[NEohioPAL]Parade at Beck Ctr - Review & Neohiopal Discount

Thu Sep 26 13:25:28 PDT 2002

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<P ALIGN=3DCENTER><U><B><I><FONT COLOR=3D"#FF0000" SIZE=3D2 =
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<P ALIGN=3DCENTER><B><FONT COLOR=3D"#FF0000" SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Good for performances September 26th - September =
29th</FONT></B></P>

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<P><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Theater</FONT>

<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">ATLANTA BRAVE</FONT>

<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">by JAMES DAMICO</FONT>

<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">BECK CENTER TAKES ON ALFRED UHRY'S =
CHALLENGING PARADE</FONT>

<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"> </FONT>

<BR><B><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">PARADE</FONT></B>

<BR><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Through Oct. =
6</FONT>

<BR><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Beck Center</FONT>

<BR><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">17801 Detroit Ave., =
Lakewood</FONT>

<BR><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Thur-Sat 8 pm, Sun 3 =
pm</FONT>

<BR><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">$10-$19 =
=95</FONT><B> <FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">216-521-2540</FONT></B>
</P>

With its splendid production of the =
demanding musical Parade, the once stodgy and dismissible Beck Center =
has scaled yet another level in its continuing rise as the area's =
nerviest, most exciting and vital theater. While it's one thing to =
bravely program such a daunting and complex piece, it's another, =
worlds-apart matter to actually bring it off. Led by director Scott =
Spence, however, Beck manages the feat with plenty of artistic merit to =
spare.

Perhaps the finest serious musical of =
the decade, Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry's Parade has had a =
troubled and tortured history. Its New York run was undeservedly cut =
short by a negative New York Times review and the producer's bankruptcy. =
An estimable touring edition, which played the Palace in the fall of =
2000, was abruptly terminated after a couple of canceled bookings for =
lack of advance ticket sales. It may be that the light-hearted shy away =
from the show's sober subject, but the piece is anything but dour and =
gloomy. Stirring and ultimately uplifting in its compassionate humanity, =
the work's skilled melding of words and music radiantly reaffirms that =
the American musical form is capable of housing the most searching and =
profound artistic expression.

Parade deals with the railroading and =
eventual mob-lynching of Leo Frank for the 1913 Atlanta murder of =
13-year-old Mary Phagan. The girl's boss, Frank was the last person who =
admitted seeing her alive. His only crime, however, was being a Yankee =
Jew in a racially prejudiced South still seething with Civil War =
humiliation.

The show's multi-scened book, by noted =
playwright Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy), telescopes the two-year struggle =
for justice by Frank and his wife, Lucille, in a smoothly =
impressionistic style. We get flashes of the Franks' sterile marriage; =
the discovery of Phagan's murder on the day of the jingoistic =
Confederate Veterans' annual parade; the buildup of the case against =
Frank by the prejudicial press, public and corrupt officials; the =
railroading trial; the lengthy legal battle by the couple to overturn =
the guilty verdict, during which they fall genuinely in love; and, =
finally, Frank's murder. Occasionally given to stereotyping, Uhry more =
often displays a penetrating ability to evoke the emotional truths of =
these characters and situations, and to accumulate them to trenchant =
effect.

It's Brown's resplendently expressive =
score, though, that anchors the evening. Employing a collage of musical =
forms -- ragtime, jazz, hymns, sentimental ballads -- the composer =
imbues them with a modern sensibility, fertile inventiveness and a =
contagious gift for melody, all of which fuse seamlessly with and exalt =
the tragic narrative.

In perhaps his best effort to date, =
director Spence exerts an impressive control over the piece's many =
complexities and a large cast of 32. While never pushing, he keeps the =
evening consistently animated and the focus squarely on the story and =
its human quotient. Spence is greatly aided in the endeavor by an =
outstanding performance from Keith Gerchak as Frank. Beginning unsympathetically as a cold, caustic nerd, =
the actor slowly blossoms -- especially through some forcefully sung =
numbers -- into something like a mensch as both his love for his wife and =
his calamity deepen. Physically unprepossessing, the actor is simply a =
powerhouse when it comes to conveying both musical and character =
conviction.

As Lucille, Sandra =
Emrick is, once again, a vibrant presence. Though she has a tendency to =
blast through every song, the voice is always firm, melodious and =
appealing. Kyle Primous is simultaneously silky and slimy in two =
show-stopping numbers as Phagan's most likely real killer; Robert Gibb =
generates much empathy as the brave Georgia governor who finally does =
the right thing; Brian Etchell makes a believably devious D.A.; G.A. =
Taggett is a despicable racist newspaper editor; Hannah DelMonte =
a saucy Mary Phagan; Patrick Carroll a =
kindly prison guard; and Ryan Bergeron ringingly delivers the perversely =
beautiful Confederate hymn, "The Old Red Hills of =
Home."

<P><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">For that matter, the whole of the =
sundry cast is commendable, Don McBride's settings spare but =
appropriate, Aly Hernan's myriad costumes spot-on, Larry Goodpaster's =
musical direction of an enlarged, 18-piece orchestra invigorating, and =
the entire occasion a cause for celebration, if not a parade all its =
own.</FONT></P>

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