Broadway's cult fave Side Show to be reimagined at La Jolla and Kennedy Center

Great news! I would love to see this show come back to Broadway and receive the acclaim it deserves. I saw the original and was moved by the story and the gorgeous score. The production was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical.


From Playbill:

Erin Davie and Emily Padgett will co-star as conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton in the La Jolla Playhouse-Kennedy Center co-production of Side Show, the Tony Award-nominated musical by Henry Krieger and Bill Russell, which will return to the stage in a new incarnation directed by Academy Award winner Bill Condon this fall.

Condon ("Dreamgirls") has given new dramatic shape to the dark, pop-driven musical that has a score by Krieger (Dreamgirls) and Russell (Elegies for Angels...), who also wrote the book, and contains numerous stand-out songs, including "Who Will Love Me As I Am?"

A source close to the production told Playbill.com that the creative team is hopeful for a Broadway run following Side Show's engagements at the La Jolla Playhouse (Nov. 5-Dec. 15) and The Kennedy Center (June 14-July 13, 2014).

My personal feeling is that the original lacked a cohesive marketing campaign. Everyone who eventually saw the show loved it, it seemed. But getting butts in the seats was difficult as the campaign didn't really make clear the content of the show (see the original at left). Most people just heard the phrase "freak show" and thought it would be creepy or something.

Over the past 15 years the show has developed quite the cult following. And deservedly so.

Good luck to Condon and the cast. Hope to see the show soon.