Come look at the Freaks: The relevance of ‘Side Show: The Musical’ today
Come look at the Freaks: The relevance of ‘Side Show: The Musical’ today
Photo by Loreta Arroyo / Feature art by Abigail Manaluz
We are living in the age of cruelty once again — where the rights our elders fought so hard are now being questioned and lambasted by bigots and where wiping an entire nation in the name of ethnic cleansing is supported by other nations. You look at the past and realize not much has changed. Technologies improved, new laws passed, and yet ignorance and hatred remains.
While we celebrate our uniqueness and embrace our identity, there are people who chastise others for being different from the norm. They gawk as if these people are mere cretins undeserving of at least some form of respect. The current media landscape gives a platform to everyone, from performers to viewers. For the bigoted viewers, their words pierce and wound many, including those who wish to be accepted by society, who only long to walk in the streets freely, not for the eyes of the wanderers to judge them and their whispers of disgust loom in the air.
News records this persisting reality and The Sandbox Collective knows. After drowning our ears from multitudes of news clippings concerning issues of today, we are suddenly transported to the age of vaudeville and freak shows. Suddenly, we are watching a side show, where everyone has a special ability and uncanniness in them. While we are amused at their extraordinary display of talents, this is not the reason the spotlight is focused on them. Their deformities are out in the open, free to be mocked by anyone from the crowd. Sadly, this is the only way they could keep on living, for the world rejects the likes of them.
This is what the bigots want for the people they see as not equal to them: to drive them out of the society while still needing them for these people are their only form of entertainment. While minorities beg to be seen as normal and accepted by many, the outdated mindset of the bigots cannot seem to accept them, despite having flaws of their own. For this reason alone, Sandbox Collective made good in choosing Side Show: The Musical as their third offering this year for how it painfully reflects our society today, giving us a reminder that every person we consider as freaks are still people and shouldn’t be reduced to such a thing.
Photo by Loreta Arroyo
Set in the 1920s, Side Show: The Musical is the fictional retelling of the lives of Hilton twins, real-life vaudeville performers, as they navigate the world after their sudden rise to fame. The musical ultimately showed their hardships and the struggles they faced as we slowly realize their distinct differences and aspirations and how, despite their fame, they cannot seem to be truly successful for people still see them as freaks, something derogatory, and not as human beings. After all, all they longed for is to be loved for who they are and not to be robbed of that chance.
The harsh truth of that era is that it was not as progressive as we are in the present now. Those who sympathize with them still felt the societal pressure of marrying someone who is half of a Siamese twin. Terry and Buddy ultimately fail the twins at the end and the twins, Daisy and Violet, are left to fend for themselves. They bravely fierce it, despite the rocky road ahead awaits.
The use of camera projection is something similar to Jamie Lloyd’s approach to his theatrical directorial works, most recently in his production of Evita starring Rachel Zegler. This was not used for trendy purposes, my friends. We tend to sensationalize rising stars as much as we can and use their popularity for profit; they are turned into spectacle. We often forget that these are human beings, with emotions and all. The production excellently used this technique both to highlight the oversensationalism that happens to an artist and to give us a more intimate view of the characters and their state while they were on their rise. We see the twins in their dressing room arguing over their clashing aspirations and we also see how they try to mask their dreadful faces and play the role of a happy couple as Violet and Buddy wed at the end of the show.
Photo by Loreta Arroyo
The product of Sandbox Collective’s efforts is a more humanized look at each character in the show and every decision they made for this production is made with empathy and understanding. It was helpful that Toff de Venecia had history with the musical, having done this before with Ateneo Blue Repertory, for his knowledge and love for the piece helped elevate the show. The updated take on the musical reveals the relevance of the show today.
The Sandbox Collective’s Side Show: The Musical opened last July 26 at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Black Box Theater, Circuit Makati and will run until August 17. Tickets are still available.
SINEGANG.ph is one of the media partners of The Sandbox Collective’s Side Show: The Musical
