New York's Museum of Jewish Heritage Presents SEEKING JUSTICE: THE CASE OF LEO FRANK REVISITED

A story of how institutionalized racism and anti-Semitism can cause good people to do horrific things for what they believe to be a just cause is not the kind of subject most Americans think of when the topic of Broadway musicals arises.

Like the true life story it was based on, Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry's PARADE, depicting the events leading up to the 1913 murder conviction, and eventual lynching, of Jewish factory superintendent Leo Frank in Marietta, Georgia, sparked controversy and heated emotions.

Though its limited run original Broadway production had already closed by the season's end, PARADE was nominated for nine Tony Awards in 1999, winning the prizes for book and score. The musical received event more exposure when Brent Carver, Carolee Carmello and members of the company performed on the Tony Award telecast.

New York's Museum of Jewish Heritage, located at 16 Battery Place, will explore the momentous and tragic events surrounding Leo Frank's conviction for the murder of 13-year-old factory worker Mary Phagan in a new exhibition called SEEKING JUSTICE: THE LEO FRANK CASE REVISITED.

The State of Georgia pardoned Frank in 1986, "without attempting to address the question of guilt or innocence," and the case has sparked more than a century of debate

Set against the backdrop of the American South, SEEKING JUSTICE will examine racial, religious, regional and class prejudices in the early 20th century. The case, which shook the nation, galvanized the Anti-Defamation League and revived the Ku Klux Klan. The exhibition represents more than 20 years of research and collecting of archival materials.

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