HAROLD PRINCE:  The Broadway musical is unique because it represents the potential for escape.  And escape isn't always laughing; escape is going somewhere else.

ALFRED UHRY:  The Broadway musical is an American art form.  And I think we take great pride in moving the form forward.

HAROLD PRINCE:  If you're doing a musical, and if you're me, it really starts with the idea.

ALFRED UHRY:  The biggest challenge with Parade is that there was so much story to tell.

HAROLD PRINCE:  The difficult part was writing such a compelling, potentially moving, and exhilarating--oddly enough--story, given how deeply tragic this man's life was.

JASON ROBERT BROWN:  Composing for a musical is about character--we have to know who they are.  So it's sitting down with Alfred Uhry and talking about what is this moment about, and how do we say what we want to say with it.  At their best, the songs and the story all work as one wonderful thing.  My job as a composer is to make the music part of the vision.

HAROLD PRINCE:  Theatre has always been there and always will be.  As much because people wanna make it as they want to see it.
 
 

ALFRED UHRY:  Oh man, well, wow.  You know, you're gonna hear a song later from Parade called "This Isn't Over Yet," and it's my honor to announce tonight that Parade isn't over yet either.  Parade is going to reopen next June in Atlanta, it's gonna tour for a year.  (applause)  Yeah.  And who knows?  Look for us maybe to come back to New York.  (applause)  Uh, thank you.  I know that I wouldn't be standing here without the guidance and support of a brilliant young songwriter named Jason Robert Brown.  And the grand master of the game, Hal Prince.  I also know that Parade would never have come to New York without the good auspices of the Lincoln Center Theatre, specifically Andre Bishop and Bernie Gersten.  Thank you for that.  It was my honor to work with Patricia Birch, and 35 dear, gifted actors who gave everything for Georgia.  I thank them all.  I thank the Tony voters, and, of course, I thank my wife Joanna and my daugthers Emily, Elizabeth, Kate, and Nell for making the real world even better than this.  Thank you.  Thank you.

JASON ROBERT BROWN:  (indicates the award)  These are exactly like the ones Hal has in his office, so I'm kind of used to them.  Um, I, I wanna say, Don Sebesky, if you think this isn't your award, too, you're absolutely crazy, man.  Thank you for everything.  Um, Eric Stern absolutely took care of my music with such respect and such care and thank you for that.  I had the greatest orchestra and cast and thanks to them and thanks to John Miller and to, uh, Mark Simon for helping me put them together.  Uh, Alfred Uhry treated me as an equal from the very first day, and I thank him for that.  Uh, I have to thank Bernie and Andre and Tom Cott at Lincoln Center Theatre--God bless you, you were great.  You gave us everything we deserved and more.  Um, Pat Birch and an incredible design team
. . .  I, it's just a list, but what can I do?  I have a time limit.  So, you guys were all great.  Um, I, uh, I wanna thank Billy Rosenfield at RCA Victor.  I wanna thank Sandra Gilman and Celso Gonzalez-Falla, for all their support. (points to something in the audience)  Someone wanna get that?  I want to, um, I want to thank Mark Sendroff and Jeffrey Lesser.  I especially wanna thank my family, a wonderful, wonderful, supportive family--no matter what I say in therapy.  (waves to his folks in the audience)  Thank you, Mom, thank you, Dad--I love you.  Um, and, uh, finally, I, uh, I, uh, in addition to thanking all my friends who have helped me through a tough year, and thank you, all of you, and Michele, thank you so much for everything.  But this is, uh . . . five years ago, Hal Prince asked me to write a Broadway musical, and nobody else in this business would have given me that opportunity and I, I hope to God that I have lived up to what you expected of me.  And thank you and your whole crazy family.  I love you, and thank you.  Goodnight.
 

Brent Carver and Carolee Carmello reprised their roles one last time, performing "This Is Not Over Yet" on the broadcast.  That number segued into a shortened version of "The Old Red Hills of Home," sung by members of the cast, including Randy Redd, Jeff Edgerton, J.C. Montgomery, and Herndon Lackey, among others.
 
 
 
 
 

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