VHS drama presents spring musical “Bonnie and Clyde”
For over 20 years, VHS has been producing annual musicals. This year, the VHS drama department held eight performances of the musical “Bonnie and Clyde” in the main auditorium. Shows were on April 16-19 and 23-26. All shows were at 7 p.m. except the April 19 and 26 shows, which were at 2 p.m. Doors opened 30 minutes before the start of the performance. The expected run time was two hours. Ticket prices were $10 for students, $12 for seniors and $15 for adults.
Drama teacher Arden Smith said, “This musical and cast was very special because this show was heavy and dealt with deep, often emotional themes and situations. Therefore, I think this cast bonded through their shared experience of navigating [and] handling the emotions of their characters and keeping them separate from their [everyday] lives as people. It was beautiful [to] watch!”
The musical is based on the real-life criminal couple Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow during the Great Depression. According to the FBI, the two “embarked upon a series of bold robberies that made headlines across the country” with the Barrow Gang. The gang also consisted of Clyde Barrow’s brother Marvin Ivan “Buck” Barrow and Blanche Barrow, the wife of Buck Barrow. This couple was also included in the musical. In the end, Buck Barrow, Clyde Barrow and Parker died. Blanche Barrow was arrested.
Auditions for the musical were on Feb. 4 and 5. The casting list was released Feb. 5. In total, there were 24 cast members. The tech crew list of 19 people was released Mar. 13. Cast members rehearsed from Feb. 6 to April 15 after school from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Parker was played by Marlie West ‘27 and Clyde Barrow was played by Hendrix Lowder ‘27. 5th grader Harper Ham played the younger version of Parker and 8th grader Dash Todd-Maldonado played the younger version of Clyde Barrow. Buck Barrow was played by Jagger Smith ‘26 and Blanche Barrow was played by Theodora Todd-Maldonado ‘26.
Jagger Smith said, “It was probably my most favorite closing show I’ve ever done. Along with that, each person in the cast was super impressive and I loved getting to know them. I definitely grew as a leader and when we closed I felt very achieved because I made many new friends and watched them improve as actors and singers.”
Arden Smith said, “It is such a wonderful feeling of pride and joy that I get seeing how the audience reacts to the marvelous talent and hard work that my students put into the show! Also, working on the song ‘When I Drive’ was extremely fun, and Hendrix, Jagger and I shared a lot of laughs while choreographing that number.”
