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December 19, 2014
Five Reasons You Must See 'Side Show' Before it Closes
Company - Side Show Photo: Joan Marcus
Company - Side Show
Photo: Joan Marcus

Much to the disappointment of its die-hard fans and despite rave reviews (including a valentine from The New York Times), Broadway’s newest reboot of Henry Krieger and Bill Russell’s musical, Side Show, will close on January 4, 2015. Because impending closures can either inspire or alienate ticket buyers, I have compiled a list of top five reasons why the Bill Condon-helmed revival is a MUST SEE show before it closes after the holidays.

1. Erin Davie and Emily Padgett

There is a remarkable phenomenon on stage at the St. James, one that supersedes all the special effects and make-up, but is no less magical. In one scene, we see two mirror-imaged beauties effortlessly performing a song and dance routine in tandem. Never have two women looked more in twin-like. Then, moments later, after the slightest emotional shift, these carbon copies transform into very different women before our eyes. The shifts are both physical and emotional. Davie (as Violet) and Padgett (as Daisy) achieve the impossible, seamlessly ping-ponging from twin to yin-yang. They are both powerhouse vocalists, but their acting is never out shadowed by vocal gymnastics, despite a score that could easily rely on pageantry. Both actresses play the conflict and not the notes, imbuing a score, which sometimes lacks in subtext, with pathos and raw emotion.

2. The Design

A man convincingly presses a needle through his skin. Another walks by on three legs as the audience wonders which two are actually real. From the hypnotizing costume/make-up design, to the evocative lighting, to a facile set (that transports us from gritty San Antonio to glittering New York City), the design elements are impressive and beautiful. However, the spectacle never overwhelms story, or makes the women at its heart seem less special.

Emily Padget, Erin Davie - Side Show Photo: Andrew Eccles
Emily Padget, Erin Davie - Side Show
Photo: Andrew Eccles

3. Twins

I was lucky enough to see the show with someone who is a twin (a smart, incredibly insightful musical theater writer-slash-twin), yet the joys and frustrations of being so deeply connected to another person is every member of the audience understood. My friend immediately connected to the Daisy/Violet relationship, and admitted that the show holds a special place in her heart because no other show explores the twin experience better than Side Show.

4. Freaks

Freaks are having their heyday right now. Emboldened by reality television gawkers and a pervasive internet, cable television and films are exploring (and sometimes exploiting) the oddest and most shocking abnormalities. However, the true fascination about the abnormal is how normal it can be. This point is at the heart of Side Show. Like the opening number tells us to do, we gawk and gape at the freaks, but we also revel in their most human, emotional moments. The least freak-like characters are often the most twisted, and they all feel a desire to fit into a society that does not accept a part of them. This aspect of the show is wonderfully captured onstage by the show’s leading men, specifically the charming Matthew Hydzik (as Buddy) and the silver-voiced Ryan Silverman (as Terry).

5. The Love Story

There is no doubt that anyone who checked their dating app before or after the show thought to themselves, “Who will love me as I am?”. Everyone knows that feeling. Side Show is not about what makes us different or freaky, but what makes us all the same – our desire for acceptance and our need to give and receive love. The real love story does not involve the men these women fall in love with. It is a story about two sisters who discover that they have always had someone who will love them, just the way they are. Entering the show, I was fascinated by their freakiness. Leaving Side Show, I could not be more envious of their blessing.

Side Show plays the St. James Theater until January 4, 2015

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Written by: Kevin Wanzor
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