‘Side Show’ revival officially heading to Broadway

The new revival of the musical “Side Show” that opened at the La Jolla Playhouse last fall and recently ran at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington is officially heading to Broadway, opening Nov. 17 at the St. James Theatre in New York.

“Side Show,” directed by Bill Condon, tells the dark story of Daisy and Violet Hilton, conjoined twins who become part of a carnival-esque vaudeville act. The musical first opened on Broadway in 1997 but wasn’t a box-office hit, closing after fewer than 100 performances.

The new Broadway production will star Emily Padgett and Erin Davie, who played the twins during the runs in La Jolla and Washington. In the original Broadway production, the twins were played by Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner.

“Side Show” is scheduled to begin preview performances in New York on Oct. 28. The production will mark Condon’s directorial debut on Broadway. Condon won an Academy Award for his screenplay for the 1998 movie “Gods and Monsters” and has directed the movie “Dreamgirls” and two installments of the “Twilight” series.

The musical has undergone revisions since it was last seen in New York. “This retooled version doesn’t solve all the musical’s problems, but it capitalizes on the lurid showbiz milieu and it powerfully magnifies the heart of this more or less true tale of the Hilton sisters,” Times critic Charles McNulty wrote in his review of the La Jolla production.

Twitter: @DavidNgLAT