There’s something sweet and simple and wonderful about Jason Robert Brown’s music written for “Parade,” a kind of melodic honesty that hearkens back to early Gershwin or the efficacious elegance of Lerner and Loewe. And when you consider that it’s written for such hefty subject matter as the tragic story of Lucille and Leo Frank and its bitter mark on American history, the cotton-candy lightness of Brown’s score suddenly lands with a dark, reverberating thud. You can imagine that a musical set in 1913 Georgia isn’t going to be a lively romp in the sun for a New York Jew transplanted to Hotlanta. But history shows that Leo Frank was falsely accused of murdering 13-year-old Mary Phagan, one of the young workers in the same pencil factory where Frank was superintendent. From the absurd spectacle and sensationalist drama of the courtroom to Lucille Frank’s desperate attempts to prove her husband innocent, “Parade” serves as an ugly reminder of the power wielded by public opinion alone.
It’s a long evening at Ford’s Theatre, and in their co-production with Theater J, director Stephen Rayne milks every opportunity to showcase his strong ensemble cast.
| Onstage |
| ‘Parade’ |
| Where: Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW |
| When: Through Oct. 30 |
| Info: $15 to $60; 800-982-2787; fords.org |
There’s that infectious pop and ragtime score with the soaring melodies of Brown, and here, Steven Landau’s musical direction takes front and center stage. It’s all brought together by the couple of Franks — Euan Morton’s brainy, bumbling Leo and Jenny Fellner’s timid but tough-minded Lucille — who carry the evening from bouncy brass to harrowing horns and finally, toward a most foreboding drum cadence.
Morton is expertly cast as a man braving a terrible destiny with courage and character, and Morton’s voice is as clean and pure as Frank’s conscience. Whether he’s cutting a rug to “Come Up to My Office” or serenading his sweetheart in “All the Wasted Time,” Morton makes it all look — and sound — effortless. Together, Fellner and Morton journey through arguably the show’s best duet, “This is Not Over Yet,” with reserved, yet skillful, precision.
Of the noteworthy ensemble, Kevin McAllister delivers more than one show-stopping number, and alongside Kellee Knighten Hough’s sweet and spicy vocals, the two nearly bring the house down with “A Rumblin’ and a Rollin’ ” at the top of the second act. It’s moments like these that make this a “Parade” that shouldn’t pass you by.
