Parade

The musical, Parade, dramatises the true story of Jewish factory manager Leo Frank, who was accused and convicted of raping and murdering a thirteen-year-old employee. The trial aroused anti-Semitic tensions in Atlanta and the U.S. state of Georgia. When Frank's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, he was transferred to a prison in Milledgeville, Georgia, from where a lynching party kidnapped and hanged him. The musical premiered on Broadway in December 1998 and won Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Original Score.

The staging, at the Nomad Theatre was simple but dramatic. It allowed free movement for the large cast. Chloe Roberts took full advantage of this and wielded the large ensemble attractively and efficiently. They always looked right.

The orchestra was placed, out of sight, offstage right; and it worked really well. Under the leadership of Jamie Cordell, they gave a strong performance with beautiful period rhythms…without dominating any of the songs. Excellent work from the sound crew; all of the voices were crystal clear and a joy to listen to.

Lighting was good throughout; and the projections were clear and useful. Women’s costumes were well chosen and suited to the times. Menswear was a little less consistent and sometimes too informal.

Jamie McFadden opened the show with a fine rendition of The Old Red Hills of Home and followed that with a lively duet with Nia Harrington-Benton. Kevin Stuart played the Old Soldier and Governor Slaton. He sang well…particularly the ragtime number Pretty Music; and displayed good characterisation in his roles.

James Bailey (as Hugh Dorsey) and Michael Saunders (as Britt Craig) played the men on the make with bags of energy and enthusiasm. Immanuel Olufade, as Jim Conley, displayed great vigour and charisma in the trial scene and in Blues: Feel the Rain Fall. Ben Hopkins sang well as Tom Watson and gave the character a strong, sinister personna.

Angie Barton & Tyrone Haywood were excellent in their bitter, sardonic duet A Rumblin’ and a Rollin’ that exposed the inequalities of Southern society.

Gareth Thomas’s performance was superb, displaying a broad range of emotions as Leo Frank, the stranger in a strange land. He was well matched by Gemma Kate Bowden as his wife, Lucille. Her acting was also excellent and showed great emotion.

All of the huge cast were totally in character…very believable. All the numbers were well presented. The succession of courthouse songs were an excellent accompaniment to the progression of the trial.

ESPA has chosen a musical that has a very dark subject matter, but with a fine libretto and music. Damien de Roche’s directing expertise and the great work by his technical team and cast have created an extremely powerful and enjoyable performance.

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