On Thursday, April 15, 2010, the University of Texas at Dallas’s School of Arts and Humanities did a musical production of Side Show the Musical in the University Theatre. Side Show the Musical is a story of conjoined twins Daisy and Violet transitioning and making a big change in their life from being merely a circus act to becoming recognized stage performers. They are what you call an “overnight sensation” as stated by the first piece in the second half of Act II.
The performance repertoire was overall diverse and nothing like anything I have ever heard before. The music performed contained a lot of dynamic contrast and remarkable melodies and harmonies intertwined together. Usually as the relative highness of the pitch increased then the loudness dynamics increased creating a more intense and enchanting sound. The vast amounts of crescendos and decrescendos throughout the musical kept the pieces vigorous and pleasing to the ears. The tone of the overall musical could be described as intense, sinister, brilliant, smooth, and rich altogether. There was a variety of rhythm in Side Show the Musical. The tempo was constantly changing, going as slow as largo and going as fast as presto. The rhythm was never stagnant, keeping the repertoire from being dull and mundane.
Considering the fact that the first piece in Act I was “Come Look At The Freaks,” the performers were all, as you can imagine, lively and abnormal. The majority of the characters in the musical play were unusual in a way. Daisy and Violet were Siamese twins but together the moved and flowed together melodiously and gracefully. The Cannibal King, Jake was rather intimidating towards the beginning of the play. He interacted with the audience and approached an audience member and became up close and personal. I am sure the unfortunate spectator was startled. The performers all moved together very well and interacted amongst each other on stage well. The relationship between the Cannibal King and the Fat Lady was especially touching and emotive.
The audience consisted of mostly students seeing as it was a free and informal event. This performance was open to outsiders of its music culture. The audience had a positive reaction towards the performance. Everyone in the audience seemed to be enjoying him or herself because the musical play was not normal and traditional. Almost everything was sung or put in song and the characters were appealing to the audience because each character had a distinct feature. There were times when a certain character in the musical would actually make eye contact and talk to the audience, especially The Boss. The Boss frequently made eye contact with the audience, which made it feel like he was talking to the audience throughout the majority of the play. Since the performance was on a Thursday at 8PM in the University Theatre, the students who came out to watch were all done with classes and were getting ready for the weekend which would impact the amount of cheers and feedback from the audience. The performance experience of UT Dallas’ production of Side Show the Musical had a lot of abundantly vigorous and a considerable amount of cheers from the audience.
Side Show the Musical tackles the “themes of self-acceptance and identity” (Evans). The musical lets the audience know that it is okay to be out of the ordinary and different from everyone you meet, to be a “freak” and “have people stop and stare” (Evans). All the main characters in Side Show the Musical go through a journey trying to find themselves (Evans). Everything about Side Show the Musical captivated the audience, with its orchestral accompaniment and peculiarly striking characters.
Evans, Kathryn. Program notes. Side Show the Musical. 15 April 2010. Richardson: Venue.
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