PARADE To Be Revived at The Vault at Southwark Playhouse, Opens Aug 10

Parade, the acclaimed Broadway musical by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Alfred Uhry and award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown, was nominated for nine Tony Awards on its premiere in 1998 - winning Best Book and Best?Score - and subsequently won both the Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards for Best New Musical.

Now it is to receive a major London revival, in a 6-week season at The Vault at Southwark Playhouse, from Wednesday August 10 - Saturday September 17.

Parade promises to be one of the most exciting musical theatre events of the summer.

Parade centres on a true incident - the 1913 trial of Jewish factory manager Leo Frank, who was accused and convicted of raping and murdering a 13-year-old employee, Mary Phagan. The trial, sensationalised by the US media, aroused antisemitic tensions in Atlanta and the state of Georgia. When Frank's death sentence was commuted to life in prison by the departing Governor of Georgia, John M. Slaton due to his detailed review of over 10,000 pages of testimony and possible problems with the trial, Leo Frank was transferred to a prison in Milledgeville, Georgia, where a lynching party seized and kidnapped him. Frank was taken to Phagan's hometown of Marietta, Georgia, and he was hanged from an oak tree. The events surround the investigation and trial led to two groups emerging, the revival of the defunct KKK and the birth of the Jewish Civil Rights organisation. Parade covers the trial, and also dramatises the love story between Leo and his wife Lucille, at the same time subtley examining class and race relations, prejudice, and the Deep South.

Casting to be announced.

Alfred Uhry said:?"Southern extended families are prone to telling stories and so are Jewish ones. Mine was both, so I got a double dose. I grew up hearing about the quirks of distant relatives, in-laws, and a whole network of people I didn't know. They all came with stories attached. But nobody mentioned Leo Frank. Some of the family even walked out of the room if the name came up. I found this confusing, because I knew that my Great Uncle Sig had been his employer, and Lucille Frank was my grandmother's friend. Due to this hush-hush policy, I developed a fascination for the case, which has lasted all these years and which led to the idea for Parade."

Jason Robert Brown has been hailed as "one of Broadway's smartest and most sophisticated songwriters since Stephen Sondheim". His productions include?"The Last 5 Years"?"Songs for a New World" and "Urban Cowboy The?Musical".

Director Thom Southerland was named Best Director at the 2011 The Offies - Off West End Theatre Awards - for "Me and Juliet" at the Finborough. He directed the European premiere of "I Sing!", "Divorce Me, Darling!", "Annie Get Your Gun", "The Pajama Game" and sold-out all-male adaptations of Gilbert and Sullivan's "HMS Pinafore" and "The Mikado" (all at the Union Theatre); the European premiere of "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" (Landor Theatre), Irving Berlin's "Call Me Madam!" (Upstairs at the Gatehouse) and the European premiere of "State Fair" (Finbourough Theatre and transfer to Trafalgar Studios).

Tim Jackson is currently in rehearsal for "The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd" at the Finborough. Other choreography credits include "The Kissing Dance" (Jermyn Street), "Austentatious" (Landor), "Blood Wedding" (Southwark Playhouse) and "The Marriage of Figaro" (Wilton's).

Amongst John Risebero's extensive design credits, most notable include "Caroline O'Connor: The Showgirl Within" (Garrick), "Megan Mullally & Supreme Music Program" (Vaudeville), "Christmas In New York" (Prince of Wales & Lyric), "Marilyn & Ella" (Apollo), "Alan Cumming: I Bought A Blue Car Today" (Vaudeville).

Lighting Designer Howard Hudson received the 2011 Offie Award for Best Lighting Design for "Tomorrow Morning" at the Landor and "Me and Juliet" at the Finborough. He was also nominated for "The Drowsy Chaperone" at Upstairs at the Gatehouse and "Bent" at the Landor.

Musical Director Michael Bradley is currently on tour with "Spring Awakening". Other credits include "Godspell", "Once Upon A Time at the Adelphi" and "Assassins" (which won Best Production at the 2011 Offies) all at the Union.

Parade is produced by Danielle Tarento, who recently produced the sell-out "Company" at Southwark Playhouse. She is co-founder of the Menier Chocolate Factory and co-produced all in-house shows 2004- 2006, including "Sunday In The Park With George", which received a West End transfer and 5 Olivier awards. Other producing credits include "Drowning On Dry Land" (Jermyn Street), "Legacy Falls" (New Players), "Grateful" (Cadogan Hall), "Frances Ruffelle: Beneath The Dress" (Madame JoJo's, Edinburgh Festival, Wroclaw Stage Song Review, Poland), "Happy Savages" (Edinburgh Festival); as associate producer: "Smokey Joe's Cafe" (Landor), "Kurt and Sid" (Trafalgar Studios - nominated, WhatsOnStage Award for Best Off West End Production 2009), "Side By Side By Sondheim" (The Venue), "Tamburlaine The Great" (Rose).

Southwark Playhouse
The Vault
Shipwright Yard
(Corner of Tooley St. and
Bermondsey St)
LONDON
SE1 2TF

Box Office: 020 7407 0234
www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk

Nearest Rail/Tube:
London Bridge
Northern line/Jubilee line

Wednesday 10 August -
Saturday 17 September

Monday - Saturday at 7.30pm
Saturday matinee at 3.00pm

Tickets: £10 - £22.50
‘Airline style' pricing, the earlier you book the cheaper the tickets