New 'Side Show' brings thrills, chills, compassion
9 / 10
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.
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