Photo Flash: Foothill Music Theatre Brings Revitalized SIDE SHOW to the Bay Area

Multi-award winning Foothill Music Theatre will give Bay Area audiences their first look at the 2014 revised version of the acclaimed Broadway musical Side Show. This dazzling work, featuring music by Henry Krieger (Dreamgirls), and book/lyrics by Bill Russell (Pageant, Lucky Duck), was nominated for four 1998 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress. The 2014 revival, which incorporates a revised script and several new songs, received additional critical acclaim, was nominated for five Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Revival, and was awarded the 2015 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Musical. Side Show is based on the true story of Daisy and Violet Hilton, conjoined twins who rose from a sideshow attraction to become sensational vaudeville stars in the 1930s. Side Show will be directed by Milissa Carey, with musical direction by Dolores Duran-Cefalu, and choreography by Brett and CJ Blankenship and will playMarch 2 - 19, 2017 (press opening: March 3, 2017) with performances 7:30pm Thursdays, 8:00pm Fridays & Saturdays, and 2pm Sundays at the Lohman Theatre, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills. Tickets ($12 - $32) and information can be found at www.foothill.edu/theatre or by phone at(650) 949-7360.

The meteoric rise of the twins from obscurity to the spotlight paralleled the exploding popularity of the musical itself, which garnered national attention and was hailed as the most stunningly original musical in years. At its debut, critics praised the honest, compassionate, and sometimes disquieting look into the nature of feeling different, calling it "Something to marvel at. A daring, enthralling production" (The New York Times), a "bright and moving musical that demands attention" (New York Post). This revised version includes new songs as well as additional biographical details of the Hilton twins' life, and historical figures of the era. The revival was hailed as "Electrifying. Beautiful and wrenching. It's just a wonderful musical" by The New York Times.

Foothill Music Theatre has assembled an outstanding cast for this production. Lauren Meyer and Jessica LaFever will be playing the roles of conjoined twin sisters, Violet and Daisy Hilton. Meyer (Violet), who returns to Foothill where she was seen in How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, has appeared at many local theatres including Children's Musical Theater of San Jose, Broadway By the Bay, and Palo Alto Players. She reprises the role of Violet, which she performed at the Capistrano Center for the Performing Arts. LaFever (Daisy), a Bay Area native, will be making her Foothill debut. She has appeared in leading roles in many productions at Sunnyvale Community Players, Marin Summer Theater, and South Bay Musical Theater, among others.

Edward Clark (Jake) was last seen in Tabard Theatre's production of Memphis. Tarif Pappu (Buddy) has been seen in productions with City Lights and the Los Altos Stage Company, among others. Sean Okuniewicz (Terry) returns to Foothill, where he was last seen in First Person Shooter, andAppointment with Death. He has also been seen in productions with City Lights Theater, TheatreWorks, and Broadway By the Bay. Also returning to Foothill is Kenneth Boswell (Sir), who performed with Foothill in The Producers, and has been featured at a variety of Bay Area theatre companies including Broadway By the Bay, City Lights, Pear Avenue, Los Altos Stage, Bus Barn Stage Company, and 42nd Street Moon.

The talented ensemble for this musical will also include: Vanessa Alvarez, Kyle Arrouzet, Melissa Baxter, Felicity Chang, Naomi Evans,Christina Fortune, Kayvon Kordestani, Danny Martin, Samuel Nachison, Jomar Martinez, Nick Rodrigues, Nathaniel Rothrock, Heather Steffen, and Robert Vetter.

Milissa Carey (Director) joined the Foothill faculty in 2003 and teaches in both the Theatre and Music Departments. Carey has directed Foothill Music Theatre productions of Spring Awakening, Little Shop of Horrors, South Pacific, Sunday in the Park with George, All Shook Up, Working, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and most recently She Loves Me. Other directing credits include Kiss Me Kate and Almost, Maine. She has directed projects at RADA (The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London), the A.C.T. MFA Program, Broadway By the Bay, Los Altos Stage Company, California Conservatory Theatre, Opera Academy of the West, among others. An award-winning Bay Area actress, Carey has performed leading roles with many Bay Area theatre companies including TheatreWorks, Center Repertory Theatre of Walnut Creek, San Jose Repertory Theatre, American Musical Theatre of San Jose, CentralWorks, and 42nd Street Moon. She was in the cast of the 25th Anniversary Broadway National Tour of Evita under the direction of Hal Prince. Carey is on the faculty of the MFA program at American Conservatory Theatre and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Dolores Duran-Cefalu (Musical Direction) returns to Foothill after serving as Musical Director for She Loves Me. She has worked as a music director and conductor extensively throughout the Bay Area, with credits including The Snow Queen at San Jose Rep, Guys and Dolls at Broadway By the Bay, Stuck Elevator at A.C.T, and Next to Normal and A Minister's Wife at San Jose Rep. She has played for several touring shows in San Francisco, including Book of Mormon, Wicked, Shrek, In The Heights, and Mamma Mia!, and has music directed or played more than 60 different productions around the Bay Area. Duran-Cefalu has two Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award nominations, and is currently Music Director forCalifornia's Great America.

Side Show's book and lyrics were written by Bill Russell, whose other works include Pageant, a musical comment on society's double standards that casts men as beauty queens, and Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, a free-verse musical inspired by the AIDS QuilT. Russell was persuaded by Side Show director and choreographer Robert Longbottom to prepare a script based on the 1932 film "Freaks"; the result, though fictionalized, delves beneath the shock value and exploitations to uncover a story closer to the Hilton twins' real, personal life. Russell received a 1998 Tony nomination for Side Show for Best Book and shared a nomination with composer Henry Krieger for Best Score. Side Show was nominated as Best Musical. Composer Henry Krieger, best known for his score for Dreamgirls, paired the book with impressive music ranging from a Ziegfield-style production number set in a fantasy Egypt, to the poignant and personal "Who Will Love Me As I Am?" Said Krieger of the show, "On some level, everyone feels like a freak in some way. I think people will respond to Side Show because it's a metaphor for all the ways people are different."

Foothill Music Theatre has won Bay Area Theatre Critics' Circle Awards for Outstanding Production, Outstanding Ensemble Production, and Best Direction, among others. The company has also garnered numerous awards from the Los Angeles-based Drama-Logue, and kudos from myriad Bay Area critics for its sharp, handsomely mounted productions of She Loves Me, South Pacific, Little Shop of Horrors, Damn Yankees, Spring Awakening,The Producers, Bat Boy: The Musical, The Pajama Game, Sweeney Todd, and many other musicals.

Photo Credit: David Allen

Jessica LaFever, Lauren Meyer
Kyle Arrouzet, Jessica LaFever, Lauren Meyer, Tarif Pappu
Jessica LaFever, Lauren Meyer
Jessica LaFever, Lauren Meyer, Edward Clark
Nathanial Rothrock, Jessica LaFever, Lauren Meyer
Jessica LaFever, Lauren Meyer
Sean Okuniewicz, Jessica LaFever, Lauren Meyer, Tarif Pappu
Ken Boswell
Edward Clark, Jessica LaFever, Lauren Meyer
Jessica LaFever, Lauren Meyer