Extra Credit: How Side Show reflects Society Today

I think that the ideas and values in the musical Side Show reflect all of those that most college students have themselves. There were two main points in the story that I caught on to. The first one was a sense of trying to better yourself. Although it was a scary transition for them, both girls desperately wanted to get out of the side show and into a more upscale way of life. I think that most college students are attending school in order to do the very same thing. College can be a big transition from high school life, but it’s one big step towards a life where you have the potential to be more prosperous and successful. The other point in the story was maturing and figuring out the confusing emotion of love. Both sisters fell in love with the men who helped them out of their bad situation. I’m pretty sure that any story that involves falling in love and the complexities and uncertainties of doing so for the first time will never fall out of relevancy in today’s culture. If it hadn’t happened already in high school, college is the perfect situation to fall in love for the first time. You have a huge population of people in the exact same boat as you’re in: poor college kid seeking a particular degree meets another poor college kid doing the same thing. Instant connection, no?