[NEohioPAL] Review of "Side Show" at Blank Canvas Theatre

[Bob Abelman]

Blank Canvas’ walks the precarious tightrope that is ‘Side Show’



Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics



So the elephant act in the room is that the 2014 Broadway revival of Bill Russell and Henry Krieger’s “Side Show” – a musical about the real-life carnival life of conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton – was as short-lived as the original 1997 production, which closed after just 91 performances.



The revival delves deeper into the backstory of the twins.  And it tightens its focus on their personal journey in the 1930s from obscurity to fame to heartbreak at the hands of promoter Terry Connor and trainer Buddy Foster.  



But the reasons for the show’s inability to find an audience beyond a cult following can still be found in its current production at Blank Canvas Theatre.  And, with a theater company that produces big musicals with small budgets on a small stage, director Patrick Ciamacco introduces a few problems of his own amidst some significant triumphs.



For more of this article, go to www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/
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