Performance Report 2

The art of storytelling through song is a living art form and one that has truly withstood the test of time. It is an art form dating back to 5^th century B.C. where the ancient Greeks used it as a pastime much like that of today. They used huge open-air amphitheaters to incorporate music and dance in their stage tragedies and comedies. Spanning time for over 2500 years, musical theater has remained quite true to its original identity. Side Show the musical, a modern day performance, is a story of the lives of conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton. The story is set in the 1930s and confronts issues of love and identity while the Siamese twins take on uncharted territory while pursuing fame as a musical act.

An original Broadway production, Side Show the musical was brought to us by the UT Dallas School of Arts department and the production was held from April 8-17, 2010. For the purpose of this review, the focus will be on the production that took place on the evening of April 16. Not hindered by the admission fee, a huge crowd turned out for the performance. The audience ranged from young to old in terms of age. Most individuals appeared to be current UTD students as well as a few past students of the Arts program showing up for support evenly dispersed throughout. There were also many large groups of people attending together and last but not least, there were quite a few parents in the turnout. The theater itself was not immense yet it was a large enough stage to effectively present a production of this magnitude and not leave the audience feeling over or underwhelmed. The theater was an excellent choice venue for the musical as the size was also quite perfect for the soundscape of the musical. The theater was greatly insolated and the reverberation had a nice even balance, not too much and not too little.

The performers came across as very authentic in their delivery and overall appearance on stage. The attire was era and event (circus acts) appropriate and highly characteristic of the individual parts. For example, there was Jake the cannibal who was disfigured with scars and wore almost nothing but a drab fraction of clothing, which really played into the fact that he was a savage. Alternatively, there were Buddy and Terry who were adorned in suits and displayed money like the businessmen they were. Further, the entire stage space was used by the actors who seemed to always be in constant motion throughout unless there was standout solo or duet in which the actors would take center stage while standing in place.

The musical consisted of two different acts. The first act served to be the inspiration and cultivation of the Siamese twins as a viable act while the second act shows them getting past the transition as seasoned performers trying to make it on their own. The orchestra was not really inclusive of the actual production but more so relegated to the background off behind some of the props. The music seemed to always keep pace with the performers never getting ahead or falling behind. Consisting of mostly wind instruments, most of the music was very light and not a lot of dark drab kind of stuff with the major themes sticking to a circus type of repertoire. A great deal of the music was kept to a low volume in order to not overwhelm the dialogue of the actors. The rhythm was pretty swift and upbeat in most pieces only allowing for a few to be slightly slowed and mystical for pieces such as “Come Look At the Freaks.” As for the singing, most if not all of it was straightforward. In order for the audience to understand the dialogue, the ornamentation and accenting had to be kept to a minimum.

All in all the musical was an absolute success judging by the amount of applause by the patrons. While the musical displayed an array of different emotions, it stayed faithful to the ideals of the original musicals orchestrated centuries ago and is sure to make its stamp in UTD’s unique history as well.