The musical that everyone says is life changing. I’ve heard of this musical in passing, being a fan of Jason Robert Brown’s work in The Bridges of Madison County, but have never really looked into it. I barely remembered that it was coming to Broadway for a limited run after a successful run at the New York City Center. It really registered to me how powerful this show is when there was a negative protest happening outside of the Jacobs Theatre during their first performance on Broadway.
Parade follows the true story of Leo and Lucille Frank, who are a young Jewish couple living in Georgia after the Civil War. Leo is working as a factory foreman in Lucille’s Uncle’s pencil factory and is framed for rape and murder when a thirteen-year-old girl is discovered dead in the basement of the factory. The show follows the trial and the aftermath of it. In the show, you begin to see the injustice of anti-Semitism that is unfortunately still present in our world today and what, back then, was essentially the revival of the KKK.
We decided we were going to do rush tickets for Parade, meaning that I was going to sit outside the theater for 2-3 hours before the box office opened to get the cheapest tickets available. Rush tickets are an affordable option for students and young adults to see shows, but I’ve seen people of all ages sitting in rush lines to get a chance to see more shows without spending tons of money on tickets. I’ve been taking advantage of rush tickets since 2017, when I moved up to NYC. The only time I haven’t been able to get rush tickets are when they’re only available as a digital rush because of the higher volume for a small amount of tickets available.
We had originally planned to rush Parade on Friday and rush a different show on Wednesday. After arriving at that theater at 8 AM and being the only people in line on a very windy day, we decided to go to a Starbucks nearby to get a hot drink and take cover for a little bit before heading back to the theater closer to when the box office was open. On the way to Starbucks, I realized we would be passing the theater that Parade is at and decided to see what the line was looking like to get a feel for what time I needed to get there on Friday morning. Seeing that the line was actually pretty reasonable, we decided to get into that line instead and see the other show on Friday, knowing that we could get a later start to the morning than we originally planned. This was around 8:30 on a Wednesday morning (a two-show day) and I was probably the 10th-12th person in line.
Parade rush tickets are on the more expensive side starting at $45 for box seats and going up to $69 for orchestra seats. Both are partial view, but that’s pretty normal for rush tickets. We opted for the cheaper option of box seats, since we spent a little more to see & Juliet than originally planned and we also splurged for last minute tickets for Six that Monday. Our seats were very much partial view as there are speakers and a flag pole in the box seat in front of ours that blocked out a good portion of the stage. I sat in the outer seat and had an okay view that was created with a lot of leaning over and crouching down around the poles, but my mom sat in the inner chair and couldn’t really see a thing.
Ben Platt and Michaela Diamond lead this ensemble cast in the roles of Leo and Lucille respectively and they were incredible. The confusion, the sadness, and then the hope by the end that they portrayed had us on an emotional roller coaster. It was amazing to realize that I had seen quite a few cast members in other shows and was also excited to see a few that have been in a few shows that I missed them in. What I loved about the score is that every person in the show had a part and the way the music was written, it felt like each person was important for the movement of the story.
The set (designed by Dane Laffrey) was very minimalistic with a raised square platform in the middle of the stage and chairs/benches on either side for the cast to sit in. Most of the story took place on the platform with everyone watching what is happening. A few scenes took place on the stage in front of the platform or right to the side of the stage. During the trial scenes, they did use the front boxes on either side of the theater, which was fun for us because the actors interacted with us in the box seats.
The costumes were designed by Susan HiIlferty (who is up for a Tony Award this Sunday) and they were so subtle in the colors, but incredible. I really loved the dresses that the girls were wearing, especially the outfits that the Governor’s wife wore throughout the show. Set during the Victorian era of the early 1900s, you get the feeling of Downton Abbey, but without all the splendor and décor of the dresses. Heather Gilbert and Michael Arden are also currently up for a Tony Award for lighting and direction, respectively.
I really hope that this revival production gets a chance to do a lengthy national tour because this is a story that everyone needs the chance to see. However, if you do find yourself in New York City before August 6, I highly recommend you go see this show at the Barnard B. Jacobs Theatre. The cast recording for this revival is also currently available to purchase or to stream.
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