(Photo by Parker M. Photography)
The New World School of the Arts High School music theater students will present the award-winning musical Side Show just in time to welcome the holiday season.
With book and lyrics by Bill Russell and music by Henry Krieger with additional book material by Bill Condon, the musical is directed by NWSA theater faculty member Matthew Buffalo.
“I have always been drawn to the music of Side Show,” Buffalo explained. “However, as I started my directorial research, the message of the show drew me in even further. On the surface, Side Show can be seen as a heartwarming musical about the love of two sisters and the fascinating world of the freak shows of the past. After taking a closer look at the core of the musical, you will find a beautiful story of acceptance.”
Opening performance of Side Show is Friday, Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m. Additional presentations are: Nov. 23, Dec. 6 and 7 at 7:30 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24 and Dec. 8, in Louise O. Gerrits Theater. 25 NE Second St., eighth floor. General admission is $12; students and seniors, $5. Tickets available at http://nwsa.mdc.edu/. For more information call 305-237-3541.
Inspired by the remarkable lives of entertainers and conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton, Side Show delves into the exploitative world of the freak shows and its effects. The Hilton twins were popular stage performers between the 1920s and the 1950s. They were born in 1908 in Brighton, England and were raised by the midwife at their birth, Mary Hilton, who treated the girls as though they were her property and forced them to perform as early as age 3. For years, they sang, danced and played instruments at circuses, carnivals and fairs. They were popular in England, as well as Australia, where they toured, but it was not until they arrived in the United States in 1916 that they became stars.
