Chicago Tribune
- Highly Recommended
"...The show is beautifully cast. Mostly with young, unknown actors. Leads Vanessa Panerosa and Andrea Prestinario don't have huge Broadway voices, but they sing this much-underexposed score beautifully. More importantly, they're entirely credible as vulnerable, desired objects constantly forced to snag their happiness in little snatches, even as the trajectory of their lives swings inexorably toward misery."
Chicago Sun Times
- Recommended
"...On the basis of sheer ambition alone, Bohemian's "Side Show" gets top marks. Last year, the company staged a smashing version of Andrew Lippa's "The Wild Party," and it has done such a terrific job here, with Stephen M. Genovese in the director's chair, A. Scott Williams as musical director and lead keyboardist, and Jeff Citation-winning Brenda Didier sharing the choreographic duties with Andrew Waters."
Chicago Reader
- Recommended
"...What does help this morbidly introverted show is Stephen M. Genovese's intensely intimate Bohemian Theatre Ensemble staging, which features nearly perfect performances by a mostly non-Equity cast. Vanessa Panerosa and Andrea Prestinario as the twins and Aaron Holland as their love-struck personal assistant are adept at finding emotional depth in the shallow, mildly campy material."
Windy City Times
- Highly Recommended
"...The hard-working non-Equity cast, assembled under Stephen M. Genovese’s fluid direction, is practically perfect. The line of winking camp and lovelorn trauma in Bill Russell’s libretto is expertly traversed by the show’s five principals, who are caught up in a messy polygon."
Time Out Chicago
- Recommended
"...Krieger’s poppy music seems less suited for this 1920s and ’30s story than for the Motown-era Dreamgirls, and Russell’s lyrics—“I can see us floating to the stars in a magic boat”—can be horrifying. But the Boho production, like the Hiltons, is greater than the sum of its parts. The lead performances by Panerosa and Prestinario are, as they must be, a wonder of tandem cooperation and conflict. Late in the show, when the sisters simultaneously realize their dreams are dashed, they wordlessly establish the most intense connection we’re likely to see onstage this year—while facing away from one another."
ChicagoCritic
- Highly Recommended
"...Side Show has a wonderful rich score with telling lyrics filled with many powerful ballads, cute dance numbers and entertaining songs. Eric Lindahl, Brandon Dahlquist and Aaron Holland landed their vocals richly while Vanessa Panerosa and Andrea Prestinario produced haunting melodies in their moving emotionally strong ballads. This is a beautifully sung show that also dances terrifically."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Recommended
"...Director Stephen M. Genovese makes fine use of the musical's attributes: a tuneful score by Henry Krieger ("Dreamgirls"), affecting lyrics and a moving book by Bill Russell. It's a strangely beautiful, even touching exotic bird, even if it relies a bit too heavily on the tired recitative popular during the 80's and 90's of sung-through dialogue. The Bohemian production is sweetly sung, even though the singers don't project as well as they should. The choreography by Brenda Didier and Andrew Waters is witty and creative, and Genovese uses the small jewel box stage to good advantage."
