REVIEW: Prejudice, Politics And The Perversion Of Justice Play Out in PARADE

Saturday 11th May 2024, 7:30pm, Everest Theater Seymour Centre

Mark Taylor (Director) delivers an engaging expression of Alfred Uhry (Book) and Jason Robert Brown’s (Music and Lyrics) Tony Award winning musical PARADE.  Based on true events, the story of the gross deficiencies of a 1913 trial and conviction of Leo Frank retains a relevance in the 21st century, not just because racial and religious prejudice is rearing its ugly head again, but media misinformation and manipulation persists, and political agendas take priority over truth and justice. 

PARADE, co-conceived by Harold Prince, who also directed the Award-winning Broadway original, is based on the trial of Leo Frank (Aaron Robuck), the Superintendent of the National Pencil Company’s Atlanta factory, who was accused and convicted of raping and murdering a thirteen-year-old employee, Mary Phagan (Adeline Hunter) on 26 April 1913, the date of the Confederate Memorial Day Parade.  While world-weary reporter Britt Craig (Maverick Newman) sees the case as his career changing story, others sought to seek revenge for Mary’s death with Frankie Epps (James Frampton), the young man that kept asking Mary out despite her rebuffs, and antisemitic journalist Tom Watson (Liam Wigney), setting their sights on Frank, the Jewish man from New York, as the murderer.  At the urging of Governor John Slaton (Nic Davey-Greene), the case was rushed through without due process as prosecutor Hugh Dorsey (James Nation -Ingle) was urged to make a quick conviction as anything else would reflect badly on the Governor. Not confident he had enough evidence, Dorsey interpreted the instruction as ‘do whatever it takes’ to find Frank guilty, leading to witness tampering in the form of intimidation to make false statements, and not challenging the police methods to uncover evidence.

With an introductory scene set in the American Civil War to both frame the purpose of the Parade that really only anchors the start of the timeline of the story, and the overall sentiment of the South that persisted post war, Set, Props and Costume Designer Harry Gill has created a space that echoes the Confederate allegiance of Atlanta Georgia through Blue and Red stripes and white stars to echo the Confederate flag that has also become a symbol of America’s far right.  Heavy timber framework and floorboards evoke images of the factory in which Mary’s body was found as well as the robust nature one would expect of civic buildings like the court house and jail.  Given the staging is simple, Sidney Younger’s lighting plays an important role in evoking the underlying mood and reinforcing moments of bloodshed and sinister evil undertones as the witness’ farfetched fabrications seek to paint Leo Frank as a depraved deviant.

With the work taking place between 1913 and 1915, Gill’s costuming generally reflects the Edwardian era styling which bridges a gap between old world and new world styles allowing the contemporary audience to see the work as both historical but having a contemporary relevance as the characters are not that far removed from modern society.  The only significant deviation from historical accuracy is the evening gown selected for Sally Slaton (Sophie Loughran), the young wife of the Governor, favoring a style more akin to Regency than Edwardian, incongruent with her young age and their socio-economic status. 

While a century old tragic miscarriage of justice may seem an odd choice for a musical theatre treatment, it is understandable that Jason Robert Brown received a Tony Award for Best Original Score in 1999.  He draws from a variety of musical stylings to create unique and complex pieces.  The ensemble handles the score well from a musical point of view but some of the impact of Brown’s lyrics are lost through a combination of sound balance and diction when navigating the Southern accents.  As Leo Frank, Aaron Robuck is captivating as the quintessential New York Jew with strong vocals and intuitive acting.  As Leo’s wife Lucille Frank, Montana Sharp has is vocally strong and allows the audience to see Lucille’s evolution from the housewife told to stay home and cook to a woman who wants her husband to see she is capable of more as she does what she can to seek justice.

PARADE is an unusual piece of musical theater in that it is hard to like the content of the story being told, from racism and antisemitism, to gender violence, corruption in the justice system, media misinformation, a misogynistic society, citizen ‘justice’, and politicians and political hopefuls that will do whatever it takes to get power.  That said, it tells an important story, not just in terms of Leo Frank’s story where his guilt or innocence is still under contention, but also in allowing contemporary audiences to use it as a yardstick to see how far we’ve progressed, or sadly have not.  Events worldwide have shown that much of society’s failings that existed in 1913 remain in the 21st century. 

PARADE (parademusical.com.au)

Photos: Matthew Chen

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