Bill Condon’s gorgeous Broadway revival of Side Show is the fall musical theatre insiders can’t stop talking about—and for good reason. We saw the show weeks ago and scenes and images are still seared into our memory. Like the poster promises: it will never leave you. Below are five moments (beyond the two famous showstoppers) from the new Side Show that we just can’t stop thinking about.
1. “Come Look at the Freaks”
Side Show opens with one of the most visually appealing musical numbers on Broadway right now. The audience is taken immediately into the tent to meet each of freaks, and the result is STUNNING. Not only is the song catchy as hell, but the design of the costumes, makeup and wigs are outrageous. It’s everything you'd expect from Hollywood, but on Broadway.
2. “Like Everyone Else”
This moment is legit like two minutes, but it’s everything because it’s the first time you see what special actresses Emily Padgett and Erin Davie are. Erin breaks your heart with just a facial expression, meanwhile Emily is magnetic; like Terry, you can’t help but fall in love with her. The ladies only get stronger and more realized as the show goes on, but it’s this first moment that we just want to watch on repeat.
3. The Guys
This is kind of cheating, because they should each get their own moment, but David St. Louis, Ryan Silverman and Matthew Hydzik each shine as the men in the Hilton twins lives.
St. Louis’ “You Should Be Loved” drives audiences wild.
Silverman’s “Private Conversation” is the stuff leading men are made of.
And Hydzik's interactions with Davie are so pure and moving.
4. “One Plus One Equals Three”
A campy vaudeville number winking at the audience about Violet and Buddy’s future sex life (and Daisy’s role in how that works) is actually one of the highlights of the show. Hydzik sells the hell out of it and the addition of the ensemble is perfection.
5. The Book Scene Before the Wedding
Spoiler alert: Theatre people who throw shade about acting in musicals vs. plays need to see the five Side Show stars perform the scene before Violet and Buddy’s wedding. The heartbreak each sister goes through as she realizes the men in their lives don’t want them, the way Jake fits into the day’s events and finally the resignation that fame is worth the sham marriage—brilliant. It’s a highlight of the fall on Broadway.
Experience these Side Show moments (and many more) at Broadway’s St. James Theatre through January 4, 2015.
