Broadway By Design: Dane Laffrey and Sven Ortel Bring PARADE from Page to Stage

In Broadway by Design, BroadwayWorld is shining a spotlight on the stellar designs of this Broadway season, show by show. Today, we continue with the creatives from the most acclaimed musical revival of the season, Parade- Scenic Designer Dane Laffrey and Projection Designer Sven Ortel.

In Parade, 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. Riveting and gloriously hopeful, Parade reminds us that to love, we must truly see one another.

Where did the design processs begin? "I had a few primary threads of inspiration for the scenic design of Parade," explained Laffrey. "In terms of the physical structure, we looked at a lot of research of things that were hastily constructed: grandstands for political events, viewing bleachers, and the immensely troubling gallows built in front of the US capitol on January 6th. There's an urgency and roughness to these structures that felt right for our telling.

"Our platforms are built atop a much older foundation of ancient wooden sleepers, rising out of Georgia red clay - a long history not quite occluded by what's brand new. All of this is set inside an entirely exposed Jacobs Theatre, stripping away theatrical artifice and illusion. A bare back wall allows Sven Ortel's extraordinary video design to provide historical counterpoint to the story."

"[I looked to] historical photographs of Atlanta's streets, architecture, and people in the early 20th century," added Ortel. "But many historical photographs do not lend themselves to be blown up to the size we intended to show them at, let alone one brick wall with vertical beams and horizontal columns. Figuring out a process for the photographs to look authentic and placed in conversation with the architecture was challenging, but ultimately very rewarding."

Where did the design challenges arise? "I think the biggest challenge our creative team faced was around editing. What we've made has a very different look and feel from most other musicals on Broadway. It's essentialized and refined," said Laffrey.

"Our overarching goal has been to create a strong container that supports the power of the story and the unspoken tension between past and present. Our constant challenge was to remain disciplined about how much to show and how we could find the most muscular way to express place and time."

Parade is currently running on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.