Based on the legendary Hilton twins, Daisy and Violet, SIDE SHOW follows their heartwarming search for first love and acceptance amidst the spectacle of fame and scrutiny under the spotlight. The world of SIDE SHOW is set against the backdrop of 1920's and '30s show business that seamlessly blend the worlds of carnival, vaudeville, and Hollywood glamour.
Directed by Academy Award-winner Bill Condon (Chicago, Dreamgirls, Twilight: Breaking Dawn Parts 1 and 2, Gods and Monsters) making his Broadway debut, this exciting new staging of SIDE SHOW has "the flash and velocity of a Hollywood motion picture" and "puts gripping emotion in the main tent" (Los Angeles Times).
Don't miss this remarkable true story of two sisters. The very thing that makes them different... makes them extraordinary.
Bill Condon's fabulous 'revisal' maximizes the material's strengths and minimizes its weaknesses, serving up mesmerizing entertainment veined throughout with haunting poignancy...Condon puts the sideshow exhibits on lurid display, starting with the intoxicating opening number, 'Come Look at the Freaks.' This has the unexpected effect, however, not of vulgarizing but humanizing not only Daisy and Violet, but their entire 'odditorium' family...Davie and Padgett simply couldn't be better...the synchronization of their movements is as remarkable as their exquisite vocal harmonization. Their performances are both symbiotic and beautifully individualized...Irrespective of any awkwardness that creeps into the plot-heavy storytelling, the flaws are never enough to take us out of the show's enveloping world or to compromise our investment in the fates of Violet and Daisy...even when it borders on kitsch, the music pulls you in. It's not a top-tier score but it's a very good one, melodic and memorable despite lyrics that can be a tad literal and emphatic...Side Show may never be a classic musical, but in this superb production it's a hypnotic spectacle that packs an emotional wallop. Step right up.
And yet, putting all that aside the real and tragic problem with Side Show is that I never for a single moment thought I was seeing conjoined twins, two individual sisters with passions and desires of their own who were also connected in every possible way to each other. They merely seemed like two women who just happened to be standing very close to each other. I don't know why. Having heard repeatedly about the magical symbiotic performances of Ripley and Skinner, I was eagerly looking forward to what Davie and Padgett would do. They are good and sing with precision and passion on the big numbers 'Who Will Love Me As I Am?' and 'I Will Never Leave You.' I just never felt they were very well connected.
1997 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2006 |
Welsh Revival |
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2006 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Revival Off-Broadway |
2014 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Ryan Silverman |
2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Erin Davie |
2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Bill Condon |
2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Side Show |
2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical | Peter Hylenski |
2015 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Side Show |
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