Side Show is a musical by Bill Russell and Henry Krieger based on the lives of
Daisy and Violet Hilton, conjoined twins who became famous stage performers in
the 1930s. The musical opened on Broadway on
October 16, 1997. Robert Longbottom directed and choreographed, and the cast
starred Emily Skinner as Daisy and Alice Ripley as Violet. Despite receiving some
positive reviews, the show closed on January 3, 1998 after 91 performances.
The show has been revived in many regional productions. Side Show was
revived on Broadway during the 2014–2015 season, closing on January 4, 2015.
Synopsis = Act I =
The Boss, the ringmaster of a sideshow, introduces the exhibits: the bearded
lady, a geek, the Cannibal King, the seraglio of a Hashemite sheik, and,
lastly, his star attraction, the Siamese twins. Buddy Foster, an aspiring
musician, brings Terry Connor, a talent scout for the Orpheum Circuit, to see
the Siamese twins, persuading him to enter the show all the way. Coerced
ominously in by the Boss, Buddy thinks he could help them create an act and
convinces Terry to meet them. The two men interrupt a birthday party for the
girls. Terry asks their names and they respond,
"I'm Daisy" and "I'm Violet". He then asks them their dreams; Violet, the
gentler of the two, wants a normal life of a husband and home; Daisy, on the
other hand, seeks fame and fortune. Terry tells them he wants to help their
dreams come true. After the Boss rudely refuses Terry's offer to be cut in on
the twins' potential vaudeville career, Terry devises a scheme whereby Buddy
will teach the girls a song. Jake, an African-American who plays the Cannibal
King in the sideshow and is the twins' friend and protector, begs them to
consider what they're getting into and the whole sideshow family adds its
opinion. Two weeks later, Terry returns to see
the twins perform and Buddy tells him how the personal dynamics with the girls
are getting sticky. Before their secret late-night performance, the twins
confess to each other how infatuated they are with the two men who've come
into their lives. The Hilton Sisters' secret debut is a
great success. But the Boss discovers the subterfuge and physically threatens
the twins when they tell him they're leaving the sideshow. Jake comes to
their rescue and the other attractions threaten to leave also, causing the Boss
to back down. Daisy, Violet and Jake, whom Terry has invited to help backstage
on the twins' tour, bid farewell to their sideshow family.
It's time for the twins' first public performance, and Terry invites a group
of reporters together before the show. Before their vaudeville debut, the twins
argue about their different ways of expressing interest in men. Onstage they
sing "We Share Everything" in a production number featuring them as
queens of ancient Egypt. After the twins' performing triumph,
Terry and Buddy shower them with kisses. Hostile reporters ask tough questions
about the girls' love life. Terry and Buddy deny any romantic inclinations,
leaving the twins to wonder if they will ever find romantic fulfillment.
= Act II = The second act opens with the Hilton
Sisters at the height of their success - a Follies-style production number.
Daisy's dream of stardom has come true but Violet seems no closer to her dream
of finding a husband. At a fancy New Year's Eve party, Buddy
tries to cheer up Violet and ends up proposing marriage. Afterwards, Terry
imagines what it would be like to be alone with Daisy.
In an onstage number, Buddy, Violet and Daisy issue an upbeat invitation to
their wedding. But backstage both Daisy and Buddy separately express doubts as
to how the arrangement will work. Jake overhears Buddy and, in an effort to
save Violet from seemingly imminent heartbreak, confesses that he has loved
her for years. The night before Violet and Buddy's
wedding as the grand finale of the Texas Centennial, Daisy is feeling left out.
To appease her, Terry suggests going where they could be more-or-less alone
together. The big day arrives. Hawkers sell
tickets and souvenirs. But in the dressing area, complications arise. Jake
announces he is leaving. Buddy confesses he's not strong enough to marry Violet.
Daisy offers a solution which will ensure a movie contract dependent on the
wedding publicity. Terry cannot bring himself to publicly acknowledge what he
feels for Daisy. She dismisses him and insists that Violet and Buddy go through
with the ceremony, which will at least benefit everyone's career. Left alone,
the twins find solace in each other. As the wedding proceeds, they reprise "Come
Look at the Freaks" with full understanding and acceptance of who they
are and what they are doing. Musical Numbers
= Original Broadway Production = = Broadway Revival Production =
Casts = Casts =
Production history = Original production =
Side Show opened on Broadway on October 16, 1997 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.
Robert Longbottom directed and choreographed, the sets were by Robin
Wagner, costumes by Gregg Barnes and lighting by Brian MacDevitt. The cast
starred Emily Skinner as Daisy Hilton and Alice Ripley as Violet Hilton.
Despite receiving some positive reviews, the show closed on January 3, 1998 after
31 previews and 91 regular performances. = Original Broadway cast =
Emily Skinner as Daisy Hilton Alice Ripley as Violet Hilton
Norm Lewis as Jake Jeff McCarthy as Terry Connor, press
agent Hugh Panaro as Buddy Foster
Ken Jennings as The Boss Also featured was J. Robert Spencer.
It was nominated for four Tony Awards in 1998. Although Side Show won none of
these awards, it was the first and only time that two actresses were
co-nominated for Best Actress in a Musical as a team. At the Tony Awards
ceremony, the two stars performed the show's most popular number, "I Will
Never Leave You". Ripley and Skinner later released two albums of duets, as
well as a live recording of their 2006 reunion concert.
= Regional theatre productions = In 1998, TheatreWorks near San Francisco
produced Side Show at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. The
production was a critical and popular success, receiving the Garland Award and
various Dean Goodman Critics Choice Awards. The production afforded
TheatreWorks its largest first day of ticket sales on their records for a
single production. Subsequently, 2 extra performances were added to meet the
demand. The production was directed by Robert Kelley and Bick Goss. Kristin
Behrendt, who had been a standby for the role of Violet in the original Broadway
cast, played the role of Daisy. The show then had several successful
regional productions throughout the country, including in 1999 in Denver,
Colorado, by the Physically Handicapped Actors & Musical Artists League. While
many were initially uncomfortable with the idea of disabled actors portraying
"side show freaks", the production was well received and was presented with
several awards, including the Denver Mayor's Award for Excellence in the
Arts. In 2001, Signature Theatre Company's
production starred Amy Goldberger, Sherri Edelen, Will Gartshore Matt
Bogart, Eric Jordan Young, and Michael Sharp.
An abridged version of Side Show was presented at the Kennedy Center in
Washington D.C. October 2–5, 2008 as part of their Broadway: Three
Generations production. Jenn Colella and Lisa Brescia played Daisy and Violet,
respectively, Bobby Steggert played Buddy, and Max von Essen played Terry.
= Revised version; Broadway revival = A revised version of the musical ran at
the La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, California, in late 2013. Bill Condon
directed, with Erin Davie as Violet and Emily Padgett as Daisy. The show has a
"darker approach" and "incorporates new songs as well as additional biographical
details of the Hilton twins' life and historical figures of the era." Several
new songs were added. In Act 1, Terry sings "Very Well Connected" to try to
convince the twins that he can get them booked on the Orpheum Circuit. Buddy
teaches the girls a song called "Typical Girls Next Door". During a backstory
flashback, British physicians sing "Cut Them Apart" while the girls sing "I Will
Never Leave You" for the first time. Harry Houdini teaches the girls to tune
out all distractions around them in order to get some private time. When the
girls are being brought to the US, Sir sings "Come See a New Land". The twins'
first big performance is a new song, "Ready to Play." Act 2 opens with a new
number, "Stuck With You", featuring the twins, Buddy, and a boy with whom Buddy
seems to be having a relationship. This is followed by "Leave Me Alone", moved
to Act 2. "New Year's Day" was reworked and added to "New Year's Eve". "Tunnel
of Love" was reworked as "A Great Wedding Show." Several other songs from
the original were cut: "You Deserve a Better Life", "Crazy, Deaf and Blind",
"More Than We Bargained For", "When I'm By Your Side", "Overnight Sensation",
"We Share Everything", "Rare Songbirds on Display", and "Beautiful Day for a
Wedding". The production next played at the
Kennedy Center in June and July 2014. with choreography by Anthony Van Laast,
scenic design by David Rockwell, costumes by Paul Tazewell, lighting by
Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer and sound by Kai Harada. The cast starred
Davie and Padgett and also featured Matthew Hydzik as Buddy Foster, Robert
Joy as Sir, Ryan Silverman as Terry Connor and David St. Louis as Jake.
The production began previews on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on
October 28, 2014, opening officially on November 17, with the same cast. Despite
very positive reviews, the revival did not catch on with audiences and closed
on January 4, 2015 after only seven weeks.
Awards References
External links Side Show at the Internet Broadway
Database Fan letters for Side show, 1997-1998,
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the
Performing Arts