Parade
Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Book by Alfred Uhry
Directed by Dominic Missimi
At Cahn Auditorium
On the campus of Northwestern University
600 Emerson
Evanston, IL
Thursday, November 18, 2004 at 8 PM
Friday, November 19, 2004 at 8 PM
Saturday, November 20, 2004 at 8PM
Sunday, November 21, 2004 at 2 PM
Parade's power blasts across Cahn Auditorium's stage
Northwestern University's Theatre, Music and Interpretation
Center
Departments, under the direction of Dominic Missimi and music
direction
from Ryan Nelson, should take an extra bow for Parade---it is
a
spectacular, heart-wrenching musical. Parade is an elegant show in
the
finest American tradition of a Showboat or a Ragtime. Parade is a
major
achievement with stunning power that will move you unlike any
musical
in recent memory. It is the American Les Miserables.
From the impressive Projection design by John Boesche, Video
editing by
Logan Kibens, set design by Scott Neale, sound by Josh Horvath
and
Lighting by Lee Keenan and choreography by Antonette Balestreri
and the
twenty-four piece orchestra conducted by Ryan Nelson, Parade
looks,
sounds and feels like a major Broadway show. Northwestern
University¹s
musicals are usually of higher quality than most professional
tours
that grave the Loop theatres. This production is so impressive
that
it¹ll amaze even the most sophisticated theatre patron.
Parade is the true story of Leo Frank (Jesse Manocherian), a
Jewish man
who was wrongly convicted of the murder of thirteen-year old
Mary
Phagan (Morgan Weed). The musical covers not only the trial, but
also
dramatizes the love story between Leo and his wife Lucille
(Jessica
Shure). The show is basically an historical retelling of the
story,
but it also subtly examines class and race relations, prejudice,
and
the South. In the end, Leo's sentence is commuted from the
death
sentence to life imprisonment, but on the two-year anniversary of
the
little girl's death, a mob takes him from his cell and lynches him.
Composer-lyricist Brown makes an impressive Broadway debut with
some
achingly beautiful songs - "Old Red Hills of Home," a stirring
anthem
of Southern pride; and "You Don't Know This Man," Lucille's
defiant
defense of her husband. This production is filled with marvelous
voices
and rich harmonies.
Uhry's Frank is not a perfect martyr but an arrogant Atlanta
newcomer
who yearns for the "real people" of his Brooklyn youth. Another
bold
choice is to begin the evening with a noble young Rebel soldier
going
off to war - then magically transform him into a bitter,
grizzled,
one-legged veteran in the Confederate Memorial Day Parade (hence
the
show's title) 50 years later. In this single brilliant stroke,
Uhry
provides a sympathetic insight into the men who shouted for the
head of
the Yankee foreman who paid their children pennies an hour.
Thus Uhry shifts the blame off the common man and onto Tom Watson
(Dan
Kohler), the publisher of "The Jeffersonian," who incites him with
such
verbatim phrases as "perverted sodomite Jew." Uhry also includes
a
stereotypically clownish defense lawyer, a sort of Big Daddy
without
the brains.
His least credible characters are lesser villains: prosecutor
Hugh
Dorsey, who exploits the Frank case with naked political ambition;
and
Britt Craig (Devin DeSantis), reporter for the now-defunct
Atlanta
Georgian, a generic figure of journalistic sleaze who seems to
arise
from the opportunity rather than a sense of deep historical
outrage.
Parade is simply too riveting in its authentic horrors and
too
intelligently told. Uhry's book has an uncanny ability to weave in
and
out of characters' heads, making fantasy coexist with reality;
even the
choreography by Antonette Balestreri enhances this effect.
In the evening's most daring sequence, as factory girls give
coached
testimony about Frank's alleged sexual advances, the
repressed
superintendent dances with them with a mad, suggestive abandon,
even
leaping up to strut across courtroom desks.
But the evening's transcendent moment has nothing to do with
tragedy -
it's about fleeting, quiet joy, as Leo and Lucille enjoy
their
long-awaited "picnic." In Brown's most soaring notes and
inspired
lyrics (fully realized by the voices of the superb Jesse
Manocherian
and Jessica Shure), the Franks come to terms with "All the Wasted
Time"
that they neglected to enjoy each other, just hours before
the
vigilantes seize him.
Parade is a somber, gripping beauty of a show; the kind musical
theater
fans will relish and wish to see more than once. Because Parade
is
ambitious and sets the story of its two central characters against
a
larger social canvas, it may take some patience from the audience.
The emotional heart of the show, what we come to care about most,
is
the relationship between Leo and wife Lucille: As Lucille fights
for
justice for her husband, she changes from a docile Southern belle
to a
figure of strength. And an arranged, somewhat distant and
sterile
marriage is transformed, husband and wife falling in love for the
first
time as a result of what they have endured in the two years
following
Mary's murder.
Parade features Jason Robert Brown's amazing assortment of
ballads,
comedy songs and anthems using a wide range of styles from
period
(early 1900's) music to ragtime to contemporary pop forming a
distinct
"southern" sound. This score was sung with emotional fervor as
Adam
Hart (Frankie Epps), Devin Desantis, as the drunken reporter lands
the
terrific songs deftly. Rich performances from Jarrod Zimmerman as
the
nasty prosecutor Hugh Dorsey, Travis Turner as Jim Conley and
Michael
Kohn as Governor Slaton enhance the production. The ensemble had
a
collective effect that drove home much of the emotions of the show.
Parade's finest moments came from Jesse Manocherian as Leo Frank.
He
sang and exuded the fear and bewilderment Frank surely felt. His
songs
hit us in the heart. Jessica Shure sang and portrayed Lucille
Frank
with an understated dignity and her powerful voice sent her songs
into
out souls.
Parade is the saddest musical ever in the tradition of a Greek
tragedy.
Parade's integrity is haunting, as it never loses its purpose or
its
focus on justice, racism, anti-Semitism as it demonstrates
the
potential of the masses to violence.
Parade is a somber gripping gorgeous show that will leave you
relishing
its power and beckoning you to see it again. All the best musicals
have
that influence. You only have four performances left.
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com
comments
Chicago stage Talk Radio Show
November 13, 2004
Back to The Old Red Hills of
HOME