The reviews for the revival of Side Show are in, and the critics agree that this production is at least twice as compelling as the 1997 original. As the title gives away, the story features sideshow freaks, including attached twins Violet and Daisy. Though the world of Side Show can be grungy and vile in more ways than one, the final message is touching and reflective of the experience we all face as humans. The production quality is stellar (the makeup design of the sideshow freaks is particularly convincing) and the performances are impressive, especially those from Erin Davie and Emily Padgett as the twins. Those successes combine to somewhat counter the production’s weaknesses and, in the end, deliver a totally revamped Side Show that’s emotional and delightful at once.
NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW
“Being a freak is virtually the new normal, so the timing couldn’t be better for the thrilling Broadway revival of Side Show that blazed open Monday night at the St. James Theater. The musical by Bill Russell and Henry Krieger, about conjoined twins searching for love and fame, or maybe just a half-measure of…”
TIME OUT NEW YORK REVIEW
“When Side Show opened in 1997 for a brief Broadway run, the American musical was in crisis and the show seemed, to some, like a lifeline. If period-Americana tuners about unusual women in conformist worlds were your ball game, then here was a real double-header: the story of Daisy and Violet Hilton, conjoined twi…”
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS REVIEW
“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 of this Depression-era biograp…”
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER REVIEW
“While the commercially disastrous 1997 Broadway run of Side Show generated a substantial cult following, the big surprise for those of us coming to it fresh is that its exotic subject matter — real-life conjoined twin sisters who became fixtures on the 1930s vaudeville circuit — adheres so naturally to the central th…”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY REVIEW
“If ever there was a show that defines the phrase ‘cult musical’, it’s Side Show. Apologies to Chess, Follies, and that telekinetic favorite Carrie. In the 17 years since its premiere, the Bill Russell and Henry Krieger labor of love inspired by the true-life tale of the Hilton sisters—conjoined twins–turned–vau…”
Broadway Musical Blog 