Far Left: Emily Padgett and
Erin Davie as conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton in La Jolla Playhouse’s production of Side Show,
photo by Rebecca Joelson. Center: Bill Russell
are four new songs and six songs have been rewritten or replaced. There are a few changes to the book. Harold Wheeler, from Dancing with the Stars, who is in charge of the orchestration fell in love with the original show the first time he saw it. He was scared that we were making changes and was pleased that it is so much better, stronger and that the essence is the same. Tell me about working with Director Bill Condon. Oh my, Bill Condon is wonderful. We started this
SHOWMOVES CENTER STAGE
SIDE
So how did you get your start? Well, my hometown wasn’t exactly the hotbed of
the theatrical world, but I was still got by the theatre bug. By second grade I had written, directed and produced my own version of Cinderella and I cast the kids in my class. I am not the first to do that at such a young age, but what is unique is I talked to the principal about it. Amazingly he let other classes come to see the production. When my mother saw I had some musical aptitude she sent me to piano les- sons and there I learned to read music. In high school I did theatre and I started writing poetry; eventually I started putting my poetry to music. In what ways has Side Show changed from when it first premiered? That is kind of hard to answer. The major numbers are mostly there, the essence is unchanged but there
process in 2007 and then he stepped away to do the Twilight films. Magically this has all come together, it is amazing to work at the La Jolla Playhouse. Some days we have three rooms going all at once—one for choreography, one for music and one for the book. It’s a dream experience, one of the highlights of my life. I recently saw Coronado Playhouse’s production of your show Pageant. Oh, I am so glad you saw it. I was able to catch that
production too. It was fun, they did a nice job and I am pleased to sayPageant is heading back to Broadway. That’s great news! So, out of your various shows, of which are you most proud? Well, I think I am most proud of my 1989 AIDS piece
entitled Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens. It has been produced all over the world including the U.K., Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Israel and Australia. One of my favorite productions was done by an all-star cast of 52 for a benefit performance in New York. These days it’s mostly done on college campuses, which I think is really important because young people do not have an appreciation for what happened, the AIDS epidemic or how HIV is transmit- ted. I agree, this generation will never fully understand what it was like in 1989. Education is so key to prevention. I would really like to see that show done at La Jolla Playhouse with UCSD students. Are there other Russell shows in the works? Janet Hood and I are finishing up Unexpected Joy,
about gay marriage. It will debut before too long. I look forward to that. So, do you have any hobbies? What do you enjoy doing in your freetime? Right now we are going six days a week, so there
isn’t much free time. And when I am not at the theatre I am rewriting. But I love spending time with my hub- bie [Bruce Bossard]. We were married in 2009, just two days before our 30th anniversary. Congrats! I love to hear stories of couples who make it for the long-haul.
Side Show is at the La Jolla Playhouse, 2910 La Jolla Vil- lage Drive in La Jolla from Tuesday, November 5 through Sunday, December 15. For tickets and more information call 858.550.1010 or go
tolajollaplayhouse.org.
NOVEMBER 2013 | RAGE monthly 21
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