Full Cast Announced for PARADE at Manchester's New Arts Venue

The full cast has now been confirmed for the revival of the classic musical Parade, which will run for three and a half weeks at Manchester's newest arts venue.

This comes following the recent announcement that London-based theatre producer Aria Entertainment has joined forces with Hope Mill Theatre in Ancoats and James Baker Productions to spearhead the venue as a platform to showcase and revive musical theatre.

Parade is the first show from the new partnership, the musical will run from Friday 13 May to Sunday 5 June in the 150 seater venue. The performance run is unique in that there will be Sunday evening performances throughout at 6pm.

Tony Award-winning Musical Parade features religious intolerance, murder, political injustice and racial tension, and explores the endurance of love and hope against all the odds. Parade is a major production, big in ambition with both its cast and staging. It features a full cast of 15 actors, a nine-strong orchestra, produced by a full creative team.

The cast is led by Tom Lloyd as Leo Frank and Laura Harrison as Lucille Frank. Tom's acting credits include Sell A Door's Seussical in the West End, and he was nominated for the Best Male Performance in the Off West End Awards for Stiles and Drew's production of Just So at the Tabard Theatre London. Laura recently played Tiger Lily in Peter Pan for UK Productions, and is currently touring the UK with Blood Brothers.

The cast also features Jennifer Harraghy (Pride And Prejudice, The Return Of The Soldier); Nathan Summers (Jesus Christ Superstar, Guys And Dolls); Ben Jackson; Matt Mills (Scrooge, Romeo And Juliet); Shekinah McFarlane (Lion King, Little Shop Of Horrors); Andrew Gallo (The Theory Of Relativity, Saturday Night Fever); James Wolstenholme (Star-Spangled Girl, Rainbow Live); Aidan Banyard; John Mulleady (Skriker, Famous For Fifteen Minutes); Megan Ormiston; Evie Blackstock; Anna Berentzen (Much Ado About Nothing, Sense And Sensibility); and Natalie Hollingworth (Fame, West Side Story).

Aria Entertainment is a theatrical production company headed up by Manchester-born Producer and Company Director Katy Lipson, who has a wealth of experience in producing new and established works in the West End, Off West End, Edinburgh Festival and UK tours. Each year, Aria Entertainment produces at least one musical revival; new British musical; new American musical; a play; new cabaret show; and a season of new musical theatre called From Page To Stage.

Katy has been following the work of Director James Baker for a number of years, and the musical revivals series is their first collaboration. They have a joint passion for musical theatre and their future plans demonstrate their enthusiasm to showcase further quality arts in the North. James Baker's production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice won Best Fringe Production at the Manchester Theatre Awards 2016 last month.

Director James Baker commented: "Parade is a rich musical and one that is charged with a real story, that being the lynching of Leo Frank. Its social and political angles are very timely given the global landscape and the social difficulties we currently face. We've found an explosive, exciting and talented cast to tell this story, and we cannot wait to share the show with the theatre enthusiasts of the North of England.

"The North is fast becoming a powerhouse for new and exciting theatre and talent - and we are delighted that Parade is part of this new wave of creativity. This is the first production in our musical revival series and is something we are very keen to build on and develop through full-scale ambitious and innovative productions."

Hope Mill Theatre opened in December 2015 and is located in the Grade II Listed Hope Mill. The 120-seat theatre is the brainchild of Joseph Houston and William Whelton who, after a career in theatre and living in London, were inspired by the highly regarded Off West End Theatres and wanted to replicate it by forming a creative hub in Manchester. The 5-storey mill is also home to writers, artists and designers.

With a book by acclaimed playwright Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy) and a rousing, colorful and haunting score by Jason Robert Brown (Songs For A New World, The Last Five Years, Bridges Of Madison County), Parade is a moving examination of the darkest corners of America's history.

In 1913, Leo Frank, a Brooklyn-raised Jew living in Georgia, is put on trial for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan, a factory worker under his employ. Already guilty in the eyes of everyone around him, a sensationalist publisher and a janitor's false testimony seal Leo's fate. His only defenders are a governor with a conscience and, eventually, his Southern wife who finds the strength and love to become his greatest champion.

Daring, innovative and bold, Parade is filled with soaring music and a heart-wrenching story, offering a moral lesson about the dangers of prejudice and ignorance that should not be forgotten.