Many Sides to Tale of Show-Biz Twins

The title of the powerful “Side Show” is appropriately double-layered. The musical’s protagonists, Daisy and Violet, are forever side by side, as Siamese twins joined at the hip. And they’re discovered in a tawdry, Depression-era side show.

In the course of the musical, they join classier show business circles, yet they learn that it’s impossible to fully transcend their roots.

When the musical opened on Broadway in 1997, its creators may have felt the same way. Their show was in the shadow of “The Lion King,” which opened at about the same time. “Side Show” lost a lot of money.

Now in Southern California, an area where theater is much less commercially oriented, “Side Show” feels like a main event. For the nonprofit Colony Theatre at the mid-size Burbank Center Stage, it should be a thundering success.

It’s hardly a side show in spirit. Daisy and Violet are presented as individuals who must cope with the elusive concepts of how to define themselves and their ties to other human beings. These are not esoteric subjects. The women’s position is a graphic metaphor for universal human concerns.

Indeed, in his quest to portray these women fully, librettist-lyricist Bill Russell may have gone a little too far in creating our initial impression of them. In the context of the blighted circumstances in which we find them, their good-natured resilience seems almost super-human.

However, we soon learn that they have issues dividing them. Daisy wants to be famous; Violet wants a husband and children. They sometimes get on each other’s nerves--a dilemma encapsulated in the amusingly jaunty “Leave Me Alone.”

Russell tells their story simply, allowing the ironies and the larger metaphor to emerge without forcing the issue. Henry Krieger’s music supports the story’s contours with agility and passion.

Nick DeGruccio’s staging honors the creators’ aims. Bradley Kaye’s set is largely abstract and highly mobile so that attention remains on Daisy and Violet and the men in their lives. Occasionally DeGruccio uses the aisles to bring the audience even closer.

Julie Dixon Jackson’s Daisy and Misty Cotton’s Violet have facial features that are as easily distinguishable as their goals. Their singing voices, however, sound similar and equally strong. It’s hardly credible that even someone as craven as their side show boss (Todd Nielsen, with a five o’clock shadow) would describe their untrained singing as “screeching.”

The women move in a way that never violates their physical deformity but also shows how they’ve mastered the limited flexibility that’s available to them.

The two men who take them away from the side show are equally well-drawn. Buddy, who discovers the women and finds himself especially interested in Violet, is portrayed by Mark W. Smith as an awfully nice guy who realizes too late that “nice” isn’t always enough. His voice is on the light side, befitting Buddy’s personality.

By contrast, Kevin Earley’s Terry Connor, the impresario who’s attracted to Daisy, is--despite his smooth veneer--in closer touch with his emotions. “Private Conversation” is a rich showcase for Earley’s often electrifying voice. The evening’s most introspective showstopper, it evolves into a sensual duet with Jackson.

David Jennings plays a fellow side show freak who’s also in love with Violet but finds himself at a disadvantage in her eyes because of his race, a development that adds a poignant twist to the story. Jennings has a fierce presence and a big voice that sounded slightly strained on opening night.

Tom Griffin directs a lively band above the stage on the audience’s left, and the carny heritage of A. Jeffrey Schoenberg’s costumes adds dashes of color to this vivid tale.

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“Side Show,” Burbank Center Stage, 555 N. 3rd St., Burbank. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends April 7. $28-$31. (818) 558-7000. Running time: 3 hours.

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Julie Dixon Jackson...Daisy Hilton

Misty Cotton...Violet Hilton

Mark W. Smith...Buddy Foster

Kevin Earley...Terry Connor

David Jennings...Jake

Todd Nielsen...The Boss

Michael Bonnabel, Bridget Brady, Fernando Christopher, Andrew Djang, Lisa Donahey, Jeremiah James, Alissa-Nicole Koblentz, Christia Mantzke, Matthew Miller, Heather R. Provost, Jose Restrepo, Renee Schell, Merry Simkins, Rob Terrazas, Michael Wallot...Other Roles

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Book and lyrics by Bill Russell. Music by Henry Krieger. Directed by Nick DeGruccio. Set by Bradley Kaye. Lighting by Steven Young. Costumes by A. Jeffrey Schoenberg. Sound by Drew Dalzell. Musical direction by Tom Griffin. Choreography by Matt Raftery. Stage manager Becky Johnson.