In early 20th-century San Diego, the vaudeville scene was a dazzling spectacle, offering everything from slapstick comedy and death-defying stunts to high drama and soaring operatic arias.

Performers shout, “Come look at the freaks!” to the audience from the stage of “Side Show,” a Broadway musical inspired by ...

The show starred Eva Tanguay, a saucy actress known as “the Queen of Vaudeville ... to come out on stage between the first and second acts. He was finally coaxed before the audience during ...