I got to see the first DC performance last night and enjoyed it very much. I did not see the La Jolla production, so cannot tell what has changed since then. But, I had seen the original Broadway production, which I'm a huge fan of. As noted previously, the "freaks" in this production have much more elaborate costuming and make-up. The chorus needs to change into and out of the freak costumes a few times, which is impressive. It was great to see Charity Dawson, who was great in Disaster earlier this year, as the Fortune Teller.
The biggest changes to the story are the addition of a montage related to Daisy and Violet's backstory - their birth, their abusive Auntie, consideration of having the doctors "Cut Them Apart", the assignment of their legal guardianship to Sir, one of Auntie's suitors, their move to the U.S., an attempted escape from Sir, and an encounter with Houdini (who has an unnecessary solo ballad). There is also a focus on the legal proceedings that freed the girls from Sir and allowed them to leave the side show. Other than that, there are fewer production numbers, which allows for the expansion of the story. Less emphasis is placed on the racial storyline with Jake - some of the lyrics in You Should Be Loved have been changed to make Violet less racist. Many of the best songs are still intact, with minor lyric changes. A number of new songs have been added, but I don't think any of them are better than what was already there. I was somewhat unhappy that Tunnel of Love was no longer in the show, but pleased to hear the melody relatively intact in the song Coming Apart at the Seams, which comes at essentially the same part in the show. 1+1=3 has been expanded to a big production number with cupids and cherubs.
The actors playing Terry and Buddy sound incredibly like Jeff and Hugh from Broadway and were both really good. This production makes it much clearer that Buddy is gay, with Terry at one point calling him a "pansy ass." All of the "Say Goodbye to the Freak Show" lyrics have been changed to "Say Goodbye to the Side Show." I guess it is the title of the show after all. I also enjoyed the recreating of Tod Browning's Freaks, which bookends the show.
Erin Davie and Emily Padgett were lovely as Daisy and Violet. David St. Louis handled the demanding role of Jake very well, although it would be tough to be inevitably compared to Norm Lewis, who was flawless.
Henry Krieger was in attendance a couple of rows behind me and was noticeably excited by the standing ovation at the end. All in all, I don't know if it is an overall improvement from the original. The missing production numbers were a lot of fun, but didn't advance the story. The added backstory is interesting and gives it a little more of a documentary feel. If there are Broadway aspirations, its success will really depends on whether audiences will be more likely to attend than they were for the original run.
Updated On: 6/15/14 at 06:43 PM
