There's a 'Parade' in Town at the Donmar

Nine years after its Broadway premiere at Lincoln Centre's Vivian Beaumont theatre, the Jason Robert Brown/Alfred Uhry musical Parade finally made its way to the London stage on September 24 when it opened at the Donmar Warehouse. It has been eagerly anticipated by musical theatre afficionados in the UK and Rob Ashford's production, with a slightly revised and improved score, does not disappoint.  

Parade examines a story that has inspired controversy in the American South for almost a century - the case of Leo Frank, a Brooklyn Jew accused and convicted of the murder of a young girl, Mary Phagan, on highly tenuous evidence in a period of religious and racial prejudice and political injustice. The show opens when a young Confederate soldier in Marietta, Georgia in 1862 bids farewell to his girl before heading off to fight for "the cause", as he sings the song "The Old Red Hills Of Home", which later builds to a powerful and beautiful choral climax as the scene segues into the Confederate Memorial Day Parade in Atlanta in 1913 - the day of Mary Phagan's murder. The political and social fabric of early 20^th century Atlanta is laid bare by Uhry's finely drawn book while Brown uses his masterful musical and lyrical craftsmanship to produce an eclectic mix of musical styles to drive the dramatic action forward. And at the core of the musical is the heart wrenching love story of Leo Frank and his wife Lucille. The couple reawaken their love for each other as Lucille fights against the odds to try and save her innocent husband from the death penalty. In a moment of great pathos and harsh irony,  Leo and Lucille sing "All The Wasted Time", one of Jason Robert Brown's most beautiful songs - a song that ranks with the very best of musical theatre dramatic love ballads.

As Leo Frank, Bertie Carvel delivers a first rate performance that is always totally believable and he is well supported by an excellent ensemble cast, which includes the delightful Jayne Wisener (soon to be seen as Joanna in Tim Burton's forthcoming film version of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd) as Mary Phagan in her West End stage debut. Completing the cast is Lara Pulver, who follows her quite stunning performance in Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years at the Menier Chocolate Factory last year with another outstanding portrayal as Lucille Frank. She has now surely established herself as one of the finest musical theatre performers in the UK.

Christopher Oram's set design creates the perfect background for the show's action, which is delicately and effectively lit by Neil Austin. And in his first venture as director, choreographer Rob Ashford (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Curtains, Evita) has done a magnificent job, finding a perfect balance between subtlety and spectacle. The staging of the climax of the trial scene at the end of Act One, as characters dance frenetically around Leo and Lucille raised and carried on chairs above the action, bursts with high energy and is both lavish and chilling in its effect.

Parade is one of the most finely crafted of all pieces of musical theatre - thought provoking, heart-breaking and musically beautiful. Its transfer to a West End stage is long overdue and all fans of serious musical theatre should be well pleased that they can at last join the parade at the Donmar.

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