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Parade
Presented by:
New Beat Theatre Company
Venue:
Union Theatre, University of
Melbourne
Reviewer:
Renee Maloney
Date Reviewed:
Friday 24th April 2009
Parade tells
the story of Leo Frank, a Jew who was wrongly accused of the murder
of Mary Phagan. This biography of the unfortunate circumstances
surrounding her murder is full of historical references from the
early 20th Century. Set in Georgia in
1913 where “children work 60 hour weeks to provide for their
bankrupt parents, housing is scarce as employment and civil unrest
is still prevalent as it was preceding wartime”. Parade, a Jason
Robert Brown musical, opened on Broadway in 1998 and has several
awards including Tony Awards and Drama desk awards. To my knowledge
(and with the help of Google) could only find this production having
been performed in Australia once before by Monash University
Performing Arts Students.
New Beat
Theatre Company has assembled an excellent cast for this ensemble
driven high energy production. The principal cast includes Gil
Bilson (Leo Frank), Georgia Brooks (Lucille frank), Loren De Jong
(Mary Fagan), Tyler Hess (Britt Craig) just to mention a few from
this amazing cast of 36.
The set was
non-naturalistic including the trademark tree representing the
notion of hanging being present throughout the entire production.
The map that covered the stage floor and the series of rostrums that
remains a permanent fixture throughout. The stage/set was well
designed; however, I think that the director could have set some of
the important parts of the story downstage as the sightlines of the
theatre and depth of the stage made it difficult to see everything
and at times this detracted from the performance.
The show began
in the time of the Civil War with Will Sayers as the Young Soldier
delivering the “Prologue: The Old red hills of home”. This song
flashes forward to the old soldier singing this same song in 1913.
Will Sayers demonstrated an amazing vocal range and commanded the
stage in the opening number. Well Done!
Gill Bilson
and Georgia Brooks as the pivotal principal characters of Leo and
Lucille Frank demonstrated the “triple threat” factor. Boy, what
voices and their ability to portray these passionate and tortured
characters gave me goose bumps. Their rendition of “This is not
over yet” was the highlight of the show oozing such energy and
passion and was the first real moment of hope for both of their
characters. Thank you!
The first
‘wow’ moment in the show was Tyler Hess as drunken reporter Britt
Craig in ‘Big News!’ This song demonstrated Tyler’s
excellent comic timing and commanding presence on stage. He
continued to sustain this energy and presence on stage consistently
throughout the show. This was a thrilling contrast to the passion
and sensitive relationship of our leads.
Dinesh Mathew
as Jim Conley showed his outstanding ability to sing the role and
move accordingly however his character left me very confused
especially in “Feel the Rain Fall” and “That’s What He Said”. From
my research Jim Conley, the African American janitor at the pencil
factory, is a sinister and dark man who is thought to be the real
murderer of Mary Phagan however not convicted due to racial
discrepancies. However, Mathew did not portray this. He was too
cheery and brought out the melodramatic qualities in the character.
This misinterpretation of the character blurred the storyline and to
someone who has not seen the show before was left quite confused.
Other standout
performers include Loren De Jong (Mary Phagan), Adrienne George
(Mrs. Phagan) and Alexandra Cole (Essie). These three ladies
remained consistently in character and used appropriately all
elements of a wonderful performance. You couldn’t help find yourself
drawn to these three talented women whenever they were onstage – it
didn’t matter if they were in the foreground or background.
Now, I will
move onto the technical aspects led by Technical director Nick
Lilley. Unfortunately the lighting let the show down. The constant
use of red, blue and yellow light on the cyclorama became
predictable after awhile. There was a lack of FOH and side lighting
to illuminate faces especially when on the top level of the rostrums
a lot of aspects of performance/characters lost as often faces were
in darkness. A highlight of the technical achievements was the
hanging of Leo Frank. This was excellent. My guest and I held our
breath in anticipation – Well done!
Like most
productions opening night saw a few technical issues with
microphones and sound balancing however, I am sure these will
continue to improve over the run of the show.
Now I must
mention costuming. Such a piece like this requires the costumer to
do some research. The wearing of snake-skin square-toed modern
leather shoes and Dunlop volleys were very distracting as they did
not fit in to the appropriate time period. It demonstrated a lack of
attention to fine detail. The show ran over a two-year period and
some characters stayed in the same costume throughout. Another
inconsistency was that the Phagan family was supposed to be one of
the poorest families in Georgia and
was not dressed appropriately. Similarly, the hair styles did not
reflect the time period either some of the men were sporting 2009
hairstyles. With the intense lighting at time the make up worn by
the performers was not dark enough to prevent their faces from being
washed out under the lights.
It appears
that perhaps the director attempted to modernize the production;
however, made no mention of it in his director’s notes. There was
little reference to dramatic intention in his message to help the
audience gain knowledge and give purpose to his hybrid of
naturalistic and non-naturalistic choices.
Musical
direction by Peter De Jager was excellent. The difficult harmonies
of the show were nailed and the orchestra was strong. Choreography
by co-producer Stephanie
Gray was at times unnecessary and at other times highly effective
and eye-catching. The chorey for “Feel the Rain Fall” was excellent
and well rehearsed. At times the choreography seemed under rehearsed
which looked messy and ultimately distracted from the performance.
Overall the
show had some highly commendable performances but the show could
have had a stronger impact if the technical aspects were more
thought out and at times the performance seemed to lack clear
direction. An example of a lack of clear direction included the
Trial of Leo Frank. I sat distracted asking myself “who was jury?
Who was spectators?” and I felt it highly inappropriate for reporter
Britt Craig to be sitting next to Lucille Frank and those giving
testimony to sit amongst the rest of the cast.
Chookas to the
cast and crew of ‘Parade’ for the rest of their run and I do urge
everyone to get down to see the show. It makes for a great night
out.
Renee has over
20 yrs experience in professional and non –professional theatre. She
has choreographed/directed/produced and performed in several shows
for various companies including; Les Miserables, Annie, Joseph and
the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Anything Goes and Guys & Dolls,
Annie get your Gun and Gypsy. Renee directed/choreographed "All the
New Stuff" for Phoenix Theatre Company and was nominated for Best
Director in Variety show Lyrebird Award. She co-directed The Full
Monty for PTC
and will be co-directing the next Lyrebird awards ceremony. Renee is
currently directing/choreographing "Sondheim to Schwartz" for
Phoenix Theatre Company in November at the Doncaster Playhouse.
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