Side Show, book and lyrics by Bill Russell, music by Henry Krieger, is a stylized piece, brilliantly directed by Bill Condon, with miraculous choreography by Anthony Van Laast, based on the adventures of actual Siamese Twins, the Hilton sisters, who went from Side Show Freaks to Vaudeville and fame. The sisters, played by Erin Davie and Emily Padgett are remarkable -- beautiful, great singers and dancers, and where they found this pair of actual Siamese Twins is, I guess, a secret. They can’t fool me and say that they are two separate women! I could tell; they really are conjoined. (And when they take bows at the end as two people, I could tell it was done with mirrors.)
The cast contains real Side Show characters: strange personages (makeup by Cookie Jordan, masks and special makeup by Dave Elsay and Lou Elsea), great costumes by Paul Tazewell, lighting by longtime winners Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer (they win again), and an imaginative set by David Rockwell. We see actual dwarfs and a fat Lady (by the standards of that time; today it’s the normal figure you see walking down the street in America), a dog boy, a lizard man, and an African cannibal with a rich bass-baritone voice that reminds me of Paul Robeson (whom I saw live several times many, many years ago) played by David St. Louis. He offers a powerful performance as companion and protector of the girls.
Robert Joy is a strong side-show producer, and the two romantic leads, Matthew Hydzik and the charismatic Ryan Silverman, as well as the rest of the cast, are top-level singers. Don’t miss this treat of a show; it’s quite a trip: totally entertaining, with a touch of heart.
