Theater to Present the Tense and Powerful Musical ‘Parade’

Ithaca College Theatre’s first musical of the 2001-2 season, the Tony Award–winning Parade, explores themes of human tragedy and prejudice in telling the true story of Leo Frank, who was unjustly tried for the 1913 rape and murder of an Atlanta teenager. The play’s title refers to the celebration of Confederate Memorial Day, the day on which 13-year-old Mary Phagan was killed.

Previews of Parade are scheduled for November 6 and 7, with the play then running November 8-10. Curtain time for the Hoerner Theatre staging is 8:00 p.m.; there will also be a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Saturday, November 10. Jason Robert Brown, who wrote the music and lyrics for Parade, will be in attendance on opening night.

Tickets for the production can be purchased at the ticket office in Dillingham Center, the Ticket Center at Clinton House, and Cornell University’s Willard Straight Hall, with prices ranging from $3.50 to $9.00. The Ithaca College ticket office is open Monday through Friday, noon to 5:00 p.m. For information call 274-3224. Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more by calling 274-3796.

"I was drawn to this musical immediately after hearing a piece from the sound track," says director Norm Johnson Jr., an associate professor of theater arts. "This musical has a story to tell that causes a lot of theatrical problems that must be solved, and I enjoy a challenge."

Alfred Uhry wrote the book for this dark and suspenseful story about Atlanta factory manager Leo Frank --- a Jew and a Cornell University graduate --- who was victimized by the prevailing anti-Semitism in the South of the early 20th century despite the commutation of his death sentence by Georgia’s governor.

Harold Prince was the director when Parade premiered at Lincoln Center Theater in December 1998. Nominated for nine Tony Awards, it won for best original score and best book of a musical. The play also won both the Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards for best new musical. Parade was presented in Atlanta --- that city’s Journal-Constitution called the work "riveting, authentic, and intelligently told" --- as well as on a national tour in 2000.

Brown conducted the orchestra for the original and touring productions of Parade, demonstrating the depth and range of his experience at the podium. He has orchestrated and/or conducted a number of musical productions, including Yoko Ono’s New York Rock at the WPA Theatre, Michael John LaChiusa’s The Petrified Prince at the Public Theatre, and Andrew Lippa’s john & jen off-Broadway. Brown was the orchestrator and arranger of a score by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams for a proposed musical version of Star Wars. He has conducted and created arrangements and orchestrations for several top performers, including Liza Minnelli, Tovah Feldshuh, and Laurie Beechman.

Lead actors for the Ithaca performance of Parade include Bob Koutras ’02 as Leo Frank; Lucy Sorensen ’02 as his wife, Lucille; Nick Farco ’03 as prosecuting attorney Hugh Dorsey; Courtney Morris ’02 as the governor’s wife, Sally Slaton; Kim Burns ’03 as Mary Phagan; Jamal McDonald ’02 as key witness Jim Conley; Kevin Rockower ’02 as reporter Britt Craig; Justin Packard ’04 as publisher Tom Watson; Adam Kaokept ’02 as Frankie Epps; and Peter Carrier ’04 as Luther Rosser.

In addition to Johnson, the technical and design team includes musical director Patrick Hansen, choreographer Mary Corsaro, technical director Michael Wyant ’02, scenic designer Daniel Meeker ’95, lighting designer Tyler Elich ’02, sound designer Jake Hall ’02, costume designer Lily Westbrook, dramaturge Amy Monroe ’03, stage manager Mohammed Tantawi ’02, and assistant conductor/chorus master Beth Burrier-Bradstreet.