Performance Report 2

This performance report is about the “Side Show: The Musical” performance held in the UT Dallas University Theatre and directed by Kathryn Evans, with Winston Stone directing an all-student orchestra. The performance entitles a variety of scenes about two conjoined twins named Daisy and Violet Hilton, who make a change from being a circus act to becoming famous stage performers in the 1930s. This performance was made from Bill Russell’s book, lyrics and Henry Krieger music; the composer of Dreamgirls. As stated in the program notes the, “Side Show opened on Broadway in fall 1997 and was nominated for four Tony Awards in 1998 due to featuring popular numbers, "I Will Never Leave You" and "Who Will Love Me As I Am".”(Program Notes)

Throughout the entire performance all the singers/actors were very involved and key to the performance. On the day that I attend the, “Side Show: The Musical” performance was a free public event in which I saw mostly UTD students but a small amount of faulty and parents as well. The performance itself was open to outsiders of the music-culture and the people in attendance to gain knowledge from the event are the outsiders. The observers with music backgrounds and knowledge about the skit are the insiders. As a result of such a popular performance there was a full house and lots of people who don’t usually attend events. Even before a scene was finished the audience would start clapping and cheering. For the first time I could really feel the energy from the crowd. After intermission there were still people coming in to see the side show. My daughter and boyfriend actually came doing intermission to see the show. When the “Side Show: The Musical” was over there were long and loud cheers from the crowd as each performer came back out to bow. In the music performance there was a mixture of races and a range of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass singers. As far as rhythm goes most of the songs were fairly brief in clock time and held constant harmony. There was a live orchestra playing throughout the entire side show performance. The director of the orchestra, Winston Stone signaled the loudness of the music and helped to maintain the melody. The texture of the overall performance would be polyphony because there is more than one independent melody that is occurring at the same time with a musical composition that uses simultaneous, largely independent, melodic parts, lines, or voices. Some of the musical instruments played was a piano in which is consider the resonator, drums, saxophone, tambourine, flute, and many other instruments. The two twins in the show sung most of the high pitches and lead most of the songs. There were a total of about twenty-five singers/actors and an all-student orchestra. The orchestra was set at the back of the stage so that it wouldn’t interfere with the actors moving and changing the set. All of the musicians had books with lyrics of there music to keep track while performing. The actors/singers wore a variety of costumes depending on the setting of the skit. All of the actors/singers costumes were colorful, neat, and easily changeable. The performance consisted of both male and female actors and musicians. All of the musicians were dressed in black and white business attire. I noticed that a lot of the young lady wore loud color lipstick. In this performance the actors/ singers used props such as crates, signs, glass cups, and other objects to bring additional expression to there performance. Sense the performance was held in the University Theater the performance was able to be more interesting because of the special effects with the light, the selection of different props, and how well the space of the stage was used. On Thursday, April 8, 2010 around eight o’clock I attended the “Side Show: The Musical” performance which was held in the University Theatre. I attend the above event on that day because I wanted to see the event when it first premiered and it was convenient for me as a student because I was already on campus getting off of work. The performance experience of UT-Dallas’ production was enormously energetic with cheers and giggles from the audience because it was opening night. The setting of the “Side Show: The Musical” was set based in the “depression-era of the 1930s and culminating at the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition at the Cotton Bowl.” “The Side Show examines what it means to be different and find your place in the world.” (Program notes)

In conclusion, if you were unable to make it to such a wonderful event you really missed out on a fantastic performance but I imagine that you can now acquire a sense of the “Side Show: The Musical” performance from reading my performance report.

Works Cited: Evans, Kathryn. Stone, Winston. Program notes. Side Show: The Musical. April 8, 2010. Richardson: University Theatre. (Evans) (Stone)