11th Hour Theatre Company presents ‘Bonnie and Clyde’

“Ravishing redhead” Bonnie Parker and gunslinging Clyde Barrow take center stage in a high-energy concert presentation of Bonnie and Clyde. While the musical and the presentation’s inconsistencies threaten to throw us off the scent of the duo’s sensuous and violent journey, strong performances and even stronger voices keep the show from suffering mortal wounds.

Short, infamous lives

Frank Wildhorn, Don Black, and Ivan Menchell’s 2009 musical takes us through the short lives of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow as they come of age during the Great Depression in West Texas. Clyde’s multiple run-ins with the law and Bonnie’s failed marriage as a teen and other disappointments eventually bring the two together, but it is their hunger for fame, freedom, and recognition that cements an unbreakable bond.

The lovers’ infamy is a sexy foundation on which to build this musical. However, flimsy love triangles, underwritten plot threads, and eyeroll-inducing “stand by your man” ballads given to Bonnie and Blanche (Clyde’s god-fearing and love-ruled sister-in-law) dampen the narrative and otherwise satisfying score. But pops of sociopolitical significance (glimpses into prison life, questioning the American dream, and police brutality) breathe relevancy into Bonnie and Clyde, often outweighing its faults.

A strong ensemble

Rita Castagna and Angel J. Sigala take on the titular characters, and they are well (if not evenly) matched. Their youth, startling at first, echoes a chilling reality — Bonnie and Clyde were 24 and 25, respectively, when they died. Castagna gives a winning brightness to Bonnie that tempers her tunnel vision for big-screen dreams. Sigala’s youthful turn as Clyde often trades grounded charm for forced grit, but the shadowed glint in his eye and strong tenor of his voice suggest a powerhouse in the making.

With their balanced chemistry, Castagna’s easy magnetism challenges Sigala up out of his childishness and Sigala adds a playfulness that complements the heat between them. Kathleen Borrelli’s Blanche brings depth and power to the ensemble, and Bryan Black is loveable and doofy as Buck, Clyde’s loyal brother and Blanche’s husband.

Blocking vs the music stand

Megan Nicole O’Brien’s direction brings out the intimacy between characters and creates eye-catching tableaus — difficult to do in a book-in-hand-and-music-stand presentation. But her “standography” poses challenges to the performers, asking them to shuffle quickly from one stand to the next and awkwardly wield their binders above mics. The reliance on mics, even in spoken scenes, is an odd choice for the relatively close confines of the Drake’s Proscenium Theatre.

The lighting (Amanda Jensen) is at its best when it provides a sense of place or pairs with soundscapes, evoking jail cell bars and pings of gunfire. Music director Gina Giachero and her five-person band make the most of their small faction, putting Wildhorn’s jaunty score of saloon-style melodies, blues, and rockabilly in capable hands.

Bonnie and Clyde is the pleasing, if imperfect, latest concert of 11th Hour’s Next Step Concert Series. The format does leave something to be desired; a spark is lost when traditional production values are removed from the mix. But it is a smart way to work around the exorbitant costs of big-budget musicals, and it allows smaller companies more opportunities to show their work throughout the season. I’m looking forward to more hellraising (and perhaps less music-stand maneuvering) from 11th Hour in the future.