I am extremely proud of all of our cast, crew, and staff for their dedication to this production. Our fall shows are always a commitment, as we cast in May and work on the production for a much longer time than our spring show allows. I commend each and every person who played a part in making this show happen for the amount of time and effort you put into it.
I also wanted to take a minute to reflect on the show itself. I have had people ask why I would pick a show like Bonnie & Clyde since it involves violence on stage and obviously deals with the criminals vs. law enforcement storyline. While I can truthfully tell you that I chose it because it is a wonderful fit for our current talent and the music is absolutely amazing and something I felt our audience would really love, I want to focus more on the plot in my explanation. The TADC has had a long history of taking on plays and musicals based on true and important events that occurred in history. In fact, since we do two productions each year, we frequently attempt to put a serious, true story into our season. I find it to be a wonderful opportunity for students to learn about different moments in history and to study real people from history---both good ones and bad ones---to really learn about the motivations that drive people to do things and/or the societal conditions that caused people to behave in one way or another. It is not just an educational experience for them, but it teaches them about people and allows them to learn from their mistakes.
In the past, we have performed The Crucible, Daughters of Atreus, Radium Girls, Hands on a Hardbody, The Sound of Music, Les Miserables, Newsies, and Bright Star--all of these shows were based either entirely or at least partially/loosely on real historical events, many of them very difficult, serious, and upsetting topics. Through these shows, the students learned a lot, as did many of our audience members. Bonnie & Clyde is no different. Despite the title, the show doesn't glamorize their lifestyle or celebrate their actions. Instead, I find it to be a character study of extremely flawed human beings living in a terrible time during American history. They were hopeless and found themselves in inescapable poverty. They were desperate to do something, anything. They were desperate to become famous. They made horrible choices as a result. And those choices result in them paying the ultimate price. The show doesn't attempt to excuse those actions or explain them away. In fact, I find that the show does an excellent job of presenting other people who were also suffering and chose a different path. The juxtaposition between crime and choosing a moral, upright path is always evident on stage. And so, while you will certainly love our Bonnie, Clyde, Blanche, and Buck (because you know them personally as human beings), I think the story is presented in a way that makes you understand that they deserve everything that happens to them in the end.
Bonnie & Clyde is not a glorification of violence. It is merely the retelling of a part of our history that younger generations are no longer familiar with but should be, as I see many connections (unfortunately) to society today. It is a cautionary tale that should be shared. Our students are very proud of their work, and I am so very proud of them. They have been so mature in their handling of this content, and I have watched all of them grow tremendously as a result. I am positive you will enjoy watching all of their hard work and dedication come to fruition up on that stage.
As always, thank you for your support as an audience and as a community. All of the arts programs in our district are so very important to creating well-rounded students, and your unwavering support and pride in all of our programs only continues to strengthen them.
I hope you enjoy the show.
Adriane Drum, Director
Are you interested in joining the drama club? I would love to have you. We have an especially large production coming up next, A Tale of Two Cities. There are many opportunities, even for those of you who do not enjoy singing. Please give it a shot. An informational meeting will be held on Nov. 18th at 2:30 in the high school cafeteria. We are also actively accepting digital auditions for our special May show, The Theory of Relativity.
See Mrs. Drum for information if interested.
