There is no other show anything like what Side Show was, on Broadway right now. It is a fantastic show that tells the true, heartbreaking story of how two conjoined twins, Daisy and Violet Hilton, rise from sideshow performers to one of the top Vaudevillian acts of that time. The show had amazing production qualities, very talented actors in the cast, and an A- list production team. So why did it have an early closing on January 4th? There are several reasons.
First, the St. James Theater, where the show was playing, has been looking for a profitable, hit show to come through its doors for a while. Darren Bagert, one of the producers of Side Show, stated; “We were persuaded to post a notice prematurely, in the middle of a holiday season ticket upswing,” noting that box office sales had recently improved slightly. “If there weren’t another show clawing at the door, I think we’d still be at the theater,” (The New York Times). It is quite sad this wonderful show could not contend with the deadly combination of slow but steady ticket sales and another show ready to take the stage.
Secondly, it also could have been that the hard subject matter- conjoined twins and other “freaks”- was not appealing to tourists and theater goers. In the New York Times article the show’s creative supervisor Jack Tantleff talked about how “When it comes to musicals, if the perception — not the reality, but the perception — is that this will be challenging for me to sit through, it seems to hugely affect ticket sales, [1]” Bagert also related the show to the box office difficulties of “The Scottsboro Boys” (which dealt with racism) and “Parade” (anti-Semitism). As he points out, the data from all three musicals show a turn off for theater goers when it comes to the perception that the subject matter is too difficult to sit through. When I saw the show on Friday night the whole orchestra was filled, though it seemed a good portion of the audience consisted of theater “geeks” who might have had the chance to see the original production in 1997. Those who did see that production however would of been surprised to see that the show has been changed drastically since the original production. This change could be a possible third reason the show might of needed to close early. The changes were made in order to rework the musical under the leadership of the new director Bill Condon, a successful film director known for the movie Dreamgirls (2006). It was through Dreamgirls that Condon met composer Henry Krieger, who did the music for Dreamgirls and Side Show. According to the writers at least 60 percent of the material in the show was changed. According to most reviews these changes were overall a beneficial thing but some of the people who saw the original production might not have wanted to see the new production because of the changes. The president of Jujamcyn, the landlord of the St. James theater, Jordan Roth, said in a statement to the New York Times; “It’s heartbreaking that despite the magnificence of this production and its rave reviews, that sales were not definitive.” And he is right.
I thought it was definitely a show that deserved more than what it has received. First of all, the two leads, Emily Padgett (Daisy) and Erin Davie (Violet), were no less than extraordinary. Their emotional power and connection to one another on stage was incredible. They made you fight for them the whole show, wanting them to find happiness and acceptance in the world. The plot is based on the true lives of the twins, who were born in 1908 and died in 1969. It is a very emotional story and contains many symbolic themes that make you leave with a full heart and compassion, something that many shows on Broadway fail to do. Also the production qualities of the show were magical, with amazing lighting design (Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer) and some really beautiful songs such as the second act ballad “I Will Never Leave You.” (Henry Krieger and Bill Russell). Overall, it was a fantastic production and Broadway has lost a true gem of musical theater.
“Something Rotten”, a new musical comedy, is reported to show at the St. James theater next. ♫
_____________________________________________________________________
[1] quote and resource taken from New York Times article; “Theater Owner Pushes ‘Side Show’ to Close” By Patrick Healy, published Dec. 12, 2014.
