teapot
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I thought I would share my review of the production.
"When you think of musical theatre, you tend to think light, fluffy material with flashy dance numbers and romantic leads with comic sidekicks. There have been some noteworthy departures from that formula, like Showboat with it's themes of abandonment and miscegenation, or Rent, with it's focus on the devastation caused by AIDS, and Phantom of the Opera with its tragic obsession, yet all of these still center on love lost and found. I suppose that could also be said of Parade, in its broadest sense, but it is a dark musical based on a strange and twisted episode in American history, the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan in Atlanta, Georgia in 1913, and subsequent lynching of Leo Frank, who may or may not have been the murderer.
You should not go to this production expecting easy answers or a comfortable tale of good and evil, but you SHOULD go. Prepare yourself to listen to some lilting music which frames questions of racism, regional insularity, religious intolerance, and political manipulation. You should be prepared for a love story... but between a closed and cold man and his fluttery wife, as they evolve into true partners sharing an unthinkable situation.
You should be prepared to vacillate between believing in Frank's innocence, to being unsure as to his guilt, to wondering if anyone will ever know what really happened in the pencil factory that Confederate Memorial Day in 1913.
The cast is immensely talented, and the production is beautifully set in the intimacy of the Mark Taper Forum. Grey's Anatomy star T.R. Knight makes a valiant effort as Leo Frank, and presents some interesting mannerisms and character tics, but his Manhattan/Brooklyn accent is jarring, and his singing voice is only passable. He excels in the scenes where he is tormented by his inability to open himself up to others, and is quietly dignified in the last scene with his wife, when they rediscover the depth of their love. Lara Pulver is luminous as Lucille Frank, and develops her character beautifully. The rest of the cast is perfectly typed, with several standouts, including Michael Beresse in both the role of the governor and the reporter, and David St. Louis in three roles especially effective in the chain gang scene. Charlotte D'Amboise is lovely in her roles, and a beautiful dancer, but seems underutilized. P.J. Griffith chooses some unusual physical movements in his portrayal of Watson, but somehow it works in relaying the nature of the bigoted and twisted Evangelical.
You won't leave this production tapping your toes or humming the score, but Jason Robert Brown's songs are haunting and apt, and the set design, lighting and costumes are very effective. I wouldn't say Parade is necessarily a pleasant outing for a sunny Sunday afternoon, but it is a theatre experience I would be sorry to have missed. (NOT for younger teens or small children.)"
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