Yay Band!

  • “There’s no overture here per se, but there is some brief intro music that introduces the water motif. Music Director Vonda K. Bowling and her super four-person band deliver the sound so lushly that it sets us up for the enchantment to follow. Lippa’s score is thrilling and Bowling and the band deliver the thrills all evening. Bowling also makes sure that the vocals here soar and are as clear as the blue Alabama sky.”

    — Doug Sturdivant, DFW Center Stage

    Big Fish, Theatre Arlington - 2024

  • “…with musical direction by the everywhere-everything conductor Vonda K. Bowling, Forum’s famed opening song, ‘Comedy Tonight,’ promises a happy ending right off the top.”

    — Martha Heimberg, Onstage NTX

    A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Lyric Stage - 2022

  • "The show’s forefront really was the music which was a spirited and dare I say, zippy, soundtrack to the show, but also quite layered and meticulous. For a music director, the challenge would seem daunting, but in the hands of Vonda K. Bowling, both the live music from the stage’s crows nest and the actors singing were top-level. The singers handled the fast-paced songs with ease despite the word gymnastics involved throughout. "

    — Rich Lopez, Dallas Voice

    Pirates of Penzance, Theatre 3 - 2024

  • "Music director Vonda K. Bowling and her eight-player orchestra delivered rich and layered music, enhancing the show’s big anthemic showtunes. Plus, under her direction, the actors delivered the right feels for the showtunes particularly Michalski who’s emotional renditions were astonishing".

    —Rich Lopez, Dallas Voice

    The Prom, Uptown Players - 2024

  • “Vonda K. Bowling puts the pedal to the metal with her rousing 11-member all-female band. Talk about over-the-top girl power on that red velvet bandstand…Special 'Brava!’ here to Bowling and her badass band, whipping it up when we need to get there, and slowing it down to hear an exquisite line or lilting half-sob. The band’s last gasp of cacophony and discord, in which all harmony or narrative breaks down, is just wrenching. And so right. It’s a musical, and it crashed!”

    — Martha Heimberg, Onstage NTX

    Cabaret, Lyric Stage - 2022

  • “With a hot onstage band led by music director Vonda K. Bowling, Smokey Joe’s jumps into action from the first moment, and keeps the music coming…Bowling’s stellar work on piano, and the energy of the up-onstage band, need a second mention: her heavy, thumping chords feel like the highway this show runs on—straight, strong and full of life.”

    —Jan Farrington, Onstage NTX

    Smokey Joe's Cafe, Casa Manana - 2021

  • "In a new production at Dallas’ Theatre Three, a talented cast under the direction of Christie Vela brings the difficult story to life. ['The tight, four-piece backing band is led by musical director Vonda K. Bowling.'] "

    - Manny Mendoza, Dallas Morning News

    Next to Normal, Theatre 3 - 2023

  • "Vonda K. Bowling's music direction and conducting were similarly crisp. She kept the five instrumentalists in the pit perfectly in sync... it seems Bowling worked with these songs as if they were monologues - they were sung conversationally, very naturally, even intimately."

    — Jo-Jo Steine, Broadway World

    The Manufactured Myth of Eveline Flynn, Theatre 3 - 2019

  • “And that band! Vonda K. Bowling directs a group of musicians... who fill the Kalita Humphreys with their hidden (they cannot be seen from the audience), but magic sounds. Keeping up with all the music cues in this show must be a bit like working one of those busy switch boards in a 1940’s movie.”

    — Doug Sturdivant, DFW Center Stage

    Kinky Boots, Uptown Players - 2022

  • “It’s going to be a huge sound,” Peterman said. “I’m really glad I’m able to put money in the people playing those amazing, beautiful instruments under Vonda Bowling’s beautiful music direction and this beautiful all completely 100% local cast.”

    — Kimberly Richard, NBCDFW

    The Bridges of Madison County, WaterTower Theatre - 2022

  • “Bowling’s second-story orchestra off the stage filled the space with lush music and also brought its own energy to the show.”

    —Dallas Voice

    Chaplin, WaterTower Theatre - 2023

  • “There is something so magical about the score of Gypsy. Just try to keep your foot still as Music Director Vonda K. Bowling and her dynamite band fill the auditorium with all those familiar tunes… Of course, a musical is nothing without the music and songs and Music Director Vonda K Bowling not only has the band sounding awesome, but also has the voices of this large cast 'pitch perfect.' Sondheim lyrics are in highly capable hands here…"

    — Doug Sturdivant, DFW Center Stage

    Gypsy, Theatre Arlington - 2023