Review Roundup: SIDE SHOW Opens on Broadway - All the Reviews!

The completely reimagined revival of Side Show officially opens tonight, November 17, at the St. James Theatre (246 West 44th Street).

Side Show includes new music by multiple Grammy Award winner and Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Tony Award nominee Henry Krieger (Dreamgirls), with book and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Bill Russell and additional book material by Bill Condon, and choreography by Tony and Olivier Award nominee Anthony Van Laast (Mamma Mia!).

Side Show is inspired by the remarkable true story of the Hilton twins, Daisy and Violet, who were legends in their time and the highest paid performers on the vaudeville circuit. Side Show is their heartwarming search for first love and acceptance amidst the spectacle of fame and scrutiny under the spotlight.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Charles Isherwood, The New York Times: This beautiful and wrenching musical, lovingly directed by Bill Condon, asks us to step inside their skins and feel what it's like to be celebrated one moment, rejected the next, and to have the strange consolation of a companion who shares it all: the pain, the joy, the hope, the frustration...As portrayed with layered complexity -- and pin-you-to-your-seat vocal chops -- by Erin Davie and Emily Padgett, the Hilton twins embody an essential truth about the human condition: On some level we are forever divided in our desires and, life being what it is, thwarted in at least some of them. Also: It's just a wonderful musical. Imperfect, yes, but most shows are. And in this engrossing showbiz saga, story and song are knit together with liquid finesse, particularly as newly revised by its authors, with the help of Mr. Condon (the films "Gods and Monsters" and "Dreamgirls"), whose direction mixes the goth and the glam to flavorful effect...The rich, melodic score and a passionate cast bring alive the tumultuous yearnings in the characters' hearts.

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter: Bill Condon's fabulous "revisal" maximizes the material's strengths and minimizes its weaknesses, serving up mesmerizing entertainment veined throughout with haunting poignancy...Condon puts the sideshow exhibits on lurid display, starting with the intoxicating opening number, "Come Look at the Freaks." This has the unexpected effect, however, not of vulgarizing but humanizing not only Daisy and Violet, but their entire "odditorium" family...Davie and Padgett simply couldn't be better...the synchronization of their movements is as remarkable as their exquisite vocal harmonization. Their performances are both symbiotic and beautifully individualized...Irrespective of any awkwardness that creeps into the plot-heavy storytelling, the flaws are never enough to take us out of the show's enveloping world or to compromise our investment in the fates of Violet and Daisy...even when it borders on kitsch, the music pulls you in. It's not a top-tier score but it's a very good one, melodic and memorable despite lyrics that can be a tad literal and emphatic...Side Show may never be a classic musical, but in this superb production it's a hypnotic spectacle that packs an emotional wallop. Step right up.

Marilyn Stasio, Variety: The new, improved "Side Show" smells like a hit. Helmer Bill Condon's shrewd reworking of this short-lived 1997 cult musical by Henry Krieger and Bill Russell...is both darker in tone and lighter in theme than memory has it. Leading ladies Emily Padgett and Erin Davie are perfection as Daisy and Violet Hilton, conjoined twins in real life who were plucked out of a carnival midway by a rascal showman and transformed into vaudeville stars. A lot of things that didn't work in the original version still don't work now, but no question about it, this show has the best freaks on Broadway.

Elysa Gardner, USA Today: It's impossible to see Side Show...and not marvel at how much pop culture and media have changed -- not just over the past century, but also since the show premiered on Broadway 17 years ago...Director Bill Condon's darkly glittering, substantially revised new production of Side Show (***½ out of four stars)...does invite us to question the increasing nonchalance with which we dissect and ridicule public figures of all sorts...Erin Davie and Emily Padgett make the Hiltons convincing as both sisters and wounded survivors. Their bright, resonant sopranos blend impeccably; Davie's Violet tackles the top notes with a delicacy and ardor that emphasize the character's fragility and fear, while Padgett gives Daisy pluck and wit...In the scorching finale, other members of the side show gather upstage as the Hiltons face the merciless glare of the spotlight with a chilling sense of resignation. "Come look at the freaks," they sing, but this Side Show reminds us, at every turn, of the humanity they share with us -- all of us.

Linda Winer, Newsday: The musical about the real-life conjoined Hilton sisters, which crashed and burned in its 1997 premiere, has risen in a revision so radical and deeply satisfying that arguments could be made for calling it new...And with composer Henry Krieger ("Dreamgirls") and author Bill Russell, Condon created a big, old-fashioned, shamelessly entertaining musical that tells its human story while embracing, without forcing, issues beyond the showbiz saga of the sisters' sensational and sad freak show/vaudeville/Hollywood lives...Emily Padgett and Erin Davie are beautifully matched as the twins...While their predecessors in the roles were soaring pop belters, these women blend and contrast with sophisticated delicacy...the staging is so smart that we hardly notice such schlocky remaining lyrics as "You should be cherished like the first bird of springtime." The sisters may sing "goodbye to the side show," but Broadway is saying hello.

Dave Quinn, NBC New York: Those who saw the original 1997 Broadway production might see Condon's "Side Show" as more of a reworking than a revival...Many of the changes work, especially new numbers like "Ready to Play" and "Stuck With You," which present Violet and Daisy at their vaudeville-best...But there are problems...What remains constant in both productions of "Side Show," though, are the near flawless performances by its two leading ladies. Davie and Padgett, like Emily Skinner and Alice Ripley before them, are masterful here. Each colors her twin with a distinguishable personality, yet gracefully moves together as a single unit...They sound great, too, with bright, bold vibratos on display in perfect harmony...There's not a weak link among our ensemble...They do an excellent job at establishing the community among society's outcasts...Still, there's something amiss in this new "Side Show." It could be the polish of Condon's direction, which can leave you feeling empty. Or the production design itself, which appears far more grand and cinematic than the story can support. The danger never feels dangerous enough. The challenges, never that hard to overcome.

Adam Feldman, Time Out NY: ...Bill Condon's darkly sumptuous revival, it really is better than it was. The musical has been extensively rewritten, with many new songs, richer side characters and a clearer let-your-Freaks-flag-fly message. Emily Padgett (as the stardom-eyed Daisy) and Erin Davie (as the shrinking Violet) work marvelously together, achieving both the requisite synchronicity and the trickier discreteness of personality. Ryan Silverman, Matthew Hydzik and the iron-voiced David St. Louis are impressive as their side men, and some scenes are genuinely moving. But while this sincere and stylishly designed production is perhaps the best that Side Show can be, that best, alas, isn't great. Bill Russell's lyrics-the leaden rhymes drilled into Henry Krieger's tunes, the corny banalities of the declarative songs-continually jostle the musical into kitsch.

Joe Dziemianowicz, New York Daily News: For a musical about true-life conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton, the strange and stirring "Side Show" has a nagging habit of losing its grip. Chalk it up to dramatic inconsistencies and thin characterizations. Even so, there's a lot to like about the revised vision...Beyond a laudably offbeat topic, two very good leading ladies and a shadowy, evocative design, this show's most stunning jewels are brilliant songs by composer Henry Krieger and lyricist Bill Russell, who revamped the book with director Bill Condon...Despite its unusual material, this reimagined "Side Show" remains standard singing bio. Par for the course, the tale of two long-forgotten curios zips along quickly but feels like a lot is missing -- and what's here is sanitized...We take a journey with these dreamgirls, but there's no truly satisfying payoff -- or a portrait that goes deeper than the skin.

Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Post: What hasn't changed is the punch delivered by those symbiotic girls. Here Erin Davie plays the retiring Violet, who wants to be "like everyone else/So no one will point and stare." She's attached -- via strong, hidden magnets -- to Emily Padgett's bolder Daisy, who wants to be "like everyone else/But richer and more acclaimed." Both actresses are impeccable, funny and affecting...Inevitably, love complicates matters. If you think relationships are hard, try having one with a conjoined twin...Even after all the surgery, "Side Show" is far from a great musical. The second act piles on heavy-handed calls for tolerance. The production's also handicapped by the blandness of Silverman and Hydzik, who have matinee-idol good looks but little acting depth. Yet this show also has a strange, slightly demented charm, especially in the vaudeville and carnival scenes. And while it makes its plea for tolerance with a big heart, it's not afraid to unleash even bigger anthems.

Matt Windman, AM New York: Although the best parts of the show have not been touched (including virtually the entire second half), the new dialogue and songs and added back-story do not make the show any more effective. If anything, they take away from its sense of momentum. But for the most part, Condon's production is a stunning achievement and a must-see attraction for anyone who cares about serious, Sondheim-style musical theater. Unlike the original production, which was light on design elements, the new "Side Show" is ultra-elaborate and realistic when it comes to depicting the so-called "freaks." Erin Davie and Emily Padgett may lack the starry presence of Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner (the original Violet and Daisy), but they credibly portray the twins and convey their conflicted emotions.

Melissa Rose Bernardo, Entertainment Weekly: If ever there was a show that defines the phrase 'cult musical', it's Side Show...If you saw Side Show the first time around, you may not recognize it...And if you didn't see it the first time around, you're likely to leave asking: what was all the fuss about? Certainly not this leaden, sporadically moving update -- which bears little resemblance to the original production...in giving the girls a backstory...Condon subverts the show's momentum...One aspect such revisions have not messed with: the two linchpins of Side Show's score, the twins' power-ballad duets ''Who Will Love Me As I Am?'' and ''I Will Never Leave You'', both as heart-stopping (and tear-jerking) as ever, and Padgett and Davie are never more connected than they are in those moments...But in making Daisy and Violet's connection literal, the production robs us of a chance to fully relate to the sisters -- even if it is just, as Houdini sings, ''all in the mind.'' C

Robert Hofler, The Wrap: Condon shows musical-theater veterans how it's supposed to be done...Back in 1998, the Tonys nominated the two actors playing Daisy and Violet, but gave them only one nomination to share. It's a credit to Condon, Davie, and Padgett that the Tonys probably won't repeat that mistake; these are two utterly different, equally riveting performances, and Davie and Padgett take divergent paths to win our empathy...Henry Krieger's songs, a few of them new, never sounded this good...Krieger's plaintive melodies now have their own space in which to shimmer. Not fixed, unfortunately, are some of Russell's more pedestrian lyrics, which bring ordinary rhymes to some very extraordinary emotions. But those looking for perfection in the arts should stay home and read Yeats. "Side Show" now takes its place in the pantheon of great American musicals.

Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune: The original production, which starred Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner, is not easily erased from memory...The piece has been revised for this Condon revival, which is a serviceable rendition of the main material with generally solid leading performances, but will, for die-hard fans, be something of a disappointment...The main problem with the production...is simple, although it might sound weird. As played by Erin Davie and Emily Padgett, their charms and clear talents notwithstanding, the twins Violet and Daisy Hilton are too much alike. And thus they're too much of a wash for the show to have the requisite fire...Violet and Daisy must learn to accept their lot, as we all must do, to change what they can and accept what they cannot. But that theme, which is the main pull of the show, can't really operate if they do not first try to wrench themselves away. Instead, this show looks too often toward its own ending...Condon's work is atmospheric and, occasionally, has some richness...The freakishness of "Side Show" has to be as real as the desires of the human exhibit with two bodies, two personalties, two sets of desires and yet only one vehicle for mutual delivery. Davie and Padgett are fine, but they should make you feel like their song is coming from the depths of their own two guts, not one shared.

Jesse Green, Vulture: Despite what seemed like weeks of buzz about its radical transformations, the revival of Side Show that opened on Broadway tonight is not as meaningfully different from the 1997 original as its current creatives would like to think. Now as then, the cult musical about the conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton is itself conjoined. (There's no avoiding the Siamese imagery; many of the songs, and even the title, play on the theme.) The story of the Hiltons' rise from circus freaks to vaudeville stars in the early 1930s, with all the requisite references to cultural voyeurism and its human costs, is fused to an intimate story of emotional accommodation between sisters as unalike as sisters can be. The problem with Side Show is that these stories can't be separated, and only one can thrive.

Michael Glitz, Huffington Post: And yet, putting all that aside the real and tragic problem with Side Show is that I never for a single moment thought I was seeing conjoined twins, two individual sisters with passions and desires of their own who were also connected in every possible way to each other. They merely seemed like two women who just happened to be standing very close to each other. I don't know why. Having heard repeatedly about the magical symbiotic performances of Ripley and Skinner, I was eagerly looking forward to what Davie and Padgett would do. They are good and sing with precision and passion on the big numbers "Who Will Love Me As I Am?" and "I Will Never Leave You." I just never felt they were very well connected.

Peter Marks, Washington Post: But so much of "Side Show" goes so right, you don't mind that it still seems to be wrestling with itself, just a bit. Because you'll struggle a bit, too, as you sort out what you and the rest of the world make and made of Violet and Daisy.

Jennifer Farrar, Associated Press: Whether wearing tattered dresses or sumptuous, sparkling gowns, all designed by Paul Tazewell, Padgett and Davie are always riveting to watch. In the final scene, voluntarily facing yet another arena of exploitation, the twins reflect sadly, "Are we ever to learn/why we've lived as two." Thanks to Krieger's memorable melodies and the stellar cast, the audience will be thinking about the same thing.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

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