Foothill Music Theatre: "Side Show"

Left to right: Jessica LaFever, Lauren Meyer, Edward Clark. Photo courtesy David Allen.

Buried in the file drawer of Broadway history is the 1997 musical Side Show, based on the lives of conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton. Despite the high-concept premise, Side Show is a surprisingly grounded exploration of disability, show business, and heartbreak packaged within complex musical numbers written by Henry Krieger, also responsible for the smash hit Dreamgirls. Foothill Music Theatre’s adaptation is an excellent performance of one of the American theatre’s forgotten gems.

Musically, Side Show is complex on two different levels. On the micro level sits Henry Krieger’s fast, dense lyrics, displaying intricacy in their construction as much as they make you hum along. At the macro level, the placement of the songs is unique; unlike most musicals, where the numbers are placed in a neat little sequence, many of Side Show’s songs are folded into one another like the Arabian Nights. This unusual structure is enough to pique the interest of even the most jaded theatre attendee.

At the core of the show are the aforementioned twins, played by Jessica LaFever (Daisy) and Lauren Meyer (Violet). Violet and Daisy have different goals  – Daisy wants worldwide fame, while Violet wants a quiet home life – but they are refreshingly supportive of each other. Despite their bizarre circumstances, they have the least dysfunctional relationship of anyone in the play, and LaFever and Meyer act, with all the petty squabbling it implies, as true sisters. The actors their behavior – in relative privacy, their extroverted/introverted dichotomy is more obvious, while in their side show and vaudeville performances, they act almost completely in sync.

The rest of the cast matches LaFever and Meyers’ acting talent. Buddy (Tarif Pappu) plays Violet’s love interest, a choreographer who wants the twins to make it big as much as he wants to shine on stage himself. Pappu charges the role with the innocence and kindness it requires, gradually changing his pity for affection over the course of the play. Terry (Sean Okuniewicz) is the most business-minded of the main cast, with Okuniewicz obscuring whether he’s helping the Hiltons for the money or out of a genuine sense of care. The most complex character, narratively speaking, is Jake (Edward Clark), the former sideshow cannibal who follows the twins through their show business career; his protective nature and cautiousness about anything new, combined with Clark’s incredible singing voice, creates an unforgettable character.

Side Show at Foothill has many excellent attributes, but perhaps the best is that I genuinely did not know what was going to happen next. The intriguing plot and musical structure, combined with the acting company’s heartfelt performances and excellent singing, provokes a genuine sense of suspense. Side Show is highly recommended for anyone who loves musicals and wants to see something a little bit different. Side Show is not to be missed.

Theatreworks: Life of the Party

London cast. Photo courtesy CB-PR and Alastair Muir. 

While most well known for his Broadway hits Big Fish and The Addams Family, lyricist and composer Andrew Lippa has created a wide portfolio of theatrical projects, many of which received productions at Theatreworks over the years. Life of the Party, running at the theatre company’s Mountain View venue, collects the best of Lippa’s songs in a revue tied together by his recollections of the writing process.

Lippa himself is the main character of the show, performing on the piano and in song. In between numbers, he displays a ringmaster-like wit, joking around with the audience and playing on their expectations of how to behave during a concert. The production feels less like a parade of Lippa’s greatness and more like a private performance after dinner: He laughs, he jokes, and at times he’s vulnerable.  The rest of the cast has serious experience: Damian Humbley worked on Sondheim shows in the West End, Teal Wicks was Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway, and Sally Ann Triplett has a number of top-level accolades to her name.

The songs themselves vary from goofy to heartfelt, from innocent to raunchy, and from Lippa’s most established musicals to numbers from shows he never finished. Included near the end of the show is a preview from his adaptation of classic children’s book The Man in the Ceiling, a taste of something that might arrive at TheatreWorks in the future. There’s something for everyone in Life of the Party, whether they prefer songs with complex lyrical structure, satisfying scoring and instrumentation, or just a fun theme and jokes.

Morgan Large’s set reflects the mélange of shows and influences present in the revue. Numerous objects and pictures, including a loving portrait of Lippa’s artistic idol Stephen Sondheim, decorate the multi-story shelves bracing the stage. They light up when songs from their relevant show comes onstage, but even without emphasis, their presence tempts people familiar with Lippa’s work as to the numbers to come. More than anything, the technical work takes advantage of the way live theatre presents multiple places for the audience to pay attention.

Life of the Party at Theatreworks collects the composing and performing talent of Andrew Lippa in a fun and glamorous revue. If you’re looking for an evening of fun without much structure, want to acquaint yourself with the works of a Bay Area musical theatre steadfast, or especially if you’re already a fan of his, the show is definitely worth checking out.

Palo Alto Players: Chicago

Left to right: Elizabeth Santana, Janelle LaSalle. Photo courtesy Palo Alto Players.

Chicago occupies a space alongside Cabaret as one of the best musicals of Kander and Ebb’s storied career. More light-hearted and macabre than its sister show, Chicago ties together satire of American celebrity criminals, the transitory nature of fame, and the excesses of the Roaring Twenties with a ragtime bow. Palo Alto Players’ version, under the direction of Jamie Scott, employs a talented vocal cast and gutsy choreography to create a Chicago that is dark, sexy, and most of all, entertaining.

Janelle LaSalle stars as literal femme fatale Velma Kelly, becoming more and more distraught as newcomer Roxie Hart (Elizabeth Santana) steals her chance at the spotlight. If Roxie is the dramatic heart of the show, Velma is the comedic; LaSalle plays her with a delightful vindictive streak. As unfortunate as her circumstances have become, LaSalle convinces us that Velma Kelly is not to be pitied.

Billy Flynn, a sleazy lawyer and male lead of the show, is one of the pivotal roles of the show. In this production, he is performed by Michael Monagle, a former corporate attorney who returns to the stage after a 20-year hiatus. Despite two decades away from the stage, Monagle doesn’t miss a beat as he grandstands and flim-flams with flair to match Flynn’s gigantic ego. Combined with frequent costume changes and elaborate choreography, Monagle’s acting demonstrates that Flynn has risen from the dirty world of celebrity crime to pull the strings from behind the scenes.

In a cast brimming with excellent vocalists, the best among them has to be Jennifer Taylor Daniels, a Santa Cruz jazz/blues vocalist who plays the part of capitalistic prison ringleader Matron “Mama” Morton. Though, sadly, she only gets two numbers, she displays an impressive acting range within them: A powerful matriarch in “When You’re Good to Mama” and a dejected colleague to Velma in “Class.” Daniels’ comedic skills and belting ability make her the perfect fit for Mama Morton.

The set, designed by Patrick Klein and lit by Nicholas Kumamoto, features a lavish stairway set common to early 20^th-century variety shows, braced by rows of prison cells. Kumamoto’s lighting makes frequent use of spotlights upon the dreary, gray set, adding subtle splashes of color and playing into the themes of dramatic ego present in the musical. This set gives the impression of location and time without being too specific, complimenting Chicago’s lean script and winking acknowledgement that it’s a show.

Palo Alto Players’ Chicago represents the theatre group’s ambition as a community theatre. Not content to take the obvious routes when producing crowd-favorite musicals, Palo Alto Players takes artistic risks and makes bold statements. Combined with intelligent set design and a well-chosen cast, Chicago is a must-see production.