Side Man is a play by Warren Leight.

Leight's inspiration for his memory play was his father Donald, who worked as a "sideman," in jazz parlance a musician for hire who can blend in with the band or star as a solo performer, according to what is required by the gig. Its 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 foresaken and offering his mother the motional support Gene can't. Scenes alternate between the family's spartan New York City apartment and the smoke-filled nightclubs and cabarets of another era. A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he is not formally a member. ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans at around the start of the 20th century. ... A musician is a person who plays or composes music. ... The trumpet is the highest brass instrument in register, above the horn, trombone, euphonium and tuba. ... King Alcohol and his Prime Minister circa 1820 Alcoholism is the consumption of or preoccupation with alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the alcoholics normal personal, family, social, or work life. ... Nickname: Big Apple, Gotham, NYC, City That Never Sleeps, The Concrete Jungle, The City So Nice They Named It Twice Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1613  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue — a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting around the tables (often dining or drinking) watching the performance. ...

After 27 previews, the Broadway production, directed by Michael Mayer, opened on June 25, 1998 at the Criterion Center Stage Right. It later transferred to the John Golden Theatre for a total run of 517 performances. The original cast included Robert Sella as Clifford, Frank Wood as Gene, and Wendy Makkena as Terry. Later in the run Sella was replaced successively by Andrew McCarthy, Christian Slater, and Scott Wolf, Wood was replaced by Michael O'Keefe, and Makkena was replaced by Edie Falco. Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... The John Golden Theatre is a Broadway theatre. ... Wendy Makkena (born 4 October 1963) is an American actress, most well known as the young and shy Sister Mary Robert from the Sister Act movies. ... Andrew McCarthy (born November 29, 1962) is an American actor who appeared in several films during the 1980s. ... Christian Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor. ... Scott Wolf on Everwood Scott Richard Wolf (born June 4, 1968) is an American actor. ... Michael OKeefe (born April 24, 1955, Mount Vernon, New York) is an American film and television actor. ... Edie Falco Edith Falco (born July 5, 1963) is an American television and film actress. ...

Through an arrangement with Actors' Equity, which allowed for the British cast of The Real Thing to travel to Broadway, Street Man, with Wood, Falco, and Jason Priestley, opened on February 8, 2000 in London's West End at the Apollo Theatre, where it ran for slightly more than two months. The Actors Equity Association (commonly simply Equity) is the trade union of American theatrical performers and stage managers. ... The Real Thing is: A music album by Faith No More -- see The Real Thing (album); A play by Tom Stoppard. ... Priestley at the 1992 Emmy ceremony. ... February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... // West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre in London, or sometimes more specifically for shows staged in the large theatres of Londons Theatreland . Along with New Yorks Broadway Theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of theatre in the... Entrance February 2005 This article is about the London theatre. ...

A compilation of the jazz recordings heard in the play was released on compact disc by BMG. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... BMG (Bertelsmann Music Group) is one of the six divisions of Bertelsmann. ...

Awards and nominations

• Tony Award for Best Play (winner)
• Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play (Wood, winner)
• Pulitzer Prize for Drama (nominee)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play (nominee)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (Falco, nominee)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play (winner)
• Theatre World Award (Falco, winner)

What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ... The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918. ... Created in 1955, the Drama Desk Award was created to recognize Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway shows in addition to Broadway shows. ... The Theatre World Award is an American honor given annually to an actor or an actress in recognition of an outstanding breakout performance in their New York City stage debut. ...

External links

• Internet Broadway Database listing
• New York Times review