The Chicago-area premiere of the cult musical, Side Show, May 17-June 18, 2000, at the Northlight Theatre, will feature Kristen Behrendt and Susie McMonagle as conjoined sisters Violet and Daisy, respectively.

Both actresses have worked in Chicago resident theatres, Northlight artistic director B.J. Jones told Playbill On-Line Dec. 30.

Behrendt understudied Violet on Broadway (and went on) during the musical's brief run in 1997. She later played Daisy in the Theatreworks staging in Palo Alto, CA.

Both actresses have played Fantine in Broadway's Les Miserables.

The musical by composer Henry Krieger and lyricist Bill Russell concerns the rise of real-life "Siamese" twins Daisy and Violet Hilton, sisters who leave the freak show to star in vaudeville and question their place in society. Group sales for the Northlight staging, to be directed by Joe Leonardo, have been brisk, Jones said, and he expects a new audience to discover his theatre, located in Skokie, IL. The theatre already has a solid, established, graying subscribership.

Also in the cast are Sam Samuelson as Buddy, James Moye as Terry and Nikkieli DeMone is Jake.

For information, call (847) 673-6300.

-- By Kenneth Jones