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“Parade” at Proctors is a heartfelt musical about a sensitive subject

Erin Rose Doyle and Jake Pedersen in a scene from "Parade"
Joan Marcus
/
Courtesy of Proctors
Erin Rose Doyle and Jake Pedersen in a scene from "Parade"

Almost everyone has heard of the Anti-Defamation League, but few realize how the organization whose mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all” got its start.

It was founded in 1913 in response to the trial and conviction of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager, who was accused and found guilty of raping and murdering a 13-year old female employee. He was sentenced to death in a blatantly anti-Semitic trial in Atlanta, Georgia. The League was helpful in getting Frank’s sentence commuted from death to life imprisonment. 

However, in a move sure to incite violence, Frank was captured from a working farm prison and moved to a jail in the victim’s home town. The jail was raided by a violent mob and Frank was publicly lynched for a crime he didn’t commit. 

It’s sounds an unlikely story on which to create a musical. Indeed, the heavy plot has hindered commercial success. Yet, those who have experienced the work are devoted to both the penetrating score and the love story between husband and wife that centers the tragic tale.

“Parade” is begging its national tour at Proctors in Schenectady. It is a continuation of a Broadway legend that refuses to be forgotten. 

It was first produced on Broadway in 1998 at Lincoln Center and ran for 39 previews and only 85 regular performances. Playing Lucille Frank was Carolee Carmello, a Broadway star who was raised in Schenectady.

It had a limited national tour in 2000, and a major Broadway revival in 2023. The opening on March 16, 2023 made national news when it was protested by the Neo-Nazi group National Socialist Movement.

Though the revival only ran for 21 previews and 169 regular productions, it was nominated for six Tony Awards. It won two, including Best Revival of a Musical.

The book won a Tony for the original production for Alfred Uhry, who is best known for his play “Driving Miss Daisy,” also set in Georgia. By coincidence, Uhry’s great-uncle owned the pencil factory managed by Leo Frank.

“Parade” addresses anti-Semitism, but the number “Rumblin’ and a Rollin’” questions if the same fuss would be made if either the victim or the accused were Black? They conclude, likely not.

Too, the fact that Governor John Slaton, who commuted Frank’s sentence, found his political career ended. The unscrupulous prosecuting attorney, Hugh Dorsey, eventually replaced him as governor. And, after the trial, the muck raking journalist, Tom Watson, ran for and won the seat for the US Senate.

The self-serving politics of hate and anti-Semitism made “Parade” a passion-project for Hal Prince, the famed director-producer who often collaborated with Stephen Sondheim. Indeed, the pair’s work on “Sweeny Todd,” a murderous barber, proved that subject mattered little if the product was exceptional.

For “Parade” Prince directed the original and co-conceived the plot. He hand-picked composer Jason Robert Brown to write the score. (That was after Stephen Sondheim passed on the project.) Brown’s score won him a Tony Award for his work.

The composer is, perhaps, the ideal man for this material. Within the industry he is highly regarded and has an almost cult following with those who know his body of work. However, probably because of his attraction to sensitive material, he has not yet had that breakout hit. “The Last Five Years,” is popular among regional and community theaters, as is his “Bridges of Madison County” and “Songs for a New World.” But major commercial success has eluded him.

What Brown excels in is telling a story through his lyrics. In “Parade” the rekindling of the love between the Franks is a case in point. Those songs are simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting.

Which perhaps is the experience you can expect if you see “Parade” at Proctors. It is at the Schenectady venue through Friday. For schedule and information go to atproctors.org

Bob Goepfert is theater reviewer for the Troy Record.

The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.

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