Parade, the 1998 Broadway musical now undergoing its first New York revival, is not an uplifting show. The book by Alfred Uhry (author of Driving Miss Daisy), with music and lyrics from Jason Robert Brown, tells the ill-fated story of Leo Frank, a New York Jewish transplant to Atlanta falsely scapegoated for the murder of a 13-year-old white girl at his pencil factory in 1913; the wave of antisemitism that led to his conviction and lynching two years later spurred both the formation of the Anti-Defamation League and the resurgence of the KKK. The show doesn’t obscure the tragic facts of the case – those attending the new production, which just transferred to the Bernard B Jacobs Theatre after a lauded run at New York City Center, will take their seats to a photo projection of the “Leo Frank lynching” memorial plaque in Marietta, Georgia.
With the fates established from the jump, it’s remarkable that Parade feels as dynamic and moving as it does. That’s in large part thanks to Brown’s Tony-winning score and orchestrations – music director and conductor Tom Murray’s version is lush and chill-inducing from the jump – and a top-to-bottom slate of excellent vocal performances, particularly from leads Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond.
