Jazz and drama meet in Palo Alto production of 'Side Man'

History is replete with plays and musicals that score big with the critics, become runaway Broadway successes, get turned into classic movies and enjoy a rich afterlife through New York revivals and countless school and community theater productions.
“Side Man” is not one of those titles.
To be sure, Warren Leight’s dramatic comedy got off to an auspicious start. Its 1998 New York production won plaudits from the critics, most notably the ever-influential Times, whose Peter Marks called it "both heartbreaking and touching, a play of true feeling, full of affection for its characters and insight about the events it conjures." Honors followed that high praise, including a Tony Award for Best Play.
The last decade, however, has seen “Side Man” all but disappear from the nation’s theater repertoire, which is why it’s essential to call your attention to the Dragon Productions Theatre Company’s staging this weekend in Palo Alto. Performances are 8 p.m. today and Saturday with a matinee set for 2 p.m. Sunday at the theater, 535 Alma St.
The experience of Leight’s own jazz-playing father inspired “Side Man” and, as the synopsis below makes clear, there’s was something of a dicey relationship.

The play's narrator is Clifford Glimmer, the only son of Gene, a talented but self-absorbed jazz trumpeter, and his alcoholic 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, with Clifford eventually assuming the role of breadwinner his father has forsaken and offering his mother the emotional support Gene can not. Scenes alternate between the family's New York City apartment and the smoke-filled nightclubs and cabarets of another era.

There’s plenty of great jazz to be heard in “Side Man,” including “I Remember Clifford,” “I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance,” “Land's End,” “A Night In Tunisia” and “It Never Entered My Mind.” Of course, you can stay home and listen to those but you’d be better off this weekend taking in not just the music but the humanity and drama that comprise “Side Man.”

Want to keep up with the best in Bay Area jazz?
Subscribe to us: Have our jazz Examiner columns sent to your inbox. Click SUBSCRIBE TO EMAIL on the button above this column. It's free. (And we won't spam you or give out your information.)
Bookmark us: http://www.examiner.com/x-12458-Oakland-Jazz-Music-Examiner
Make us your home page, add us as a Favorite Examiner (see above), take us mobile at www.examiner.com/mobile.html