Side Man

By Warren Leight

Directed by Danielle Bearden-Mead

Side Man, directed by The Garage Theatre co-founder Danielle Bearden-Mead and written by Warren Leight, is the winner of the 1999 Tony Award for Best Play and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.  To honor this modern day classic, The Garage Theatre has transformed itself into a Jazz Lounge by replacing the traditional seating configuration with cocktail tables and café chairs.  The “dinner theatre” seating creates an intimate theatrical experience, and with the action taking place literally all around the audience, this production is truly unique.

 29 year old Clifford Glimmer (Jeff Kriese), son of Gene (Mark Frankos) a trumpet player and Terry (Amy Louise Sebelious) an alcoholic, narrates this memory play that travels back and forth between 1985 and 1954.  Clifford cuts and pastes his memories, like a collage, to reveal the decline of jazz music in popular culture and the sacrifices he and his mother make as a result.