"Parade" - by Jason Robert Brown - Emerson Colonial Theatre (Boston, MA.) - REVIEW
(Cover Photo: Max Chernin as "Leo Frank" with members of the CAST of the musical, "PARADE" by Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry, now playing at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, MA. through March 23, 2025. Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)
By Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMAG Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
"I ain't seen no pile of rags there before. So, I go over and I kick it and I shine down my light, and Lord...Lord, ain't no pile of rags at all."
("Newt Lee") - Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry
The Emerson Colonial Theatre
Presents the Jason Robert Brown Musical
"PARADE"
2023 TONY AWARD® WINNER FOR BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL!
2025 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR!
LIMITED ENGAGEMENT!
Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Book by Alfred Uhry
Directed by Michael Arden
Based upon the Historical Events in Atlanta from 1913 to 1915
Parade was originally directed on Broadway by Harold Prince
Choreography by Lauren Yalango-Grant & Christopher Cree Grant
Cast Includes: Max Chernin, Talia Suskauer, Griffin Binnicker, Evan Harrington, Ramone Nelson, Jack Roden, Andrew Samonsky, Chris Shyer, Michael Tacconi, Alison Ewing, Olivia Goosman, Danielle Lee Greaves, Jenny Hickman, Robert Knight, Prentiss E. Mouton, Oluchi Nwaokorie, William Bishop, Ben Cherington, Emily Rose DeMartino, Bailee Endebrock, Caroline Fairweather, Jerquintez A. Gipson, Trevor James, Brianna Javis, Benjamin Magnuson, Sophia Manicone, Trista Moldovan, Ethan Riordan, Jason Simon, Jodi Snyder, Brian Vaughn, Eden Witvoet, Jake Ziman.
Additional Creative Team:
Scenic Design - Dane Laffrey; Costume Design - Susan Hilferty; Lighting Design - Heather Gilbert; Sound Design - Jon Weston; Projection Design - Sven Ortel; Hair and Wig Design - Tom Watson; Music Coordinator - Kimberlee Wertz; Casting - Telsey and Company / Craig Burns, CSA.
Performances:
March 11, 2025 through March 23,2025
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
EMERSON COLONIAL THEATRE, 106 Boylston St, Boston, MA. 02116
TICKETS:
By phone # 888-616-0272 Box Office Hours: Monday-Friday: 9am - 8pm (EST); Saturday-Sunday: 10am - 8pm (EST)
THE EMERSON COLONIAL THEATRE Box Office is located at 106 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116
THE EMERSON COLONIAL THEATRE website is the official source for tickets:
http://www.emersoncolonialtheatre.com/
BUY TICKETS
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(Warning: The following review contains spoilers)
A very different kind of "PARADE" has marched into the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, and it is something everyone should see.
This particular "PARADE" is a musical melodrama filled with a bitter perspective on American justice with a page torn from our own history that has subject matter (unfortunately) as relevant as ever.
With a Tony Award-winning book written by Alfred Uhry and score by Jason Robert Brown, the cast on this latest National Tour is stellar to say the least.
Exquisitely directed by Michael Arden and based upon historical events, "PARADE" was originally directed on Broadway by the legendary Harold Prince.
From splendid costuming to an ingenious use of technical effects, the production is both extraordinarily detailed in its presentation and stunning in its execution.
Photo: The CAST of the musical, "PARADE" by Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry, now playing at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, MA. through March 23, 2025. Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)
"PARADE" dramatizes the 1913 Georgia trial, imprisonment and subsequent lynching of Jewish-American Leo Frank (played in this latest tour by Max Chernin in an intense and riveting performance).
Frank, a foreman at a pencil manufacturing plant, was accused and convicted of raping and murdering a 13-year-old employee, Mary Phagan (Olivia Goosman).
However, as the actual events unfolded - or at least as represented in this retelling - the story became less about Phagan’s horrific murder and more about the inhumane injustice done to Frank, all in the name of saving political face by spurring on anti-Semitic hatred.
One of those helping to "circulate" this hatred was anti-Semitic publisher Tom Watson (Griffin Binnicker).
Watson opposed outgoing Governor John Slaton (Chris Shyer) who would become a pivotal figure in Frank’s case after a confrontational meeting with Frank’s wife, Lucille (Talia Suskauer).
Shyer as Slaton shines mostly in the show's arguably stronger second act, especially when working with Suskauer or in scenes opposite Alison Ewing as Slaton's wife, Sally.
Photo: Max Chernin as "Leo Frank" with members of the CAST of the musical, "PARADE" by Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry, now playing at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, MA. through March 23, 2025. Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)
It is the relationship expressed between Chernin and Suskauer as Leo and Lucille that truly drives "PARADE" as it exceptionally explores both the fragility and poignancy of the Frank marriage which, almost from the very beginning, appears doomed.
Struggling through adversity, though, Suskauer especially is commendable as the resilient Lucille, staunchly advocating for her incarcerated husband as he lingers on death row – championing for justice while not really sure of the actual truth herself.
A politically ambitious and corrupt prosecutor Hugh Dorsey (Andrew Samonsky) - again, at least as depicted here - ultimately railroaded Leo Frank.
Dorsey dismissed two African-American suspects, the factory's night watchman, Newt Lee (Robert Knight) and factory janitor Jim Conley (Ramone Nelson) not because he thought either was innocent, but rather he just did not want to seed any blowback from the African-American community.
Leo Frank’s case inspired the 2009 documentary “The People v. Leo Frank” and the actual case (re-opened for review in 2019) is still ongoing with, as a result, any resolution or perceived justice for the century-old events as depicted may not be coming anytime soon.
When the musical adaptation debuted on Broadway in 1998, "PARADE" would go on to receive nine Tony Award nominations, winning for Best Book and Best Original Score. The musical would also win six Drama Desk Awards.
(Photo: Members of the CAST of the musical, "PARADE" by Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry, now playing at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, MA. through March 23, 2025. Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)
Updated for a new Broadway run in 2023, "PARADE" was once again nominated for six Tony Awards, winning two, including one for Best Revival of a Musical.
Purportedly, it was the iconic Harold Prince who offered "PARADE" to Jason Robert Brown to write the score after Stephen Sondheim turned the project down.
Yet, between Brown’s score and the book by Alfred Uhry, there is still a kind of prevailing Sondheim “vibe” here, as the "PARADE" score is more aligned with pushing the narrative forward rather than giving folks a number or two to hum along with on the ride home.
There are also some occasional head-scratching moments, some over-the-top musical melodrama coming from Brown’s score, and the aloof, erudite character of Frank which, as written by Uhry, does not always come across as anybody one may want to “root for.”
However, these things are quickly forgiven as the show delves further into the actual facts and events of the case with performance that are absolutely sublime.
Photo: Max Chernin as "Leo Frank" with members of the CAST of the musical, "PARADE" by Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry, now playing at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, MA. through March 23, 2025. Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)
From the outset of "PARADE," which sets up the 1913 environment by first looking at the end of the Civil War from a Confederate perspective, there are many moments in the story that will have some people exceedingly uncomfortable.
Good. They should.
As seen in the opening number "The Old Red Hills of Home" and "The Dream of Atlanta" with some folks waving Confederate flags, almost none of the 1913 citizens of the state of Georgia are presented here in a positive light.
Some may also come across as all-too-representative of those Americans today who are still so easily manipulated and (mis-)guided by pundits and politicians with ignorant, myopic, hateful and bigoted agendas.
And yet, we also see in "PARADE" some of these people - those Americans - seeking justice with a firm reliance on trying to obtain the truth, even if that truth might prove to be excruciating for some to learn and/or not be aligned with their best interest.
Other standout musical numbers from this exceptional musical include "Blues: Feel the Rain Fall," "You Don't Know This Man," "Do it Alone," and "All the Wasted Time.”
This highly topical and substantially relevant "PARADE" continues its ongoing march at the Emerson Colonial Theatre until March 23rd, 2025 and it is highly advised to not let this one pass you by.
For tickets and more information, phone # 888-616-0272.
THE EMERSON COLONIAL THEATRE Box Office is located at 106 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116.
THE EMERSON COLONIAL THEATRE website is the official source for tickets:
http://www.emersoncolonialtheatre.com/
BUY TICKETS
Approximately two hours, 30 minutes including intermission
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE SHOW
Leo and Lucille Frank are a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in the old red hills of Georgia.
When Leo is accused of an unspeakable crime, it propels them into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice, and devotion.
(Photo credit: Joan Marcus)
Riveting and gloriously hopeful, "PARADE" reminds us that to love, we must truly see one another.
TICKETS available by phone # 888-616-0272
BUY TICKETS
ABOUT THE EMERSON COLONIAL THEATRE
In its storied history, THE EMERSON COLONIAL THEATRE has debuted such seminal Broadway shows as Anything Goes, Porgy and Bess, Oklahoma!, Born Yesterday, Follies, A Little Night Music, Grand Hotel and La Cage aux Folles, among others. Reviving a great theatrical tradition, Boston’s newly restored EMERSON COLONIAL THEATRE officially re-opened its doors in July 2018 with the pre-Broadway World Premiere of Moulin Rouge! The Musical. THE EMERSON COLONIAL THEATRE, which opened in 1900 with a production of Ben-Hur, is the oldest continuously operated theater in Boston; as well as being amongst the most magnificent, having retained most of its original period details. A theatre for the community, EMERSON COLONIAL THEATRE will once again contribute to the rich cultural landscape of Boston, with a new and varied program of Broadway shows, live music, comedy and events.
106 Boylston Street
Boston, MA. 02116
