Review: Garden Theatre's Timely Musical PARADE Puts Anti-Semitism and Southern Justice on Trial

As news of Nazi rallies throughout Orlando and a white nationalist conference just outside of Walt Disney World rock Central Florida, Garden Theatre opens a musical this week that meets the moment: PARADE.

First staged on Broadway in 1998, PARADE is the true story of Jewish American Leo Frank, who in the early 1900s was wrongfully convicted of a young girl's murder and later lynched by community leaders outside of Atlanta.

Alfred Uhry's book and Jason Robert Brown's extensive musical score each won Tonys in the show's original run. Their presentation of this highly entangled court case is light on details and leans on narrative convention. It's their way of covering a lot of ground - and even more characters - in just two acts without overwhelming their audience. Maybe it's my legal background rearing its head, but I can't help wishing for more of the underlying facts as the courtroom proceedings whiz by. That desire extends to the very end, where a lingering question mark may leave even the most non-lawyerly patrons nonplussed.

But PARADE is less interested in a journalistic investigation than a thematic reflection on universal vices: antisemitism, judicial injustice, mob mentality, racism, and a rush to judgment. In a state where those evils are frighteningly systemic and resurgent, perhaps PARADE's focus is exactly where it should be.

There is an interesting moment early in George Jackson's lighting design, when the set is awash in sinister shades of red just as the characters first angrily demand justice, well before the show begins to explicitly connect that demand to any racial animus. The suggestion is that this impulse alone - the knee-jerk turn toward the criminal justice system as a salve for emotional wounds - is itself a very dangerous thing, a breeding ground for racism. Implicitly, the production asks us to understand that a reactionary call for justice can be the thing that yields precisely its opposite.

The State of Florida has one of the highest incarceration rates in the United States, a country that at least by official count has more people in prison per capita than Russia or China (a fact that hits especially hard this week). A substantial portion of them have never been convicted by a jury. That fact is so deeply unsettling and yet so chillingly true as to render a production like The Garden's not only well timed but downright essential.

And what a production it is. Scenic designer Joshua E. Gallagher has created a two-story set that utilizes nearly every square inch of the available space, the walls of this courtroom slanted like the "justice" meted out inside them. In one key moment, lights shine across ceiling fans in the rafters, casting oscillating shadows onto those walls to ominous effect. The balconies and moving stairways are well conceptualized, logically suiting each of the other principal settings - a well-off Georgian home, a jailhouse, and a workplace factory and its upstairs offices. Oceas Rodriguez's handsome carpentry is so substantial it looks like a permanent fixture, its imposing build a reminder of the staunch and unforgiving institutions that such monuments represent.

Choreographer Roberta Emerson and director Joseph Walsh have achieved a remarkable kinetic energy from beginning to end. The elaborate blocking is undoubtedly a challenge given the limited space and the sheer number of actors on stage (often more than a dozen in a single scene). Their use of benches and chairs as ever-changing, on-the-spot platforms is clever, artful, and - especially when those chairs slam for dramatic effect - powerful.

Sean Powell is remarkably strong in his lead role as Leo Frank, earning empathy from the audience even as his character responds in entirely human and thus imperfect fashion. Even in a very talented company, Powell's singing voice and diction stand out. Cherry Gonzalez adopts an effective Southern accent as Leo's wife Lucille - not showy but consistent, just enough for authenticity - and packs a punch with her heartrending belts.

Other standouts include Landon Summers whose unnerving and captivating intensity as Tom Watson is critical to the show's thesis; Joel Hunt whose dramatic range takes teenager Frankie Epps from Mouseketeer to monster and whose singing is exceptional; Kyle Adkins whose spot-on accent and slick-politic bluster as Hugh Dorsey is ready for the primetime screen; Ron Miles whose textured voice makes an immediate impression in both his roles as Judge Roan and Old Soldier; and John Gracey who brings convincingly distinctive portrayals to two prominent roles as both Britt Craig the journalist and John Slaton the governor.

Da'Zaria Harris and Keenan J. Harris open Act Two with one of the more memorable musical numbers, which asks why a white girl's murder gets more media attention than a young Black girl's might have - a question so salient still today that it's a shame the show doesn't pursue it much further, an example of PARADE wanting to do more than it has time for. But Keenan and Da'Zaria ensure that "Rumblin' and a Rollin'" lives up to its name, with strong voices each.

Rounding out the talented ensemble are Amy Sue Hardy, Jesse Harris, Brooke Herrera, Joe Llorens, Madison Poston, Lilly Scarlett Reid, and finally Victoria Salisbury as the deceased Mary Phagan.

There is so much more to the story of Leo Frank than this show can hope to convey, but it is an open door to further research and reflection, which the Sunshine State seems to need now more than anyone might have hoped. The Garden Theatre has themed its current season to the concepts of identity and belonging, an artistic direction that in hindsight seems serendipitous if not downright prescient. Longtime patrons have surely noted an all-around enrichment in the artistry on stage at The Garden and in the thoughtfulness of its season selections of late, a testament no doubt to Walsh's conscientious artistic direction and his talents at a show's helm. With PARADE, The Garden continues to fortify itself as an important space for the art its community needs.

How To Get Tickets

PARADE runs through March 13, 2022. Seating is no longer distanced, but a strict mask mandate remains in place for patrons. Actors perform unmasked. (The Garden does not specify whether cast and crew are vaccinated or undergo Covid testing.) Happily, limited concession sales have now returned to the lobby, while paper programs are unfortunately still suspended. Digital programs remain available via QR code or at https://www.gardentheatre.org/, where tickets are still available for the remainder of the run.

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What did you think of PARADE at Garden Theatre? Let me know on Twitter: @aaronwallace

Photos by Steven Miller Photography, courtesy of Garden Theatre

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