Side Show

  • Post author:
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Side Show

St. James Theatre, NYC, November 20, 2014

Reviewed by Elizabeth Ahlfors for Cabaret Scenes

Ryan Silverman, Emily Padgett, Erin Davie, Matthew Hydzik Photo: Joan Marcus
Ryan Silverman, Emily Padgett, Erin Davie, Matthew Hydzik
Photo: Joan Marcus

In 1997, Side Show seemed to be a comfortable fit on Broadway, but, surprisingly, the cult musical closed suddenly after 91 performances. Not forgotten, however, were the conjoined twins, Daisy and Violet Hilton, whose tale as famous vaudeville stars in the ’30s gathered enough cult fans to inspire this revival at the St. James Theatre. This second time around, Side Show, joyful as it is gritty, romantic, melancholy and musically momentous, may just be the charm.

Director Bill Condon (film, Dreamgirls) revamped the book with Bill Russell, writer/lyricist of the 1997 production, and original composer Henry Krieger (Dreamgirls). Played by Emily Padgett (Daisy) and Erin Davie (Violet), the twins were born in England, abandoned by their mother and sold to “Sir” (Robert Joy), the sleazy owner of a traveling freak show. They became indentured workers, paraded with acts like Dog Boy, Lizard Man, Bearded Lady, with in-your-face grotesque fanfare in the opening number, “Come Look at the Freaks.”

Side Show focuses on Daisy and Violet’s journey at age 18 from sideshow to vaudeville stardom to Hollywood. The road begins with two hustlers, press agent Terry Connor (Ryan Silverman) and song-and-dance man Buddy Foster (Matthew Hydzik), presenting themselves as vaudeville pros. Terry persuades them that he is “Very Well Connected.” They also hint at promises of romance and the girls are ready for love and lust.

Leaving the side show is not so easy and the twins later wind up suing their boss/father-figure Sir. The freaks were their only family.

buy antabuse online https://umaxdental.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/png/antabuse.html no prescription pharmacy

Outstanding here is Jake, chained as a wild cannibal, who secretly loves Violet. Played by David St. Louis, he evolves into a sympathetic character, protecting her when they leave the show. He delivers to Violet the show’s most romantic, “You Should Be Loved,” a love complicated by race as well as her physical condition.

Colorfully garbed in splendiferous sequins (by Paul Tazewell here), Daisy and Violet fascinate vaudeville audiences around the country. Played with impressive humor and universality by Padgett and Davie, the twins are sharply individualistic, with deep personal feelings, emotions and ambitions. Daisy wants to continue in the spotlight while Violet yearns for privacy, a desire to “Live Like Everyone Else.” Their vocals are stirring, harmonically compatible and a commanding connection. Each wants love, the one thing that escapes them both. The two power ballads, “Who Will Love Me as I Am?” ending Act I and the 11 o’clock number “I Will Never Leave You,” are layered and delivered with evocative potency and honesty.

All we really know about Terry and Buddy is that at the end, despite their promises, they don’t deliver what the girls need. There is an indication of love in Terry’s “Private Conversation, a love song to Daisy (but only if she consents to separation surgery).

buy propecia online https://umaxdental.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/png/propecia.html no prescription pharmacy

Buddy proposes marriage to Violet but backs away.

Major reworking provides a darker feel with new songs and characters, adding depth and sensitivity to the emotional story of the sisters. In a backstory flashback, the girls are brought to a British physician who advises “Cut Them Apart.” (A side note: Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner, the original Daisy and Violet, performed hip to hip with no connection. Emily Padgett and Erin Davie have power-magnets holding them together). They also meet Harry Houdini (Javier Ignacio) who tells them how to tune out distractions and have privacy, notably delivering “All in the Mind.”

The show is heavy on plot and largely sung-through, yet with Sam Davis’s rich arrangements, the songs define the characters and motivation. With top production values, lighting design by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer provides David Rockwell’s set with the aura of a seedy carnival sideshow and glamorous New York stages. Anthony Van Laast’s snappy choreography provides the twins with catchy dance sequences, and Tazewell’s vast array of costumes are period perfect.

Daisy and Violet’s payoff is a 1932 film called Freaks, and the show ends edgy with “Come Look at the Freaks.” The Hilton sisters lived almost 40 years longer, ending their days working in a grocery store, but the story of their glory days in the revival of Side Show is a highlight this season.

Elizabeth Ahlfors

Born and raised in New York, Elizabeth graduated from NYU with a degree in Journalism. She has lived in various cities and countries and now is back in NYC. She has written magazine articles and published three books: A Housewife’s Guide to Women’s Liberation, Twelve American Women, and Heroines of ’76 (for children). A great love was always music and theater—in the audience, not performing. A Philadelphia correspondent for Theatre.com and InTheatre Magazine, she has reviewed theater and cabaret for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia City News. She writes for Cabaret Scenes and other cabaret/theater sites. She is a judge for Nightlife Awards and a voting member of Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle.