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Overview

Synopsis

Parade tells the heart-wrenching, true story of Leo Frank: a Brooklyn-raised Jewish man living in Atlanta who was wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of his thirteen-year-old employee, Mary Phagan, in 1913. Because Frank’s trial was replete with faulty testimony and lacked any clear evidence, Georgia’s governor eventually commuted his sentence from death to life imprisonment. Despite this ruling, a lynch mob hanged Frank in Mary Phagan’s hometown of Marietta, Georgia. The momentous case drew national attention to Anti-Semitism, and was pivotal to the founding of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as well as the reviving of the Ku Klux Klan in the South. With a characteristically rich, intricate, and wide-ranging score penned by Jason Robert Brown, and a bold willingness to dive into the complexities of early 20th century social relationships in the South, Parade is a sophisticated, dark tale with endless depths for a highly skilled company of actors and musicians to plumb.

Show Information

Category
Musical
Age Guidance
Mature Audiences (M)
Number of Acts
2
First Produced
1999
Genres
Drama, Historical/Biographical
Settings
Multiple Settings
Time & Place
late 19th to early 20th century
Cast Size
large
Orchestra Size
Medium
Dancing
None
Ideal For
College/University, Diverse Cast, Ensemble Cast, Large Cast, Mature Audiences, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Star Vehicle Female, Star Vehicle Male, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Early Teen, Late Teen, Elderly, Young Adult, Adult, Mature Adult, Child Characters

Context

Plot

Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

Lucille Frank

Lead

Female

Mezzo-Soprano

Frankie Epps

Lead

Male

Tenor

Leo Frank

Lead

Male

Bass-Baritone, Baritone

Mary Phagan

Lead

Female

Mezzo-Soprano

Young Confederate Soldier / Fiddlin’ John

Supporting

Male

Tenor

Old Confederate Soldier / Judge Roan

Supporting

Male

Bass

Hugh Dorsey

Supporting

Male

Baritone

Governor John Slaton

Supporting

Male

Baritone

Sally Slaton

Supporting

Female

Non-singer

Jim Conley

Supporting

Male

Tenor

Newt Lee

Supporting

Male

Bass

Britt Craig

Supporting

Male

Tenor

Iola Stover

Featured

Female

Soprano

Detective J.N. Starnes

Featured

Male

Spoken

Officer Ivey

Featured

Male

Spoken

Mrs. Phagan

Featured

Female

Alto

Lizzie Phagan

Featured

Female

Mezzo-Soprano

Floyd MacDaniel

Featured

Male

Spoken

Tom Watson

Featured

Male

Tenor

Angela

Featured

Female

Mezzo-Soprano

Riley

Featured

Male

Tenor

Luther Rosser

Featured

Male

Spoken

Nurse

Featured

Female

Spoken

Monteen

Featured

Female

Soprano

Essie

Featured

Female

Soprano

Mr. Peavy

Featured

Male

Spoken

Prison Guard

Featured

Male

Spoken

Ensemble

Ensemble

Either or Both

Songs

Act One

  • "The Old Red Hills of Home: Part 1" – Young Confederate Soldier
  • "The Old Red Hills of Home: Part 2" – Old Confederate Soldier and Townspeople
  • "The Dream of Atlanta" – Townspeople
  • "How Can I Call This Home?" – Leo Frank and Townspeople
  • "The Picture Show" – Mary Phagan and Frankie Epps
  • "Leo At Work" / "What Am I Waiting For?" – Leo Frank and Lucille Frank
  • "Interrogation: "I Am Trying to Remember..." – Newt Lee, Leo Frank, Detective Starnes, Officer Ivey, Mrs. Phagan, Lizzie Phagan and Young Policeman
  • "Big News!" – Britt Craig
  • "Funeral: There is a Fountain" / "It Don't Make Sense" –Frankie Epps, Britt Craig, Iola Stover, Essie, Monteen, Prison Guard, Lizzie Phagan and Townspeople
  • "Watson's Lullaby" – Tom Watson
  • "Somethin' Ain't Right" – Hugh Dorsey, Detective Starnes and Officer Ivey
  • "Real Big News" – Britt Craig and Townspeople
  • "You Don't Know This Man" – Lucille Frank
  • "Trial Part I: People of Atlanta" – Fiddling John, Tom Watson and Townspeople
  • "Trial Part II: Dorsey's Statement: Twenty Miles From Marietta" – Hugh Dorsey
  • "Trial Part III: Frankie's Testimony" – Frankie Epps and Mary Phagan
  • "Trial Part IV: Factory Girls/Come Up to My Office" – Iola Stover, Essie, Monteen and Leo Frank
  • "Trial Part V: Newt Lee's Testimony" – Newt Lee
  • "Trial Part VI: My Child Will Forgive Me" – Mrs. Phagan
  • "Trial Part VII: That's What He Said" – Jim Conley, Townspeople, Randy, Fiddling John and Lizzie Phagan
  • "Trial Part VIII: Leo's Statement: It's Hard to Speak My Heart" – Leo Frank
  • "Trial Part IX: Summation and Cakewalk" – Hugh Dorsey, Judge Roan, Jury Foreman, Jurors and Townspeople

Act Two

  • "Rumblin' and a Rollin'" – Riley, Angela, Jim Conley and Newt Lee
  • "Do it Alone" – Lucille Frank
  • "Pretty Music" – Governor John Slaton
  • "Letter to the Governor"– Nurse and Judge Roan
  • “This is Not Over Yet” -- Leo Frank, Lucille Frank and Prison Guard
  • "The Factory Girls" (Reprise) – Iola Stover, Essie and Monteen
  • "Newt Lee" (Reprise) – Governor John Slaton, Lucille Frank and Newt Lee
  • "Blues: Feel the Rain Fall" – Jim Conley, Chain Gang, Governor John Slaton and Chain Gang Guard
  • "Where Will You Stand When the Flood Comes?" – Tom Watson, Hugh Dorsey, Mrs. Phagan, Britt Craig and Townspeople
  • "All the Wasted Time" – Leo Frank and Lucille Frank
  • "Abduction" – Leo Frank, The Old Confederate Soldier, Frankie Epps, Detective Starnes and Officer Ivey
  • "Sh'ma" – Leo Frank
  • "Finale" – Lucille Frank, Leo Frank, Frankie Epps, Mary Phagan and Full Company

A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

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Scenes

All scenes are the property and copyright of their owners. Scenes are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this scene, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.

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