Based on a true story of “Siamese” twins who achieved show biz and then film fame in the ‘1930s, “Side Show” questions whether such “freaks” can ever be, as they sing, “Like Everyone Else.” Or is their destiny to be objects to see but not emotionally touch, as their cohorts urge the audience, to “Come Look at the Freaks”?
Except for being attached to her sister, Violet is a typical entertainer who’d prefer to be “normal” and marry and have a home, while Daisy dreams of fame and riches and being “like everyone else but not my sister.” They’re discouraged by their Boss, played to the rough hilt by David Walker.
Terri (ambitious but decent enough in Tim Fitzgerald’s interpretation) recommends the sisters to talent scout Buddy (commanding Jason Kimble, with a professional demeanor and voice to match). The men succeed in luring the twins away, but not without their and the freaks’ mutual sadness.
That all may not work out smoothly comes out in the men’s wondering if they’ll get “More Than We Bargained For,” the twins expressing “Feelings You’ve Got to Hide,” and their carnival “canibal” Jake warning that “The Devil You Know” may be better than trusting seemingly better men. In fact, Jake decides to go along to the twins’ new venture as a hand.
Jake (Terry Rhodes, with the show’s best voice and dramatic presence) really acts as the twins’ guardian at The Vaudeville where they’re an immediate sensation. Despite times when the women would like to be alone, their usual conclusion is “We Share Everything.” Still they wonder if they’ll find true love.
By the time the twins star in The Follies and On the Road, they’ve fallen in love. A large dose of pity as well as p.r. makes Terri propose to Violet and causes the departure of Jake, who truly loves her and as an African American knows about the importance of being different to a relationship.
Meanwhile, Daisy pines for Buddy, who seems to fall for her at The Texas Centennial where Violet and Terri will wed. What will happen when The Boss and freaks reappear for the finale?
The simple plot merely follows the twins to see how their aspirations and lives will turn out, especially compared to the other freaks with whom they started. Each section is an excuse to pack in musical numbers, with props and a huge array of costumes ever more glittery under growing amounts of colored lights. Both Alana Opie and Danae DeShazer achieve the required glamour as they sing and in their movement, though they don’t seem very strongly physically attached. Like the ensemble, they have benefitted from comprehensive direction and clever choreography.
Musicians on opening night sometimes overwhelmed voices but on the whole did well by the music, especially considering beat so often predominates over rhythm. Subtlety is rare, except perhaps in the twins’ “Who Will Love Me As I Am?” To the latter question, I believe The Players audience’s applause was saying “us.”
