‘Side Show’: Saga of the Original Hilton Sisters

WE ARE SIAMESE: Ryan Silverman, Emily Padgett & Erin Davie in ‘Side Show.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

SIDE SHOW
Music by Henry Krieger
Book & lyrics by Bill Russell
Choreography by Anthony Van Laast
Directed by Bill Condon
St. James Theatre
246 West 44th Street
(212-239-6200), www.SideShowBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Side Show is an odyssey, a journey, an adult musical, and I mean that in the best sense. This journey is not only for the characters of the show but for the audience as well. This journey is a compelling one; it’s all about going out into the world and finding out who you are and how you fit in it, a self discovery; it touches the heart and the mind. I can’t say it is a flawless musical; it has faults, but when you consider the subject matter and what its creators had to go through to create a show where it not only has to entertain but also explain another world full of misfits and side show freaks; a daunting task indeed.

One might ask what would possess anyone to revive such a show that originally flopped in 1997. Belief in the material and tenacity are a good start. This revival is a labor of love by its creators. It has a haunting and an underappreciated score, thanks to Bill Russell and Henry Krieger. However, the book by Mr. Russell, and additional material by director Bill Condon, all get mired in the first half of the second act. As wonderful and compelling as the first act is, it misses the mark in the second. Thanks to Erin Davie (Violet Hilton) and Emily Padgett (Daisy Hilton), the conjoined twins of this tale always manage to bring the show back on track when the story is about them and the carnival misfits.

The show travels full circle with the haunting and lilting opening song “Come Look at the Freaks,” and is used again in the finale in which the Hilton Sisters end up where they started, sadder, wiser and wearier. The finale is mesmerizing; they are beckoned to Hollywood only to end up where they started at M.G.M. in Tod Browning’s movie Freaks. The finale is a chilling, eerie and one of the most memorable ones, and if you are familiar with the movie Freaks it will overwhelm the emotions.

The Hilton Sisters did not have an easy life; they were conjoined twins that were born in England and sold by their mother because she knew she could make money off of them. They eventually came to New York, with an unscrupulous guardian by the name of Sir (Robert Joy) who abused them, overworked them and paid them nothing. Daisy is the feisty flirt and longs to be on the stage and adored, while Violet would be content to be married and have children. They are twins who are conjoined together but each has her own dreams and desires. Until one day, two hucksters promising them fame and adventure come and convince them to leave the Side Show. Naturally, once they leave the show, that’s when their complications begin. Romance, feelings, entanglements in the outside world only causes the sisters more dilemmas. As they become more successful, their needs become greater. Love and companionship play a large part in trying to have the sisters separate by an operation and lead normal lives, but that could also mean losing their lives.

I told you the storyline is riveting, but the book runs with no steam in the beginning of the second act. There is one consolation, the exquisitely sung “Private Conversation” by Daisy’s suitor, Terry Connor (Ryan Silverman). To say that Miss Davie and Miss Padgett are divine is an understatement. Their harmonizing is in sync as one; from their opening number “Like Everyone Else” it’s angelic, but their “I Will Never Leave You” in the end, though sincere, is a tad mawkish. Their journey is our journey; the bumps in the road, the misfortunes of life, the short- term happiness, the discoveries that are made, ultimately face all of us. Bill Condon has put his own stamp on this show, showing us the seamy side of life. By using the Hilton Sisters as his muses, he transports us from elation to misery with his deft and insightful direction.

When you see Side Show, and I really hope you do, remember three things: it’s a labor of love, a journey of choices we all have to make in life, and since it is an adult show, bring an open heart and mind to be able to see how life always comes full circle.

I’LL NEVER LEAVE YOU: Emily Padgett & Erin Davie in ‘Side Show.’ Photo: Andrew Eccles

NOT JUST ‘FREAKS’: The cast of ‘Side Show.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

THE LADIES IN RED: Emily Padgett & Erin Davie in ‘Side Show.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 20, 2014
Reviewed at press performance on November 19, 2014