I missed the two month flash that was the original run of the musical Parade on Broadway in 1998. The show won Tony Awards for book writer Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy) and composer Jason Robert Brown (Bridges of Madison County, The Last Five Years). I remembered nothing about the show prior to enjoying this accomplished revival.
Parade recounts another dark chapter of racism in our country so revisiting the topic again remains sadly relevant. In 1913 a Jewish American was tried and imprisoned for the rape and murder of a thirteen year old girl. She was an employee at the pencil factory where he also worked. Leo Frank was a college educated man who relocated to Georgia from Brooklyn. His first song asks “How Can I Call This Home?”
The plot begins momentarily with soldiers heading off to the Civil War. Quickly the crime is committed and an investigation begins. This leads to a trial and incarceration. Detectives, prosecutors and politicians are outlined in broadly corrupt strokes.
Lucille Frank (Micaela Diamond) feverishly works to help prove her husband’s innocence. She and Leo (Ben Platt) prognosticate “This Is Not Over Yet”. While Parade is based on historical events, this section seems highly unlikely to be factually accurate. There is basis for the turn of events portrayed but the party crashing plotline is unbelievable.
Mr. Platt and, especially, Ms. Diamond have created deeply realized period characters with exceptionally realistic chemistry. They both sing this tuneful score beautifully. Musical theater fans can savor the Sondheim influence on Mr. Brown in Lucille’s song “Do It Alone”. Sunday In the Park With George is not hard to hear.
A huge talented cast lends fine support to the central couple. Michael Arden’s staging and direction effectively convey this uncomfortable tale on a deceptively simple set featuring a raised platform. Old photographs of these real people are projected on the back wall furthering the gravitas. Parade is an unusual musical for sure. This stellar and eerily dramatic production makes a very strong case that it is an important one as well.
Two groups emerged from this notorious moment in history. The defunct Ku Klux Klan was revived as a small group in Georgia in 1915 before flourishing more broadly thereafter. The birth of the Jewish Civil Rights organization, the Anti-Defamation League, was born. The parade of hatred so blatantly on view in today’s America clearly points toward an unclear crossroad into our future. Leo Frank’s case was reopened in 2019 and is still ongoing. America’s case is similarly unresolved.
Parade is running on Broadway through August 6, 2023.