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Elly del Sarto in c. 1910

In America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair or other such attraction.

Types of attractions[link]

There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions:

The "Ten-in-One" offers a program of ten sequential acts under one tent for a single admission price. The ten-in-one might be partly a freak show exhibiting "human oddities" (including "born freaks" such as midgets, giants or persons with other deformities, or "made freaks" like tattooed people, fat people or "human skeletons"- extremely thin men often "married" to the fat lady, like Isaac W. Sprague). However, for variety's sake, the acts in a ten-in-one would also include "working acts" who would perform magic tricks or daredevil stunts. In addition, the freak show performers might also perform acts or stunts, and would often sell souvenirs like "giant's rings" or "pitch cards" with their photos and life stories. The ten-in-one would often end in a "blowoff" or "ding," an extra act not advertised on the outside, which could be viewed for an additional fee. The blowoff act would be described provocatively, often as something deemed too strong for women and children, such as pickled punks.

The "Single-O" is a single attraction, for example a single curiosity like the "Bonnie and Clyde Death Car" or Hitler's staff car,^[1][2] a "Giant Rat" (actually usually a nutria) or other unusual animal, a "What Is It?" (often a convincing but artificial monstrosity like the Fiji Mermaid) or a geek show often billed as "See the Victim of Drug Abuse."

A "Museum Show" which might be deceptively billed as "World's Greatest Freaks Past and Present," is a sideshow in which the exhibits are usually not alive. It might include tanks of piranhas or cages with unusual animals, stuffed freak animals or other exotic items like the weapons or cars allegedly used by famous murderers. Some of the exhibits might even be dummies or photographs of the billed attractions. It could still be truthfully billed with the claim "$1,000 reward if not absolutely real — please do not touch or feed the animals on exhibit".The Single-O and the Museum Show are usually operated as "grind shows," meaning that patrons may enter at any time, viewing the various exhibits at their leisure.

Decaying sideshow advertisement, Florida, 1966

A "Girl Show" was sometimes offered in which women were the primary attraction. These could range from the revue (such as a "Broadway Revue") with fully clothed performers to the racier "kootch" or "hootchie-kootchie" show (a strip show) which might play either partly clothed or "strong" (nude).^[3]

Sideshow arts[link]

"Working acts" often exhibited a number of stunts that could be counted on to draw crowds. These stunts used little-known methods and offered the elements of danger and excitement. Although the mainstream media often explained fanciful methods of performing these acts, the real secret was usually that there is no secret, you just do it. Such acts included fire eating, sword swallowing, knife throwing, body piercing, lying on a bed of nails, walking up a ladder of sharp swords, and more. The renewed attention to these feats has prompted a new round of oversimplified or inaccurate explanations, leading some inexperienced people to attempt them without adequate training often resulting in injury and sometimes even death.

Decline and revival[link]

Painting on sideshow truck, firebreather, Florida, 1966

Interest in sideshows declined as television made it easy (and free) to see the world's most exotic attractions. Moreover, viewing "human oddities" became distasteful as the public conscience changed, and many localities passed laws forbidding the exhibition of freaks.^{[citation needed]} The performers often protested (to no avail) that they had no objection to the sideshow, especially since it provided not only a good income for them, but in many cases it provided their only possible job. The sideshow seemed destined for oblivion, until only a few exemplars of the ten-in-one remained. A greater number of "Single O" attractions still tour carnivals.

In the early 1990s former phone salesman Jim Rose developed a modern sideshow called "the Jim Rose Circus", reinventing the sideshow with two types of acts that would attract modern audiences and stay within legal bounds. The show featured acts reviving traditional sideshow stunts and carrying some of them to extremes, and "fringe" artists (often exhibiting extreme body modification) performing bizarre or masochistic acts like eating insects, lifting weights by means of hooks inserted in their body piercings, or stapling currency to their forehead. The show drew audiences at venues unknown to old-time sideshows, like rock clubs and the 1992 Lollapalooza festival. The Jim Rose Circus held its last known performance in 2005 at the Fright Dome at Circus Circus in Las Vegas^{[citation needed]}, but some of its performers still tour individually. At the same time in Canada, Scott McClelland, grandson of itinerant showman N.P. Lewchuk, formed Carnival Diablo, a show that performs frequently to this day. The success of these shows sparked a growing number of performers to revive the traditional sideshow arts, taught by sideshow veterans, and many now perform in spot engagements from rock clubs and comedy clubs to corporate events. "Sideshows by the Seashore", sponsored by Coney Island USA in Brooklyn, NY has performed since 1983, and tours under the name "Coney Island Circus Sideshow". Circus Historian and collector Ken Harck runs the Brothers Grim Sideshow, which toured with the OzzFest music festival in the summer of 2006 and 2007. [1]

In Australia, the 2007 Sydney Royal Easter Show also introduced a sideshow program amongst its attractions.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

• "A Pictorial History of the American Carnival," by Joe McKennon (Popular Press, Bowling Green, Ohio. Copyright 1972 by Joe McKennon.)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sideshow performers

• americancarny.com American Carny: True Tales from the Circus Sideshow
• Showhistory.com: History of the Sideshow
• Sideshow World Preserving the Past....Promoting the Future of Sideshow
• Dictionary of Carnival and Sideshow Slang
• House of Deception bibliography of sideshow history
• Blue Mushroom Sirkus Psyshow Official Homepage.

Barry Biggs (born 1947, although some accounts list 1953;^[1] St. Andrew, Jamaica) is a reggae singer, best known in the UK for his cover of the Blue Magic song, "Sideshow", which got to #3 in the UK Singles Chart in 1977.^[2]

Career[link]

Biggs worked as an recording engineer and cameraman with the Jamaican Broadcasting Company, and also spent time as a member of the band the Astronauts, before becoming the lead singer for Byron Lee's Dragonaires.^[1][3]

It was at Lee's Dynamic Sounds studio (where he also worked as a producer and engineer) that Biggs recorded his first Jamaican hit, a cover of The Osmonds' "One Bad Apple".^[1][3] He broke through to international success in 1976 with "Work All Day", which had been recorded seven years earlier.^[1][3] Biggs had six hit singles on the UK Singles Chart between 1976 and 1981, the most successful of these, "Sideshow", reaching #3 in January 1977.^[4] He recorded two songs with Bunny Lee; "Sincerely" and "You're Welcome" which did well in reggae charts.^[3] He topped the reggae chart in the UK with "Wide Awake in a Dream" and "A Promise is a Comfort to a Fool".^[3]

Many of Biggs' recordings were reggae cover versions of popular soul hits, including songs such as Stevie Wonder's "My Cherie Amour"; "Sideshow" and "Three Ring Circus" by Blue Magic; and others originally by The Chi-Lites, The Moonglows ("Sincerely"), and The Temptations ("Just My Imagination").^[5] Unlike many of his contemporaries, he avoided the political and Rasta themes then popular in Jamaica.^[1]

Biggs continued to perform occasionally in the 2000s, notably at a service of thanksgiving for his former bandleader, Byron Lee, in 2008.^[6]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Mr. Biggs - (1976) - Dynamic Sounds (also issued in 1977 as Side Show)
• Sincerely - (1977) - Dynamic Sounds
• Wide Awake In A Dream - (1980) - Starlight
• A Promise Is A Comfort To A Fool - (1982)
• Barry Biggs & The Inner Circle - (1983) - Trojan
• Coming Down With Love (1983) - Ariola
• So In Love - (1989) - Starlight
• Wide Awake - (1990) - Mango
• Night Like This - (1994) - WEA
• Love Come Down - (2000) - Wesgram Records

Compilations[link]

• Sideshow: The Best of Barry Biggs - (1995) - Jamaican Gold
• Vintage Series: Barry Biggs - (2001) - VP
• Just My Imagination - (2002) - Disky Records
• Sideshow: The Very Best of Barry Biggs - (2002) - Music Club
• Sideshow (The best of) - (2004) - Trojan
• Reggae Max - (2007) - Jet Star

Chart singles[link]

• "Work All Day" (1976) UK #38
• "Sideshow" (1976) UK #3
• "You're My Life" (1977) UK #36
• "Three Ring Circus" (1977) UK #22
• "What's Your Sign Girl" (1979) UK #55
• "Wide Awake In A Dream" (1981) UK #44^[2]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Barry Biggs biography at the Allmusic website
• Mini biography at Kinkyjam.com
• Discography at Roots Archives

Alice Ripley
self portrait
Born	(1963-12-14) December 14, 1963 (age 48)
Occupation	actor, singer, songwriter, and mixed media artist
Awards	2009 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical; 2009 Helen Hayes Award for Best Actress in a Musical
Website
Official site

Alice Ripley is an American actor, singer, songwriter, and mixed media artist known for her various roles on Broadway in musicals, including the Pulitzer Prize winning Next to Normal (2009 Tony Award, Best Actress in a Musical) and Side Show (1998 Tony nomination). She has also written and produced albums with her band, RIPLEY.

RIPLEY's new single, "Beautiful Eyes", was released on 2/21/12^[1] and the accompanying music video on 4/17/12.^[2]

On 2/15/11, co-producer Sh-K-Boom Records released Alice Ripley Daily Practice, Volume 1, a stripped-down collection of acoustic rock covers with Ripley accompanying herself on guitar.^[3]

Ripley stars opposite Kathleen Chalfant in the upcoming feature, Isn't It Delicious?, by Aquapio Films, a black comedy to be released this year.^[4]

Current endeavors[link]

• Starting December 6, 2011, Ripley has been doing a series of concerts in New York City entitled Alice Ripley's Daily Practice.

• "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"^[5]

Education[link]

Ripley went to DePauw University, majoring in Vocal Performance. She then transferred to Kent State University and received a BFA in Musical Theatre.

Career[link]

Early work[link]

While at DePauw University and Kent State University, Ripley performed in numerous stage productions. Her first paid acting job was summer stock at the Red Barn Theatre in Frankfort, IN. Following college, she was active in community theatre in San Diego, CA, and subsequently received her Actor's Equity card at the La Jolla Playhouse through a production of Silent Edward, a musical written by Des McAnuff, who was Artistic Director of the La Jolla Playhouse at the time and who would later direct Ripley in her Broadway debut, The Who's Tommy.

Broadway[link]

In her 1993 debut, Ripley played a Local Lass and the Specialist's Assistant in the original cast of The Who's Tommy; she also understudied the role of Mrs. Walker. Broadway roles that followed were Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard (1994), Bathsheba in King David (1997), Violet Hilton in Side Show (1997), Fantine in Les Misérables (1998), Molly Ivors in James Joyce's The Dead (2000), Janet Weiss in The Rocky Horror Show (2000), one of The Sweethearts in Dreamgirls, the concert (2001), and Diana Goodman in Next to Normal (2009). With the exception of Les Misérables, Ripley was part of the original casts.

Ripley's performance as conjoined twin Violet Hilton in Side Show earned her and her co-star Emily Skinner critical acclaim, a cult following, and a shared 1998 Tony Award nomination, making them the first to be co-nominated in a musical.^[6] Ripley was also nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical.

From March 27, 2009 to July 18, 2010 at the Booth Theatre, Ripley starred in the Pulitzer Prize winning^[7] Next to Normal, a performance which earned her the 2009 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.^[8]

Off-Broadway[link]

Ripley's 2008 performance in Next to Normal (Second Stage Theatre) earned her Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle award nominations. Additional Off-Broadway roles include Nelly Bly in Cather County (1993, Playwrights Horizons), Daisy Mae in Li'l Abner (1998, New York City Center), various characters in The Vagina Monologues (2002, Westside Theatre), Olivia in Five Flights (2004, Rattlestick Theater), and Marsha in Wild Animals You Should Know^[9] (2011, MCC Theater/Lucille Lortel Theater).

Regional theatre[link]

Ripley's regional credits include Next to Normal at Arena Stage (Helen Hayes Award, Best Actress in a Musical, non-resident production), Little Shop of Horrors, Tell Me On A Sunday (Helen Hayes nomination), Company (Helen Hayes nomination), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Show Boat, Shakespeare in Hollywood (Helen Hayes nomination), The Baker's Wife, Sweeney Todd, and Carousel.

National tours[link]

On tour, Ripley played Fantine in Les Misérables (1993-94). She reprised her role as Diana in Next to Normal, the U.S. Tour (Nov. 23, 2010 - July 30, 2011).^[10]

RIPLEY, the band[link]

Alice Ripley began writing songs in 1991 and her band, RIPLEY, formed in 2003. RIPLEY is a self-produced trio with Ripley on guitar and vocals.

Film[link]

Ripley's films are The Adulterer (2000), Temptation (2004), and Isn't It Delicious (2012).

Television[link]

In September 2011, Ripley filmed the pilot for Modern Love (Lifetime TV).^[11]

Discography[link]

Alice Ripley aka RIPLEYTHEBAND[link]

• "Beautiful Eyes" single (2012, self-produced)
• Alice Ripley Daily Practice, Volume 1 (2011, Sh-K-Boom Records)
• Outtasite (2006, Shellac)
• RIPLEY EP (2003, Shellac)
• Everything's Fine (2001, Ghostlight)

Original Cast Recordings[link]

• Next to Normal (2009, Sh-K-Boom)
• Little Fish (2007, Ghostlight)
• Dreamgirls (2002, Nonesuch)
• The Rocky Horror Show (2000, RCA Victor Broadway)
• Side Show (1997, Sony Classical)
• King David (1997, Walt Disney)
• The Who's Tommy (1992, RCA Victor Broadway)

References[link]

External link[link]

Official Facebook pages: Alice Ripley, AHRIPLEY, and DrasticAlice

Emily Skinner (also known as Emily Scott Skinner) (born June 29, 1970) is an American musical theatre actress and singer. She has performed in such Broadway shows as Side Show, James Joyce's The Dead, The Full Monty, Dinner at Eight and, most recently, in Billy Elliot. She has performed Off-Broadway and regionally and sung on the concert stage and on recordings.

Biography[link]

Born in Richmond, Virginia, Skinner attended college at Carnegie Mellon University. She moved to New York in 1992 and took part in a workshop of Jekyll and Hyde. A few years later, she created the role of "Emily" (young Scrooge's love interest) in the 1994 musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol at the Paramount Theatre at Madison Square Garden.^[1]

In 1997, Skinner joined the original Broadway cast of Jekyll and Hyde as an ensemble member and understudy for the leads of Emma and Lucy. During previews, Linda Eder, who played Lucy, developed laryngitis, and Skinner sang some of Lucy's songs from backstage, while Eder acted and sang some songs onstage.^[2] Other Broadway credits include "Side Show" (1997), James Joyce's The Dead (1999; with Christopher Walken), The Full Monty (2001), Dinner at Eight, the Encores! stagings of the Gershwin musical Pardon My English, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and "No Strings", all at New York City Center, and Broadway Actor's Fund benefit concert performances of Dreamgirls and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

Skinner has appeared Off-Broadway in numerous productions at The WPA Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theater Club, and the York Theatre. She has also directed several concerts in the "Broadway By the Year" series at Town Hall, New York City, including "Musicals of 1979" on June 16, 2008.^[3] She was also in the American premiere at Carnegie Hall of Jerry Springer: The Opera (with Harvey Keitel) in 2008.^[4]

Skinner's role as one half of a pair of Siamese twins in Side Show earned her critical acclaim and a Tony Award nomination shared with co-star Alice Ripley. It was the first time in Tony history that two performers were co-nominated as a team for the Best Actress award.^[5] Variety noted that "If Ripley and Skinner should win, it would be the first time since 1975 that a pair of actors shared a single Tony. That year John Kani and Winston Ntshona, two South African actors, won a nod for the Athol Fugard double bill "Sizwe Banzi Is Dead" and "The Island."^[6] (Other joint nominations for the Tony include John Kani and Winston Ntshona who won for best dramatic actor, Sizwe Banzi is Dead in 1975; Donal Donnelly and Patrick Bedford for Philadelphia, Here I Come! in 1966; the children playing the seven Von Trapp children were nominated for best featured actress in a musical in 1960.^[7])

Skinner played the role of "Mrs. Wilkinson" in Billy Elliot in Chicago, starting in March 2010,^[8] and since October 2010 has played the role in the Broadway production.^[9]

Recordings and concerts

Skinner and Ripley have collaborated on three recordings: Duets, Unsuspecting Hearts, and Raw at Town Hall, taped live during their October 21, 2006 concert.^[10] Skinner also recorded a self-titled solo album, which was released in 2001. She toured the U.S. in 2004 and 2005 in the Disney revue On the Record.^[11] She has also sung with orchestras around the world, including the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, The Virginia Symphony, and The Sydney Pops.

Regional theatre

At the Kennedy Center she appeared in Merrily We Roll Along and Company during the 2002 Sondheim Celebration,^[12] played Agnes Gooch in Mame (2006),^[13] and was in their production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2004) as well.^[14] She has also appeared in leading roles at The Long Wharf Theatre, The Old Globe in San Diego, The Ford's Theatre, TheaterVirginia, The White River Theater Festival, and Theatre IV.

Skinner has appeared at the Signature Theatre, Arlington, Virginia, in the U.S. premiere of The Witches of Eastwick in 2007,^[15] and in the new musical Ace in 2008.^[16] She played the title role in Dirty Blonde at the Hangar Theatre, Ithaca, New York, in June 2009,^[17] and was in the same play at Signature Theatre later that year.^[18] She then went on to play Mrs. Lovett in a well-received production of Sweeney Todd at the Lyric Theatre in Oklahoma.^[19]

Work (selected)[link]

• 1994-95: A Christmas Carol - Emily, notable for: "A Place Called Home"; World premiere
• 1997: Jekyll & Hyde - u/s Emma, u/s Lucy (performed)
• 1997-98: Side Show - Daisy Hilton, Tony Nomination (with Alice Ripley)
• 1999-2000: James Joyce's The Dead - Off-Broadway and Transfer to Broadway
• 2000: The Full Monty - World Premiere; 2001: The Full Monty Broadway premiere
• 2004: Breakfast at Tiffany's - as Mag, New Production, The Muny, St. Louis, World Premiere^[20]
• 2004: On the Record - World Premiere / National Tour
• 2007: The Witches of Eastwick - United States Premiere, Arlington Virginia
• 2010: Billy Elliot - as Mrs. Wilkinson Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre, Chicago, Illinois and Broadway
• 2012:"Ghost Brothers of Darkland County - as Monette, Alliance Theater, Atlanta, Georgia

References[link]

External links[link]

• Emily Skinner at the Internet Broadway Database
• ACE at Signature Theatre