Bill Condon, the director of the recent revival of Side Show, understands the purpose of cast recordings for theatre fans. In the digital booklet which comes with the recording (released February 24) Condon writes, “What I love most about cast recordings is the way they allow you to relive precious moments spent in the theatre, or – in the case of shows you haven’t seen – to imagine an ideal production of your own making. It’s deeply satisfying that, through this recording, our production and its extraordinarily gifted cast will live on, for fans both old and new.” And, how we can argue with that? For a show like Side Show, closed so early, the importance of recordings is particularly emphasized.
And, Side Show is an odd show. Its bevy of fans is so vociferous it belies the fact that the show is not a wholly loved one. It’s a fine example of a cult musical. It’s been fated to two not very successful Broadway productions. The original running for a little under three months, and the revival for a little under two months. And, yet, fans of the show are lucky to have a cast recording released a month after the show’s closing to join the Original Cast Recording (with Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner) on shelves.
And, it is some task living up to the legend of Alice and Emily, who in addition to singing as conjoined twins Daisy and Violet on the 1998 recording also have two duo albums released. There is a striking element of the symbiotic in their work together which threatens to cast a shadow over any iteration of Side Show, but this Side Show the revival of it as well as the recording is significantly not its predecessor – for reasons aside from the obvious.
Condon (also working on changes to the book) directed a show that’s revamped from the original with almost half of the songs from the Original Broadway production gone and some cut songs from earlier iterations restored. He’s kept the two soaring act ballads, but more on that later. I’ve never been a smitten fan of Side Show beyond Emily and Alice. But what’s always been remarkable about the show has always been the ardent love those involved in it (in both incarnations) seem to share.
It is no different with this production. From the lovely digital booklet with images from the revival and lyrics to the songs (previously all Side Show lyrics on line seemed to come by way of painstaking transcription from valiant fans) to the stellar production from Frank Filipetti the entire offering is an impressive one.
Like any recording, though, this one lives by the power of its music and principals and some of the issues with the original Side Show cannot help but persist. Mainly, the lack of unity between the score and the lyrics. Henry Krieger’s score is pronouncedly superior to Bill Russell’s lyrics. This works, in its way, when it comes to those moving ballads where it’s not so much the words that Daisy and Violet sing but the sheer emotional gravitas of the music which effectively creates a wealth of feelings for the duo. The excellent orchestrations from Harold Wheeler only emphasize this. The lack of a truly savvy set of lyrics, though, has always been an issue in other numbers which though sung beautifully are not quite as arresting as they ought to be (“You Should Be Loved”, and “A Private Exclusive Show” are two examples).
Any strong thespian can overcome lyrics issues and Side Show may not have Emily and Alice but it does have a formidable pairing in Erin Davie and Emily Padgett. Both ladies do lovely work but I’m especially partial to Padgett who is just perfect in the seven minute “Private Conversation” drawing focus from Ryan Silverman (who is very good as Terry, actually, offering the third best performance behind the girls).
Fans of the show should be happy for a new recording, but I suspect they’ll be split on the cut songs. I will admit I was looking forward to hearing the buoyant voices of Erin and Emily on the excellent pastiche “We Share Everything” forgetting that it had been cut for this recording. But the revamped song list does offer a more cohesive album even if the 1998 incarnation wins points for being more explosive (but, then, which recording with Alice Ripley is not?)
This time around Daisy and Violet seem sweet and softer, which does not make for a lesser recording just a different one. If you loved Side Show then there seems no reason not to support Side Show. For those who are not fans, I’ll admit that Side Show has never been the most successful score on a holistic level but when it peaks, it soars, and if Erin and Emily harmonizing on “I Will Never Leave You” doesn’t get your tear ducts working, few things well. And, above all else, that’s the thing about Side Show that’s most important. Its ability to milk its listeners for emotions with some impressively melodramatic music, and its best songs are melodrama done right.
(If only we could have had that revival-that-should-have-been with Jennifer Holiday and Julie Andrews…)
