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Side Showby Bill Russell and Henry Kreiger
May 17 Through July 2
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie After the triumphal journey from the sleazy carnival side show to the Orpheum Circuit, Daisy Hilton declares: "Anything is possible, if everything is right." Northlight Theater's production of SIDE SHOW validates this rather simplistic world view. This near-perfect production of the 1997 Broadway musical, which chronicles the quest for fame, fortune, and love by real-life Siamese twins, Daisy and Violet Hilton, achieves the improbable, if not impossible: it is a fabulous theatrical experience. Northlight has not only successfully transplanted the musical from Broadway to the 350-seat North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie; the theater company has found the drama's soul. SIDE SHOW opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City on October 16, 1997 and closed on January 3, 1998 after 31 preview performances and 91 regular performances. Despite the show's short run, it was nominated for four Tony awards: Best Musical, Score, Book, and a joint Best Actress award for the twins. Bill Russell wrote the book and lyrics; Henry Krieger wrote the music. The musical presents the true story of Daisy and Violet Hilton's rise from carnival side show freaks to vaudeville stars during the Depression. SIDE SHOW references but does not present the later appearance of the twins in the films Freaks, a 1932 horror film directed by Tod Browning who assembled a troupe of real circus/carnival freaks for the story of an evil ringmaster, and Chained for Life, a tale in which one sister is accused of murder, but the injustice of sending her to jail if her innocent sister must also be incarcerated is explored. The dramatic plot of SIDE SHOW is Brechtian in structure. The scenes are "free from the need of creating suspense, loosely knit, and episodic; [with] the story unfold[ing] in a number of separate situations, each rounded and complete in itself. The total effect of the play is built up through the juxtaposition and Ômontage' of contrasting episodes." Martin Esslin, Brecht. The Man and His Work, W.W. Norton (1974), pp.134-35. The narrative unfolds in five scenes: At the sleazy side show, The Boss introduces his freaks, including the Siamese Twins. Buddy Foster, a musician, brings vaudeville (Orpheum Circuit) talent scout Terry Connor to meet Violet and Daisy. Buddy thinks that he can teach them to dance and sing in vaudeville. He does. After two weeks under Buddy's tutelage, the twins demonstrate their new talents. They leave the sideshow to pursue their dreams of fame (Daisy) and love (Violet) in the company of the two men, with whom they are infatuated, and Jake, an African-American who plays the Cannibal King in the sideshow and is the twins' protector. On the vaudeville circuit, the twins triumph in their stage debut; but reporters impertinently inquire about their "love" life. Terry and Buddy deny any romantic inclinations. At the height of their vaudeville success, Daisy and Violet attend a society New Years Eve party. Buddy proposes marriage to Violet. Buddy, Violet, and Daisy invite all to the wedding, although Buddy is doubtful about how the arrangement will work. Jake confesses his unrequited love for Violet. The night before Violet and Buddy's wedding as the grand finale of the Texas Centennial, the Daisy and Terry go on the Tunnel of Love ride with Violet and Buddy. On the wedding day, Jake announces he is leaving. Buddy has cold feet and wants to cancel the ceremony. Daisy offers to marry Terry to ensure their contract for Freaks, which is dependent on the wedding publicity. Terry demurs. Daisy fires him as the Hilton sisters' agent, but insists that Violet and Buddy go through with the wedding to benefit their career. Violet and Buddy are married. (The union was short-lived as was Daisy's subsequent marriage.) Staging SIDE SHOW was a prodigious undertaking for Northlight, a theater company known for its serious small-cast dramas. The Broadway show was performed with a full orchestra and cast of 27, most of them characters from the carnival side show: Reptile Man, Bearded Lady, Roustabout #1, Snake Girl, Fortune Teller, Fakir, The Boss, Jake, 6th Exhibit, Sheik, Terry Connor, Roustabout #3, Geek, Buddy Foster, Dolly Dimples, Violet Hilton, Roustabout #2, Daisy Hilton, Harem Girl #2, Harem Girl #1, Roustabout #4, Harem Girl #3, Swing [1-5]. Members of the cast played multiple roles as reporters, party guests, vaudevillians, radio show singers, and hawkers. The cast performed 24 production numbers/songs in 5 diverse settings: the Midway, Vaudeville, the Follies, on the road, and the Texas Centennial. Northlight's SIDE SHOW is performed by 16 actors and 6 musicians. Except for Violet and Daisy, Jake, Terry, and Buddy, the ensemble of actors also play multiple roles as reporters, party guests, vaudevillians, radio show singers, and hawkers--although with a larger multiplier. This multiple role casting usually works quite well. However, there are moments when the frenetic pace of these role changes result in an askew costume or wig or an ungraceful dance step. But, these moments usually underscore the tawdry nature of the carnival or the gaudiness of vaudeville. The multilevel, multifunctional set is built on a thrust stage in a 350-seat theater. The 6 musicians are on the top level behind a scrim. Two open steel spiral staircases lead from the "orchestra" to opposite sides of the essentially bare thrust stage, which with the addition of benches, or platforms, or a red carpet, or a carnival ride car can become the 5 settings. Set changes are performed by the cast. Entrances and exits are usually from the audience. This staging is not perfect, but it also works surprisingly well. Most problems occur with the actors moving the props and stage furniture. This is too often awkward. It slows down the action and causes the actors to break character, which is a problem when the members of the ensemble are playing many multiple roles. Although SIDE SHOW was well-received by the Broadway critics, the show was never a box office success. SIDE SHOW never found its audience. This reaction is not entirely unexpected. The first song and the reprised ending invite the audience to "come look at the freaks." Historically, conjoined twins are not heroes; their love stories are not romantic; their dreams are not our dreams. "In our ancestors' awareness of Siamese Twins, the myth of the double merged with that of the multiple monster to create a myth of the Monstrous Self and an identically Monstrous Other joined together till death do them part. . . . In all ages, joined twins have evoked erotic fantasies in their audiences, since they suggest inevitably the possibility of multiple fornication--or at least the impossibility of sexual privacy." Leslie A. Fiedler, Freaks, Myths & Images of the Secret Self, Simon and Schuster (1978), pp. 205-6. The Brechtian "epic" form of the play further distances the twins and their aspirations from the audience. There is no theatrical illusion; all is presentational and detachment. Northlight's artistic director, B.J. Jones, states in the SIDE SHOW Stagebill that in presenting the musical the theater company is "rethinking the piece in terms of our intimate space. We hope to give our audience the opportunity to get closer to the characters and the material, sharing the experience in a way that New York audiences could not." With this intimacy, SIDE SHOW does indeed connect to its audience. The fundamental effect of the intimacy of the Northlight production is the audience's ability to see Daisy and Violet, not "siamese twins." Susie McMonagle and Kristen Behrendt as the sisters are wondrous. The small thrust stage clearly presents the fact that the two actresses are not joined by any costume device: they are blocked on either side of the stage for the opening "come look at the freaks" and then are joined at the hip by blocking throughout the rest of the production. Even though this was how the twins were portrayed on Broadway, the smaller stage allows the audience to see that their union is emotional and spiritual as well as physical. The lack of illusion of reality about their "freakishness" assists the audience in sharing their humanity. On this intimate stage, even small gestures are magnified: Violet, on the right, gives Daisy, on the left, a loving sisterly tap before they walk, or sit, or dance. The acoustics of the stage and the marvelous voices of Ms. McMonagle and Ms. Behrendt allow the lyrics about the sisters' longings, hopes, and loves to resonate within the audience. Such songs as "Like Everyone Else," "Feelings You've Got to Hide," "When I'm By Your Side," "We Share Everything," "Who Will Love Me as I Am?," and "I Will Never Leave You" are visions of their souls. The smaller scaled production also elucidates the humanity of the three "loves" of Daisy and Violet. Nikkieli DeMone's Jake is more than a black stereotyped "step-n-fetchit." He is a man in torment who is just as trapped and exploited by an accident of his birth--his race--as Daisy and Violet. Mr. DeMone's rendition of "You Should Be Loved" is a show stopper. James Moye elevates Terry Connor to a man who is less opportunistic than simply weak ("Private Conversation"). Sam Samuelson's Buddy Foster is a man who is fearful, but empathetic and caring ("More Than We Bargained For'). Come to Northlight's marvelous SIDE SHOW. Websites:http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Balcony/2010/sideshow.html [Synopsis, Music, Cast, Photos, News, Other Productions, Production Credits, The Hilton Sisters, Links] http://www.angelfire.com/sd/thesideshowsite/index.html [The Story of the Show, About Daisy and Violet, Reference, Cast, Songs, Side Show Pictures, Bios, Lyrics, Message Board] SIDE SHOW. North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, 847-673-6300. Through July 2: Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 PM; Saturdays, 3 and 8 PM; Sundays, 3 and 7 PM; Wednesday, May 31, 1 and 8 PM. $32-$42; Saturday, May 27, 3 PM, "pay what you can." Note: "Freak Show!," a free visual art exhibit organized by Anatomically Correct to complement the production, is on display at the theater through July 27; for more information, call 312-514-1802. --Sandra Marie Lee |
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