Side Show Musical Performance Report

Introduction:

The performance being analyzed in this report is the Sideshow Musical put on by UT Dallas students that was hosted for two weekends. The performance was in the theater room on campus; a still relatively small room, but a room well suited for a theatrical presentation such as this one.

Music:

The music performed during this concert was all performed by the live band and by the performers. The repertoire of music performed during this musical was greatly varied in genre and instrumentation (of both the voices and the band). There were numbers in which almost the entire crew participated, and there were also a numerous amount of solos, each of which were primarily performed by the main characters. The pieces ranged from musical dialogue to jazz pieces, as well as slower, more classical songs typically attributed to musicals.

The fact that a live band played the instrumental parts behind the vocal performers enhanced the quality of the show as a whole. With the live band there, it felt like the performance was being performed for each audience anew, and allowed the focus to lie in the performance as a whole (instrumental music, storyline, and singers) as opposed to solely the singers and the storyline.

Performers:

Although this performance was indeed focused on the music, there were so many other aspects that contributed to the development of the performance as a whole. First, of all, many of the songs had choreography to compliment the musical number. Secondly, all of the performers had to be able to both act and sing. The very essence of this performance being a musical was that there was a storyline connecting all of the musical pieces together in a coherent manner.

The performers were also all dressed in character, helping to enhance the presentation of the musical. In this manner, the audience could generally tell the characteristics of a character based on what costume they were wearing. The performers well adhered to their characters (especially in considering the show was based on a side show of “freaks” in which nearly every character had some peculiar trait or characteristic). The performers were quite successful at staying in character, even when the spotlight wasn’t exclusively on them at the moment. Occasionally, the performers would even interact with the audience within the confines of their character, and the audience members would react accordingly, whether or not it was an expression of fear, surprise, or laughter.

Audience:

I attended this show on the second Friday night it was being performed (the 5^th out of the 6^th performances). Nevertheless, the room still sported a generally full crowd, signifying the popularity of this musical, which is surprising, as generally the size of the audience generally tends to decline over time.

Despite the fact that it was the 5^th performance, the performers still received a standing ovation at the end, signifying that the show was well received by both this audience and most likely the audiences before.

Time and Space:

As mentioned before, the performance was located in the theater room, which helped to establish a closer atmosphere between the audience and the performers, due to the small size of the room, and the close proximity of the audience to the stage itself.

I viewed the performance on a Friday night, which could also have contributed to the full audience. The fact that the performance was on a Friday night could have encouraged more students to come, as it was a way to start off their weekend.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, this performance entailed all of the characteristics of a musical plus more. There was the fact that all elements of the performance were completely live (the band, and the actors / singers). Many numbers also contained choreography. Yet, this performance was also unique, in that there was a relatively close, comfortable atmosphere established between the audience and the performers. Also, still maintaining a standing ovation this late in the series of performances helps to establish the audience support of the quality of the production.

Works Cited:

Sideshow: The Musical. UTD Theater Room, Richardson. 16 April 2010. Performance.