In 1908 conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton were born in England. Fused at the hip and lower spine, from the time they were babies they were displayed in sideshows and called "freaks" and "oddities." The beautiful sisters who learned to sing, dance and play instruments went on to perform in carnivals. When they were eight, they were brought to the United States.
During the 1930s the talented Hilton sisters became the best paid performers and headliners in the vaudeville circuit. They were on the same bill as a young Bob Hope and Harry Houdini. Daisy and Violet also appeared in the movies Freaks and Chained for Life.
Even with all their success, the sisters struggled in an unsympathetic world. When Violet became engaged to her fiancé, Maurice Lambert, many states denied their marriage license stating it would be "contrary to morals and public policy" to let them marry. Violet said, "I love Maurice very dearly and he loves me. I don't see any reason in the world why we should be denied the pleasure of being happy...Daisy feels the same way...she too wants me to be happy."
Nineteen years ago, the Broadway musical, Side Show, centering around the lives of Daisy and Violet Hilton, opened to great acclaim. "With Restraint, Illuminating The Freak In Everyone," read the headline of the New York Times review. Bill Russell's book and lyrics and Henry Krieger's music beautifully captured the sisters, like the lyrics to this song:
"You should be loved/By someone who knows you/Wants you to blossom/Always is true/You should be cherished/Like the first sign of springtime/You should be loved/You should be loved/With constant devotion/Heart-pounding passion/Flooding you through/You should be treasured/Like a ruby or a diamond/You should be loved in the way/I love you"
Emily Skinner and Alice Ripley played the sisters who desperately longed for love, acceptance and individual identity in the midst of cruelty. They were so convincingly physically connected and synchronized, even while dancing, some people mistakenly thought they might be glued to one another. Yet each actress managed to be distinctly unique. Skinner and Ripley even made history as the first women to be co-nominated for a Best Actress Tony Award.
Since Side Show, Skinner and Ripley have had thriving individual careers and starred in many Broadway shows including Sunset Boulevard, The Full Monty, Next To Normal (for which Ripley won a Tony Award), Billy Elliot, The Rocky Horror Show and more. But something extra special still happens when they perform together.
The duo just released their CD, "Emily Skinner & Alice Ripley: Unattached - Live at Feinstein's/54 Below" from Broadway Records. "It's almost as if you are in the room with us," says Skinner about the live CD which includes songs from Carly Simon to Stephen Sondheim to Harry Nilsson "You tell people who you are by what you choose to sing. You really know who we are by listening to the CD."
This month, they are back at the glamorous Feinstein's/54 Below supper club. They infuse humor, fierce passion and silliness as they perform an eclectic mix of knockout songs about sisterhood, love and, as Ripley says, "embracing radical self acceptance."
Skinner and Ripley shared more about their magical mojo and life lessons they learned attached and unattached at this story at Forbes.com. Read the entire interview here.
From left: Emily Skinner and Alice Ripley (Photo credit: Nancy Opel)
Photo Used With Permission