Playwright Warren Leight’s father was a traveling musician, and he relied on those memories to write the Tony Award-winning play, Side Man. Now almost 10 years after the play’s release, the Home Made Theater is performing the play at the Spa Little Theater in Saratoga Springs.
The play focuses on a young man’s memories of his childhood as the son of a jazz musician. The `memory play` features a number of flashbacks and narrations by the main character, Clifford, who is played by Peter Burleigh.
`This script was very well written and there was very little that I couldn’t get that wasn’t written into the script as far as character motivations,` Burleigh said. `Anger isn’t that hard to do.`
Clifford’s father, Gene, is a dedicated musician, and his mother, Terry, is an alcoholic. Set between Clifford’s childhood in the 1960s and his life as a young adult in the 1980s, the play follows the rise and decline of jazz music.
`His writing of this show is almost jazz in a way in that it’s not told in a strict chronology,` Burleigh said. `There are so many jumps back and forth between time, and there’s just a looseness to the telling that is very similar to jazz.`
Director Steve Coats has worked with Burleigh on five shows.
`He had a natural gift for comedy and he was very flexible and willing to try new ideas. He’s just an all-around great guy,` Coats said. `His personality is one of great openness for the character, and that’s kind of crucial.`
Coats said the play is fast-moving and cinematic.
`It’s a very fluid approach to the idea of time and memory,` he said. `Because the play is essentially taking place in Clifford’s memory, the audience is left to the vagaries of how his mind works.`
Coats said that the play includes adult language and themes.
`It does deal with artistic and somewhat Bohemian people who don’t have much recognition of the taboos of language, so the language is going to be a little hotter than what some people might be used to,` he said. `I think it’s an accurate representation of the period and the people.`
During some of the show’s tense moments, Clifford breaks away from the scene to narrate the action.
`My character breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the audience,` Burleigh said. `I go in and out of scenes. Even during those scenes, I’ll skip out and I’ll talk to the audience. My mother, Terry, and Patsy, both ask me who I’m talking to at some point.`
Winnie Bowen plays Clifford’s mother.
`Winnie came to this show from the very first day with a tremendous emotional investment and really blew us all away with how powerful her performance is,` Burleigh said. `Her performance, probably more than anyone else, is more emotionally draining.`
Christine MacLellan is the associate manager of the Home Made Theater.
`I am not a big jazz music fan, but when I read this script I just immediately liked it. It’s the repartee among the characters, they’re very witty, amusing characters,` MacLellan said. `They’re all very flawed characters but very funny.`
Tickets are $22 for the center section and $19 for the sides. Remaining performances are on the coming Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 19, 20, 26, and 27 at 8:15 p.m. and Sundays, Oct. 21 and 28, at 2 p.m. For information, call 587-4427.“
