‘PARADE’: Micaela Diamond & Ben Platt. Photo: Joan Marcus.

PARADE
Book by Alfred Uhry
Music & lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Conceived by Harold Prince
Directed by Michael Arden
Through August 6, 2023
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
242 West 45^th Street
(212-239-6200), https://paradebroadway.com/

By David NouNou

A lot has happened since Parade originally opened in 1998 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. In its original form, it was compelling theatre; now it is very difficult to sit through. Not that the subject matter has changed—it’s the times that have changed. If anything, Parade is more relevant today than it was back then. Watching antisemitism in full display now, bigotry, the state of Georgia currently in turmoil and making headlines about an injustice perpetrated by a former president—plus, the divisiveness that is splitting the country on so many different issues—there is a lot to process here.

The story is set in Georgia, the time is 1913-1915, and it is about the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl, Mary Phagen (Erin Rose Doyle), and the subsequent arrest, trumped-up trial, unjust sentencing and lynching of a Jewish factory superintendent, Leo Frank (Ben Platt).

Leo Frank moved from Brooklyn to Atlanta to be with his Southern Georgian Jewish wife, Lucille (Micaela Diamond), whose uncle offered Leo a superintendent’s job and hopefully a better life to be able to raise a family. He is totally uncomfortable in this environment because he is Jewish and feels out of place. It is Memorial Day 1913: Mary Phagen (Miss Doyle), has come to the pencil factory on a Saturday for her weekly pay of $1.20. The next day she is found dead in the basement of the factory. The suspects at the time are the black janitor, Newt Lee (Eddie Cooper) and Leo Frank.  Prosecutor Hugh Dorsey (Paul Alexander Nolan) is coerced by Tom Watson (Manoel Felciano), a writer for The Jeffersonian, an extremist right-wing newspaper, and conspire to release Newt Lee reasoning “hanging another Negro ain’t enough this time. We gotta do better.”

Leo is sentenced to jail to eventually hang. His wife Lucille goes to Governor Slaton (Sean Allan Krill) to show the inconsistences of the trial, which Slaton reluctantly looks over, and ultimately finds enough evidence of conspired lying decides to transfer Leo to another jail, only to be hauled away at night by “rebels seeking revenge” and hanging him.

The book by Alfred Uhry is fascinating and intriguing, while the score by Jason Robert Brown is too lugubrious and unmemorable. For such an intense subject matter, the play could have used more book and less score to make the point of injustice more effective. You yearn for the scenes that have Leo and Lucille speaking frankly to each other or Lucille making her point to Governor Slaton. Originally directed by Harold Prince, director Michael Arden has taken a darker approach to the proceedings. It’s apropos for the times.

What mesmerized me most and made the evening more tolerable was Ben Platt. With the role of Leo Frank, he has finally shed his teenage persona of Evan Hansen, and taken the mantle of Broadway’s next leading man. He is so convincing as Leo that I could not see a sign of Evan. He is solid, as an actor and a singer and genuinely believes in his role.

Two other performances that leapt out were Micaela Diamond as Lucille Frank, her unrelenting pursuit to exonerate her husband and the love behind her motives are palpable. The other performance is from Sean Allan Krill as Georgia Governor Slaton, with his commanding voice and charming Southern gentility; he delivers genuine compassion in trying to resolve this heinous case. The rest of the cast is the usual stereotypes one would find in the South.

Parade is making a meaningful and lasting impression on this year’s theatrical season. It’s mirroring the times in which we live.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 22, 2023
Reviewed at March 21, 2023 press performance.

‘PARADE’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: (left to right) William Michals, Jackson Teeley, Paul Alexander Nolan, Eddie Cooper & Max Chernin. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Alex Joseph Grayson. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Jay Armstrong Johnson & Jake Pedersen. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Erin Rose Doyle & Jake Pedersen. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Paul Alexander Nolan & Alex Joseph Grayson. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Benn Platt. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Micaela Diamond. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Manoel Felciano. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Stacie Bono & Sean Allan Krill. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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Currently starring in DEAR EVAN HANSEN

TO HOST

THE 2017 JIMMY AWARDS!

  MONDAY, JUNE 26^TH

AT BROADWAY’S MINSKOFF THEATRE

  TICKETS FOR THE NINTH ANNUAL CEREMONY

ON SALE NOW

JIMMYAWARDS.COM OR TICKETMASTER.COM

New York, NY –  THE JIMMY®  AWARDS is pleased to announce that stage and screen star BEN PLATT, currently starring on Broadway in Dear Evan Hansen, will host the ninth annual awards ceremony on Monday, June 26^th at 7:30PM at the Minskoff Theatre, 200 West 45th Street in Manhattan. Tickets for the ninth annual National High School Musical Theatre Awards™/ JIMMY® AWARDS are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased by visiting JIMMYAWARDS.COM or TICKETMASTER.COM and range from $39 to $95. Premium seats are $250.

74 high school students from 37 regional programs across America will compete for the Jimmy® for Best Performance by an Actor and Actress at the ninth annual presentation. The talent showcase will feature dynamic ensemble and solo performances.

“We are elated to have Ben Platt as our host this year! The Jimmy Awards are a way to praise and acknowledge the incredible theatre that is being done around the country in high schools, and the presence of a profoundly talented performer who is accessible to the next generation will be inspiring to students on stage and in the audience. Having such a dynamo sharing the stage with this year’s nominees will be an unforgettable moment,” says Charlotte St. Martin, President of the Broadway League. “We can’t wait for everyone to see the show we are planning, and to experience the excitement and enthusiasm of the event.”

Student performers qualify to compete in the national program by winning top honors at regional high school musical theatre awards competitions presented by Broadway League member performing arts centers. Over 1,000 high schools and 50,000 students participate in these annual events. Since its inception in 2009, the NHSMTA has enabled over $1,000,000 in university and conservatory scholarships to be awarded to talented students at the national and local level—several of whom have already been cast in Broadway, Touring and West End productions.

NHSMTA nominees will prepare for their debut on a Broadway stage during a ten-day professional training intensive with NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ New Studio with Broadway faculty members plus other theatre professionals. Winners will be selected by a panel of industry experts.

Founded in 2009 by Nederlander Alliances LLC, Pittsburgh CLO, and Broadway Educational Alliance (BEA), NHSMTA’s mission is to raise the profile of musical theatre in schools, recognize dedicated teachers and inspire the next generation of performers and enthusiasts. Also known as The Jimmy® Awards, in honor of legendary Broadway producer/theatre owner James M. Nederlander, the NHSMTA is supported by many leading theatre industry organizations. More information about the National High School Musical Theatre Awards can be found at JimmyAwards.com.

The Broadway League conducts the program through The Broadway League Foundation, which acts as its philanthropic arm. Part of the Foundation’s mission is to enlighten and increase the public’s knowledge, appreciation and awareness of the theatrical arts, and since its founding in 1993 has supported a number of projects to help preserve Broadway’s heritage and introduce new audiences to Broadway theatre. The Foundation is a corporation organized under the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law of the State of New York, the purposes of which are exclusively charitable as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

 At this year’s 2017 Jimmy Awards event, the INSPIRING TEACHER AWARD presented by WELLS FARGO will be bestowed to two teachers for the encouragement and inspiration that led their students to win the 2016 coveted Jimmy® for Best Performance by an Actress and Best Performance by an Actor.

The post Ben Platt Hosts 2017 Jimmy Awards appeared first on StageZine.

‘DEAR EVAN HANSEN’: Ben Platt. Photo: Matthew Murphy

DEAR EVAN HANSEN
Book by Steven Levenson
Music & lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
Directed by Michael Greif
Music Box Theatre
239 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.dearevanhansen.com

By David NouNou

Dear Evan Hansen is an original musical that is epic in its universality and its theme is timeless. It is a phenomenon for every parent that has a troubled child, who may be misunderstood, lonely, despondent, troubled, bullied, or even suicidal; it is a musical of our time and for generations to come.

The story centers on an anxiety-ridden teenager, Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) who has to write himself letters of affirmation to build up his confidence and be able to socialize better with fellow students. On the first day of school, his letter is confiscated and read by the bullish outsider, Connor Murphy (Mike Faist). In the letter, Evan expresses his feelings about Zoe Murphy (Laura Dreyfuss) who happens to be Connor’s sister. At the end of the letter, he signs it “me.” Three days pass, and it is revealed that Connor committed suicide and the only thing on him was the letter he confiscated from Evan. Connor’s parents, Larry and Cynthia Murphy (Michael Park and Jennifer Laura Thompson), think it is a letter to a friend and they get in touch with Evan.

At first, Evan is at a total loss of what to say and do because there was never a friendship between him and Connor; but he sees how desperate the parents are and how much they want to know things about their son. With the aid of his cousin, Jared (Will Roland), Evan and Jared start fabricating backdated emails to give the parents some closure. Thus begins the tangled web that Evan has created for himself. At first he enjoys the fact that he is being noticed, that Larry and Cynthia become almost like surrogate parents, and Zoe starts to fall for him. In comes Alana Beck (Kristolyn Lloyd,) who was in a couple of classes with Connor, but never knew him, gets caught up in the hoopla, and wants to preserve Connor’s memory by starting the Connor Project and a website. Evan has to give a speech in school, and also does an online post about Connor. Naturally it becomes a media sensation and goes viral.

Meanwhile Evan’s mother, Heidi Hansen (Rachel Bay Jones), has no clue as what is going on and what her son is doing. Her husband left her and Evan 10 years earlier and she had to raise him alone. She is a nurse by day and taking paralegal courses at night, leaving her little time for Evan. She does her best to help but knows little what is happening with Evan, until she is invited to the Connors for dinner and then finds out through the Internet about The Connor Project and how Evan is co-president.

The web is so tangled and troubling to Evan that he is suffocating and losing himself in his predicament. He has to find his way out. I normally don’t like to give so much of the story, but must in order for the reader to understand the complexity of this piece. I also don’t want the reader to think that the piece is a depressing downer, morose or maudlin; on the contrary, it has a message of hope.

Michael Greif has taken this complicated tale and directed it with the lightest of touches. He knows it’s a heady topic and he treats all the action and movements with the utmost respect. The book by Steven Levenson is brilliant; he combines teenage angst and pains with today’s social media and all its trappings. The score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul is a marvel. They did an incredible whimsical score for the Christmas classic A Christmas Story but here the score reaches exultant heights that are haunting and riveting.

The entire cast is outstanding but the star of the show, Ben Platt, is a revelation. He has the acting chops, the singing voice, the looks, the charm, and the personality to make the star of tomorrow. His Evan Hansen is a performance for the ages.

Guess what, folks? Get your tickets while you still can, because come Tony time I see at least six major awards going to this masterpiece.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 9, 2016
Reviewed at press performance on December 8, 2016

‘DEAR EVAN HANSEN’: Mike Faist & Ben Platt. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘DEAR EVAN HANSEN’: Ben Platt & Rachel Bay Jones. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘DEAR EVAN HANSEN’: Ben Platt & Laura Dreyfuss. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘DEAR EVAN HANSEN’: Ben Platt, Jennifer Laura Thompson & Michael Park. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘DEAR EVAN HANSEN’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

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