters and the world of the story, understanding that identity contains multitudes and goes beyond race, gender, and sexuality.
Through the production of Bonnie & Clyde: The Musical that I am directing, I am interested in exploring the role of identity-conscious rehearsal practices when it comes to approaching historical figures like Bonnie, Clyde, and the rest of the Barrow gang. I am curious to see how the actors’ identities inform these historical figures and how we can use these to bring a modern-day perspective to the actions of Bonnie and Clyde and everyone in their lives. Understanding the effects of identity-conscious casting and rehearsal practices in a production can open up more doors for representation on stage and allow us as theatre practitioners to understand how to most effectively tell stories to our communities, given the identities of the people in the room working on the project.
Acting major, Renzo Yap, who is playing Clyde Barrow, has explained how these practices have been applied to this production:
What has this experience been like for you, working with identity-conscious casting?
Working with identity-conscious practices in the rehearsal room has honestly been one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had for a show. Getting a chance to incorporate a crucial part of my identity as a Filipino American into the character of Clyde is an opportunity that I am so grateful to have received from the production team.
How have identity-conscious practices worked in the rehearsal process? What are you hoping to add to the character of Clyde?
I saw Clyde’s story as an opportunity to tell a special kind of story that isn’t told enough. Stories of immigration and assimilation of POCs during the 1920s–30s in America are often overlooked; I have hopes that seeing Clyde’s story through a new perspective will bring more attention to these overlooked stories. While historical accuracy seems to be at the helm of most productions, I believe these new narrative attributes are what make this production of Bonnie and Clyde unique and our own.
Tickets for Bonnie and Clyde can be purchased in person at the Center for the Performing Arts Box Office on the campus of Illinois State University, by calling (309) 438-2535, or through the GoRedbirds.com website.
