''Side Man'' is a memory play by

Warren Leight Warren Donald Leight (; born January 17, 1957) is an American playwright, screenwriter, film director and television producer. He is best known for his work on ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' and '' Lights Out'' and as the showrunner for ''In ...

. His inspiration was his father Donald, who worked as a

sideman A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member. The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with jazz or rock artists, whether solo ...

, in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

parlance a

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

for hire who can blend in with the band or star as a solo performer, according to what is required by the gig.

Plot

The play starts in the 1950s and follows the family through the next 35 years. The play's narrator is Clifford Glimmer, the only son of Gene, a talented but self-absorbed jazz

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

er, and his

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

wife Terry, who describes the tumultuous relationship his parents shared and the haphazard career journey Gene followed over the course of three decades. Dedicated more to his music than his family, he refuses to accept a regular job to support them, and their home life gradually unravels. Clifford eventually assumes the role of breadwinner his father has forsaken and offers his mother the emotional support Gene cannot. Scenes alternate between the family's Spartan

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

apartment and the smoke-filled

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

s of another era.

Productions

''Side Man'' was first presented in a workshop by the

Naked Angels ''Naked Angels'' is a 1969 American outlaw biker film directed by Bruce D. Clark. Starring Michael Greene (actor), Michael Greene as Mother, Jennifer Gan as Marlene, and Richard Rust as Fingers, it provides an insider's perspective at the lifesty ...

in March 1996. It was then produced at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

in a joint production of the New York Stage and Film Company and The Powerhouse Theatre, in association with RKJ Productions in July 1996. The play premiered at the

off-off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the prof ...

East 13th Street Theater from March 11, 1998 to March 29. Directed by Michael Mayer, the cast included Frank Wood as Gene, Robert Sella as Clifford, and

Edie Falco Edith Falco (born July 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Carmela Soprano on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), and Nurse Jackie Peyton on the Showtime series ''Nurse Jackie'' (2009–2015). She also ...

as Terry, Joseph Lyle Taylor as Al, Michael Mastro as Ziggy, Kevin Geer as Jonsey and Angelica Torn as Patsy. The

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production, also directed by Mayer, opened on June 25, 1998 at the Criterion Center Stage Right. It transferred to the

John Golden Theatre The John Golden Theatre, formerly the Theatre Masque and Masque Theater, is a Broadway theater at 252 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the Golden Theatre was de ...

on October 20, 1998 for a total run of 517 performances and 27 previews. Wood and Sella reprised their roles, with

Wendy Makkena Wendy Rosenberg Makkena (born October 4, 1958) is an American actress best known for playing Sister Mary Robert in the film ''Sister Act'' (1992) and its sequel '' Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit'' (1993) and numerous other roles in film and tel ...

replacing Falco as Terry. " 'Side Man' Broadway"
playbillvault.com, accessed November 11, 2015 Later in the run Sella was replaced successively by

Andrew McCarthy Andrew Thomas McCarthy (born November 29, 1962) is an American actor, travel writer, and television director. He is most known as a member of the Brat Pack, with roles in 1980s films such as ''St. Elmo's Fire'', ''Pretty in Pink'', and '' Less ...

Christian Slater Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut with a leading role in ''The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakthrough role as Jason "J.D." D ...

, and

Scott Wolf Scott Richard Wolf (born June 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the television series ''Party of Five'' as Bailey Salinger, as Jake Hartman in ''Everwood'', as Chad Decker in ''V (2009 TV series), V'' and as Carson Drew ...

, Wood was replaced by

Michael O'Keefe Michael O'Keefe (born Raymond Peter O'Keefe, Jr.; April 24, 1955) is an American actor, known for his roles as Danny Noonan in '' Caddyshack'', Ben Meechum in '' The Great Santini,'' for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for B ...

, and Makkena was replaced by Falco. Falco was replaced by Torn who assumed the role of Terry for the remainder of the Broadway and

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

run. Torn received the

Helen Hayes Award The Helen Hayes Awards are theater awards recognizing excellence in professional theater in the Washington, D.C. area since 1983. The awards are named in tribute of Helen Hayes, who is also known as the "First Lady of American Theatre." They ar ...

in Washington D.C. in the Outstanding Lead Actress category. Through an arrangement with

Actors' Equity The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a book ...

, which allowed for the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

cast of ''

The Real Thing The Real Thing or Real Thing may refer to: Film and television * The Real Thing (film), ''The Real Thing'' (film) or ''Livers Ain't Cheap'', a 1996 American film * ''The Real Thing'', a 1980 television documentary by James Burke (science historian) ...

'' to travel to Broadway, ''Side Man'', with Wood, Falco (reassuming the lead role of Terry), Torn (reassuming the supporting role of Patsy), and

Jason Priestley Jason Bradford Priestley (born August 28, 1969) is a Canadian actor and television director. He is best known as the virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–1998, 2000), as Richard "Fitz" Fitzpatrick in t ...

, opened on February 8, 2000 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

's West End at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

, where it ran to June 2000.

Critical response

In reviewing the Off-Broadway production, Peter Marks of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' called it "both heartbreaking and touching, a play of true feeling, full of affection for its characters and insight about the events it conjures." The ''CurtainUp'' reviewer wrote: "When a show is this good, I'm prompted to ask what distinguishes it. For one thing, there is the dexterous hand of Michael Mayer (who has been involved in this show since its early workshops) guiding; he keeps the storytelling in sharp focus. For another, there are the wholly convincing performances, rendered with attentive and obvious joy, and no weak links. But in the final analysis, it is the integrity of Warren Leight's semi-autobiographical story that sets this play apart. There is a melding of objectivity with the personal: the love is as palpable as the inconsistencies it generates."

Awards and nominations

*2000

, Outstanding Lead Actress (Angelica Torn, winner) *1999

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

(finalist) *1999

Tony Award for Best Play The Tony Award for Best Play (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award given to the best new (non- musical) play on Broadway, as determined by Tony Award voters. There was no award in the Tonys' first year ...

(winner) *1999 Tony Award, Featured Actor in a Play (Frank Wood, winner) * 1999 Drama League, Distinguished Production of a Play (nominee) * 1999 Friends of New York Theater Award, Best Play (winner) * 1999 Friends of New York Theater Award, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play (Angelica Torn, winner) *1998

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. The award was initially introduced in 1955 as the Vern ...

(nominee) *1998 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Actress in a Play (Edie Falco, nominee) *1998 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Play (nominee)

Music featured in the play

A recording was made by BMG of the music in the play, which are recordings used as background music. *1. I Remember Clifford :12*2. Rockin' Chair :08*3. I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance :25*4. Daahoud :07*5. Cristo Redentor :47*6. Land's End :02*7. Chelsea Bridge :27*8. A Night In Tunisia 1:07*9. Time :07*10. It Never Entered My Mind :02 RCA Victor released a CD compiled from the original recordings.

References

External links

* * * {{TonyAwardBestPlay 1976-2000 1998 plays American plays Off-Broadway plays Broadway plays Tony Award-winning plays