Parade

Parade
By Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry. Waterdale (Vic). Director: Aimee Fraser. Musical Director: Ian Nisbet. Choreographer: Emma Kiely. Rivergum Theatre, Parade College. March 2 - 10, 2012

Having encountered Jason Robert Brown on his Australian Tour last year I was quite excited to see one of his early shows, Parade, which debuted in 2000. This was the darkest musical I have ever seen, and at the same time, one of the most powerful.

Unlike Sweeney Todd which, though dark, has its humorous scenes, there were no lighter moments and the audience was put through the wringer. The first act was about the murder of a little girl and subsequent trial of her Jewish employer who was innocent, but a victim of anti-semetic pedjudice. The second concentrated on his wife’s fight to clear his name, only to have him lynched after his death sentence had been revoked. Yet one came away feeling uplifted at the courage of this young woman and the closeness this had generated in her, up till then, fairly cold marriage.

And Waterdale did not disappoint. This production involved a large cast, and it was cast from strength. Leading the charge were Tyson Legg and Jaclyn De Vincentis as Leo and Lucille Frank. They sang with strength, were always in character, and it was fascinating to watch their relationship grow.

There were so many other roles well performed, it would be unfair to single any out. There was a lot of anger in the characters and some powerful singing, both from individuals and the ensemble. The single set was similar to Sweeney Todd with a two storey scaffold with a staircase being moved around to reveal different scenes. It worked very well.

The small band was loud, but the sound system was so good one rarely missed any of the words. Waterdale have been operating for eight years, and, though in a nearby suburb, I had heard little of them. I will try not to miss them again.

Graham Ford

Images from top): Charles Grounds as Frankie Epps and Taylor Branecki as Mary Phagan; Jaclyn DeVincentis as Lucille Frank and Tyson Legg as Leo Frank & Malcolm Fawcett as Governor John Slaton and Djon Alexander as Jim Conley.

 

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