The 1997 musical Side Show, about Daisy and Violet Hilton, real-life conjoined twins who exploited their congenital oddity in circuses of the 1930s, was either ahead of its time or simply too weird for a mainstream Broadway audience.
It lasted a mere 91 performances in New York, losing its entire investment. It was nominated for four Tony Awards, including best musical, but lost them all. But many who did see it became passionate fans of the show, which took on cult status.
All in all, it is an ideal show for Slow Burn Theatre Company, which enjoys not playing it safe.
“We’re very risky,” says co-artistic director Patrick Fitzwater, the production’s director/choreographer. “I think that’s one of the downfalls of theater right now: People just aren’t taking big enough risks. Without risk there is no reward.”
The fact that Side Show has such a short run on Broadway was not worrisome to Fitzwater, but an attraction. “I can really go into it with an open mind,” he explains. “Since not a lot of people know it, they’re not looking for certain images, certain nuances. So that’s kind of nice; there’s nothing really to compare it to.”
Although Side Show loomed as the riskiest show on Slow Burn’s schedule when it was first announced, now Fitzwater is not so sure. “Believe it or not, ‘Sweeney Todd’ comes across as riskier for audiences,” he says, referring to the company’s next show. “Since people do know ‘Sweeney,’ they either love it or they hate it. This one at least you come in with no pre-conceived notions.”
While the show takes place almost 80 years ago, Fitzwater feels it has modern resonances. “It’s very reality TV,” he submits. “Remember the Octomom? Or like Honey Boo Boo and all those, where people are watching it for the sheer tragedy of it all. If you date that, it goes way back to the freak shows and what-not, people using their oddities to be put on display, to make money from it.”
We assume that we have little in common with Daisy and Violet Hilton, but lyricist-book writer Bill Russell makes us identify with the “Siamese twin” sisters. “They do turn it back on the audience at the end, asking us to look at our own freakdom,” Fitzwater says. “Even though they’re conjoined at the hips, they’re just two real girls. They each have different personalities, they each have different wants. The sad part is they have to give up some of their wants so that the other one can have hers.
“I identify with these women. They break my heart every night,” he says. “I don’t know if there’s much of a lesson to be learned from it, I just think you really get a sense for these girls, and they break your heart.”
Fitzwater first got to know the show from its score, by Henry Krieger, who wrote a little show called Dreamgirls. “I love the score. It goes all over the place. It has a lot of pop ballads in it, but it also goes from gospel to blues to dirty rag. It’s very eclectic.” If you listen carefully, you can hear the influence of Krieger’s work on Dreamgirls. “Oh, yeah, you can hear it in there. The horn section is where you’re going to start hearing the ‘Dreamgirls’ stuff, the bright trumpet sections and the sax section. It has a very ‘Dreamgirls’ drive to it.”
Adding to the risk Slow Burn is taking with Side Show, Fitzwater has cast as the Hilton twins two women ― Kaela Antolino and Courtney Poston ― who are making their professional debuts. Fitzwater is not worried.
“They are a force to be reckoned with,” he enthuses. “It’s their first truly professional assignments. But I’ll tell you what, I could not have asked for anybody better. Believe me, you’ve going to be seeing and hearing a lot from them.”
Fitzwater is pretty confident that Side Show will blow your mind. “I can’t wait to see how the audience reacts after the opening number. I think people will almost jump out of their seats,” he says. “That’s how powerful it is.”
SIDE SHOW, Slow Burn Theatre Company, West Boca Community High School, 11281 West Glades Road, Boca Raton. Through Sunday, Feb. 10. Tickets: $35. Call: (866) 811-4111.