Feature: PARADE THE MUSICAL ~ Arizona Musical Theatre Orchestra's Compelling Phoenix Revival

PARADE, the Jason Robert Brown-Alfred Uhry musical tale of Leo Frank’s lynching in 1915 Atlanta is stirring the souls of its audiences at City Center in New York while Nazi protesters spew their hatred outside. The Tony-winning revival, first performed in 1998, features Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond and runs through August 6th.

In the meanwhile, The Arizona Musical Theatre Orchestra, a relatively new startup in Phoenix’s theatre scene, is shaping up its own novel two-hour production of the show, to be presented on June 24th at Central United Methodist Church in Phoenix.

Branding itself as Theatre Beyond Measure, the company, founded and directed by Stephen Schermitzler, features local actors and musicians who conduct a same-day rehearsal of the evening’s full performance. In the case of PARADE, the production will involve over one hundred local performers, including a full orchestra and 60+ member chorus.

Congregation Beth Israel Cantor Seth Ettinger will star as Leo Frank.

On August 17th, 1915, Leo Max Frank was lynched in Marietta, Georgia. Convicted of the murder of Mary Phagan, a thirteen-year-old girl in the employ of his pencil factory, Frank's real crime was that he was Jewish, a stranger in a strange land, a transplant from Brooklyn who joined his Southern-bred wife Lucille to set up business in Atlanta, a man ultimately shattered by the hammer of injustice. He was convicted and sentenced to hang based on false witness. His sentence was commuted to life when the travesty of his trial was revealed and he was pardoned posthumously. The irreparable damage was done, however, when, in a hate-filled frenzy, vigilantes dragged him to his death.

When last produced in Phoenix in August of 2019 by another Phoenix startup, Arizona Regional Theatre, and directed by Phillip Fazio, this critic hailed the show and its stellar performances as a must-see work of conscience ~ an exposition of the brutal consequences of unbridled bigotry and justice gone awry. At that time, it was the incomparable Seth Tucker who performed the role of Leo Frank.

The enduring significance of PARADE as a theatrical piece is sadly due to the enduring prevalence of antisemitism. Whether one sees it on Broadway or in this upcoming local production, one will face a clear and necessary reminder of the devastating consequences of bigotry and the pervasive and persistent nature of evil.

PARADE will run for one performance at 7:00 p.m. on the evening of June 24th at Central United Methodist Church, 1875 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix AZ.

Arizona Musical Theatre Orchestra ~ https://azmto.org/ ~ 718-350-5960

Tickets available at https://secure.givelively.org/event/satellite-collective-inc/arizona-musical-theatre-orchestra/azmto-showcase-parade

Graphic credit to AMTO