Theater Review: Parade

by John Garcia of of John Garcia's The Column

You are watching the news, reading the newspaper, or on the internet, and someone is being accused of a horrific crime. Accompanying the article is the picture of the killer. We immediately make a judgment on that person. The media will twist and turn their story to make it more sensational. They make that accuser even more sinister, strange and evil. They already are declaring him guilty, and yet the trial has not even begun. But not in the court of public opinion, that judgment is already handed out. We don't know the actual facts and evidence, but who cares? He/she "looks" guilty. Months (or years) later the trial reveals the actual evidence and facts, i.e. the truth. But it's too late, because we've already passed judgment as a society.

Jason Robert Brown's Parade is an excellent example of how someone who does not fit the norm is being accused of murder, even though he is completely innocent. This powerful, emotional gripping musical is receiving its regional premiere at Watertower Theatre.

The musical deals with the murder of a little girl who was killed at a pencil factory. One of its employees was a frail, nerdish, quiet man who also happened to be Jewish named Leo Frank. He immediately becomes suspect number one thanks to a shady detective. Citizens are screaming for Frank's head, a governor is demanding justice and a conviction, a lawyer who needs a win badly, and the city's reporters helping feed the fire by writing and condemning the poor man on paper, even before the trial began.

The score is a masterpiece. Brown has composed a rich, emotionally textured, multi-layered score that is marvelous to hear. He penned grand, choral numbers that combines Southern charm, bluegrass, and Baptist hymns into ravishing music. Brown wrote complex melodies that entwine and weave magically into the music. The ballads speak directly from the inner subtext of its characters, thanks to his finesse lyrics.

It's so rare in today's musicals to have that gift of its lyrics truly speak from deep inside within its characters, but Parade achieves that. One of my favorite touches of Brown's music is the underscore. After a gut wrenching solo (such as "It's Hard to Speak My Heart"), Brown keeps one simple note from that ballad segue into the underscore, pulsing quietly in the background. While Hugh Dorsey continues to condemn the accused in court, we still hear Leo's previous solo play underneath-letting the audience know he's still there. It is gorgeous musical subtext like this that adds to the beauty of Brown's score.

Alfred Uhry's book is the perfect compliment to Brown's score. The book works beautifully within the music. Many musicals have the standard pattern of just being some dialogue being thrown in until the next musical number comes along, not here. Uhry allows the music to suddenly appear magically into the book.

The production is directed beautifully by James Paul Lemons. His blocking and staging never looks cumbersome or lackadaisical on the bare stage. He has picture windows carefully arranged all over the stage, giving more weight to the emotion. It's simple, elegant, and honest. Lemons wisely steered his cast from not falling into stereotypes, but instead allowed them to be individually real. His direction here is outstanding. Kudos as well to musical director Matthew Vala and his orchestra for bringing Brown's score to exquisite life.

This is a large cast, which makes it difficult to single out those who provided that something extra special, because in all honesty, the entire company as a whole did just that. From the ensemble to the leads, the cast does a fantastic job in bringing Parade to life.

Theo Wischhusen portrays Britt Craig, the drunken reporter who gets his big break with the murder and its trial after years of reporting on mundane news. The gifted actor provides great energy and drunken showmanship with his brassy solo "Good News". I never liked the voice of the actress who played Mary Phagan on the original cast recording. She sounds as though she is overplaying the Southern dialect. Thankfully Elizabeth Judd avoids that trap completely. Her sweet, innocent face and soft mannerisms give Mary a warm, loving glow to the characterization. The end result here is that the audience feels great sympathy for Mary's brutal death thanks to Ms. Judd's work.

Clay Yocum and Jack Birdwell are also standouts. These two terrific actors bring raw anger and contempt for Leo Frank that is so vivid it makes you squirm in your seat. Yocum is Detective Starnes, a racist cop who apparently doesn't give a damn about facts. Birdwell is Officer Ivey, another racist cop who agrees with his colleague, but does he? Watch how both actors expertly handle the final scene in Act Two. It is not done as tiresome melodrama or hysterics, but instead, Yocum and Birdwell create tension and conflicting motives in that final gripping scene.

As the two main lawyers, Stan Graner and Mark Oristano also deliver smashing performances within this talented company. Graner (as Hugh Dorsey) shows the great determination that he has within him to convict Leo Frank, regardless of the truth. This is a man who was told by the governor that he needs a win after having one loss too many. Oristano is Leo Frank's lawyer, a crude, vulgar man who seems not to see the whole picture here. Both actors give it their all in the courtroom battle, in particular Graner, that adds gritty tension and conflict within the scene.

Ryan Appleby is superb as Mary's close friend Frank Epps. His vocal powerhouse performance in the song "It Don't Make Sense" is one of the best musical numbers of the evening. Others in the gifted company providing excellent work include Trevor Wright (as the young soldier) who sings in a pure, crystal clean tenor voice the prologue, Mary Gilbreath (Mrs. Phagan) who delivers a mother's aching heart with "My Child will Forgive Me", R. Bruce Elliott, Gary Moody, Paul Taylor, Cara Statham Serber, and Walter Cunningham as Jim Conley, the janitor at the pencil factory whose testimony helps put Leo Frank in jail.

Donald Fowler portrays Leo Frank, the accused man who is highly educated and happens to be Jewish. Fowler gives Leo the perfect snobbish and cold persona that shows the audience why many in town don't like him. He's strange, weird, has a nervous tick with his hands, and the man never smiles. Fowler gives a restrained, internal performance that is marvelous to watch. Vocally his finest musical number is the haunting ballad "It's Hard to Speak My Heart," where we finally see what lies underneath that frosty exterior. Fowler wonderfully displays an organic honesty with a complex, detailed characterization that is by far Fowler's finest work.

Jennifer Pasion shows honest, yet internally complicated compassion as Lucille, a wife who may have some doubts of her husband's innocence. She gives her characterization equal doses of sweet Southern belle and quiet reserve. But what I immensely enjoyed from her performance was how her face and eyes showed in aching realism how lost she is with the whole situation. Watch her reactions and body language at the trial. They are small, internal gestures, but they give so much subtext. You see on her face when she realizes the truth about her husband, and it is riveting to see unfold. Pasion has the right amount of bitterness and anger about what people say about her husband in the emotional ballad, "You Don't Know This Man". Pasion's eyes glisten in tears as she deeply peels emotionally into the lyrics explaining her husband. While Pasion does have some vocal problems in reaching a couple of the high notes in her songs, she reveals great intensity that cannot be ignored.

Both thespians play off each other remarkably well, especially in the second act. They both sing two terrific duet numbers that display their talents brightly, "This Is Not Over Yet" and "All the Wasted Time."

Problems within the production were minor. There was at times some pace issues, especially in the first act. Also there were some lighting cues that were a beat behind or came up too early, causing slight distraction, such as the funeral and hanging scenes. The transitions also were slightly problematic. There was no major scenery to move around, as it is a bare stage with only a metal skeleton to serve as the set. The only major set piece besides the metal scaffolding was a huge tree on stage left. But for some strange reason scene changes tended to be a little too long in the dark, delaying the progression.

There were some odd choices within the aforementioned transitions as well. With the audience placed that close to the action, we can see everything. An example of this is the funeral scene. For that scene it took four men to carry Mary's coffin, but in the blackout, the back lighting caught two girls come out and pick up the coffin like it was made of Styrofoam, and rushing off stage. It damages the illusion of theater a little when we see the reality behind the magic.

Finally, a body mic that started to pop and fizz a little towards the end of Act One became a diabolical creature for the second act. It just kept popping, wheezing and clicking throughout the second act. You could tell that the tech crew was trying to fix the problem as the volume kept going in and out.

Nonetheless, these are the kind of minor problems that happen on opening weekend. It does takes a couple of performances under their belts for things like this to be cleaned and fixed, which I'm sure will be by the time you see it.

WaterTower's production of Parade is both powerful and majestic. It was a long wait for this musical to be produced here locally and it was well worth it. The action takes place in the 1900s, but what will astound you the most is that those exact same kinds of disgusting, false accusations are still being done in 2007. Tickets are available by calling the WTT Box Office at 972-450-6232 or online.

GRADE: A-