Stage Review: Side Show

The musical, Side Show, opened on Broadway in 1997. It starred Emily Skinner and Alice Ripley as Daisy and Violet Hilton, conjoined twins who were stage performers in the 1930s. Although it only ran for 91 performances, it earned Emily and Alice a joint Tony Award nomination, the first time two performers had been nominated together for a Tony Award. It was fitting due to the nature of their performances.

I bought the cast recording to the musical soon after it opened, and I love the score. Emily and Alice's performances of the songs are wonderful. I have always wanted to see the musical, but since it didn't run very long, I thought the chances of anyone producing it in Utah were quite slim. I'm so glad that I was wrong. I was excited to see the production, especially after I learned that two actors from the production of The Drowsy Chaperone I was in two years ago, Angela Jeffries and Taylor Eliason had leading roles in the musical. It's a small musical theatre world.

Side Show is the premiere production for the new Utah Repertory Theater Company. This musical will either soar or flop depending on the actors portraying Daisy and Violet. Fortunately for us, Adrien Swenson and Angela Jeffries, who play the leading roles, are excellent. It's easy to overlook some of the weaker elements in the production when you're listening to these two women sing. They both have powerhouse voices, and together they sound even stronger. Not only did they sing the roles well, but their acting matched their vocals. Angela played Violet with an innocent sweetness, and Adrien played Daisy with a quiet inner strength.

Other stand-out performances included Taylor Eliason as Buddy and Cooper Howell as Jake. Some of the stand-out numbers were "The Devil You Know" (although I think the tempo could have been slowed down a bit - I felt it was too rushed), "When I'm By Your Side," "Who Will Love Me As I Am," " One Plus One Equals Three," and "I Will Never Leave You."

One of the biggest disappointments I had with the production was the very end of the show. The musical starts in a Freak show on a midway where Daisy and Violet have been one of the side show's biggest audience draws. The other freaks sing to the audience "Come look at the freaks." At the end the song is reprised, and as they sing the words, "come look at the freaks," the ensemble comes onstage as modern-day people whom some might consider as "freaks" today. These include an old woman, a homeless man, a "cutter," a blind girl, a deaf girl, two gay couples (male and female), a goth, a girl with lots of piercings on her face, etc. I was terribly disappointed that the director decided to call call them "freaks." I'm sure he was trying to make the point that many people do look on these groups as "freaks," but I thought it was in bad taste. I would have rather he had them all come out looking like themselves, in everyday clothes, and bring out the point that all of us are "freaks" in our own way, or that there really aren't any "freaks," just people.

Stage Review: The Woman in Black

This is the third time I have seen the stage version of The Woman in Black. This was a small production in a small theatre produced by a small theatre company, and it was just as good as the productions I saw at the Utah Shakespeare Festival and in London. 

Christopher Sherwood Davis was excellent as Kipps, and his performance was riveting. I am not saying that just because he is my nephew. His acting skills are stellar, and during the production I forgot he was my nephew. I was lost in the story, and in his performance.That's good acting.

Patrick Kintz's performance was also wonderful. He had the difficult job of playing many characters and had to use a different British accents for each character. He was able to perform the difficult task with ease.

The set was sparse and very effective. The sound effects rounded out the experience and assisted in the suspense. It's wonderful what our own imaginations can do.

The productions had plenty of chills and thrills. The specter of the woman in black appeared from different areas on the stage, and the play built the suspense well of when and where she would appear. There was one moment in the production when the chills were heightened to the point where you felt the horror that the character was feeling. It was so well staged and performed.

The Woman in Black is playing at The Echo Theatre in Provo, and I would encourage everyone who is within driving distance to see it. It is a night well spent.