Pittsburgh’s Boutique Professional Musical Theater Company
August 21–31, 2014
2014 SEASON
* Actors Equity Association Member
REVIEWS FOR PARADE
Stage review: 'Parade' digs deep into American hatred
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sharon Eberson
August 25, 2014
On bearing witness to the musical “Parade,” it’s easy to imagine playwright Alfred Uhry, a Jewish son of the South, uneasily confronted with the Confederate Memorial Day parade and its proud displays of the crisscrossed flag of Dixie.
You know the route the story is going to take, and knowing the inexorable outcome, you still can’t look away. Perhaps that’s why the creators chose to resurrect this scar on American history — the lynching of Jewish factory manager Leo Frank — as a musical, with a lush score by Jason Robert Brown. The violence inherent in the facts is implied for the stage, including the rape and murder of young Mary Phagan. The crime for which Frank is indicted happens away from our eyes, but the corruption and hatred that put Frank behind bars and led to his murder is constantly in your face, sung by conniving politicians, unscrupulous reporters and the malleable witnesses easily manipulated through hate and fear.
Review: Parade
Pittsburgh in the Round, Isaac Crow
August 24, 2014
Sitting down to write this review of Parade, the one word I can’t get out of my head is “injustice”. As I watched this fabulous production about a man arrested and charged for a crime he did not commit in 1913, my mind couldn’t help but think about the similar events unfolding in Ferguson, Missouri. Now the cases of Leo Frank and Michael Brown aren’t exactly the same, but the general themes are there: a man is unjustly killed for committing no crime, but rather is a victim of prejudice and racism. The Front Porch Theatricals’ production of Parade is coming around at a convenient time, showing us how much (or how little) things have changed in one hundred years.
Parade tells the real story of Leo Frank (Jesse Manocherian), a factory superintendent who is charged with the assault and murder of one of his 13-year old employees, Mary Phagan (Alexandra Illescas). While Leo is innocent, the town quickly turns on him on the basis that he is Jewish. As Leo is imprisoned, his wife Lucille (Daina Michelle Griffith) works tirelessly to help his case and prove his innocence to everyone.
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CAST
Leo Frank
Lucille Frank
Gov. Slaton/ Britt Craig
Hugh Dorsey
Mary Phagan
Frankie Epps/Young Soldier
Mrs. Phagan
Jim Conley
Judge Roan/Old Soldier
Tom Watson
Luther Rosser/Mr. Peavy
Newt Lee
Minnie McKnight
Mrs. Slaton/Monteen
Lola
Essie