True Crime Musical, PARADE, to Open in Portland This October

"Things changed," Cast Aside Productions' Artistic Director David Surkin explained while discussing the theater company's recent programming switch.

Up until early August the plan for the Portland non-profit professional theater company was to open the 2003 dark comedy, Martin McDonagh's THE PILLOWMAN.

"When I selected PILLOWMAN last year, the world felt very different. The idea of exploring the concept of creating art in a totalitarian state seemed relevant at the time. The original question was: 'What would living under a dictator be like for artists?' But in the wake of the violent events in Charlottesville, a more pressing question presented itself: 'How did we get here?'"

PARADE is a rarely produced musical by THE LAST FIVE YEARS composer Jason Robert Brown, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Alfred Urhy, and co-conceived by Hal Prince. Winner of the 1999 Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Original Score, it depicts the true story of Mary Phagan - a 13-year-old factory worker murdered in Atlanta during a Confederate Memorial Day Parade in 1913 - and the trial, wrongful conviction, and murder of her Jewish boss, Leo Frank.

The show revolves around racial and anti-Semitic tensions in the American South, 50 years after the Civil War ended and on the doorstep of World War 1. It provides a glimpse into how these tensions still exist today, examining how our country never had time to process its deep divide, before being forced to unite in the great global conflict.

Cast Aside Productions' ensemble cast includes: Tommy Waltz, Kelly Mosher, Thomas Smallwood, Zara Boss, Michael Jenkins, Viva, Adam Gary Normand, Peter Lord, Kyle Aarons, Alan McLucas, Suzie Assam, Jenna Guiggey, Jonathon Raines, Celeste Green, Tim Wooten, Hannah Duston, Maggie O'Neill, Rachel Henry, David Surkin, Amy Topchik, Mary Doherty, and Nick Sutton.

The production will be co-directed by David Surkin and Celeste Green. Wendy Feaver will serve as music director and pit band keyboardist with Bill Manning on drums, Sam Schuth on violin, and Jonathon Raines providing additional strings.

PARADE runs October 20-22 at Portland Ballet Studio Theater (517 Forest Avenue, Portland Maine). Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8:00PM, and Sunday at 1:30PM. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit castasideproductions.com.

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