Review: PARADE at Des Moines Performing Arts

Another season at Des Moines Performing Arts is coming to a close, and they have saved one of the best shows of the season to close it out.  Tuesday evening, "Parade" opened as the closing show of this season's Willis Broadway Series.  "Parade" is a powerful musical that tells the story of Leo Frank, a Jewish man from New York who is accused of murder in Georgia. The show is a thought-provoking exploration of justice, prejudice, and the human spirit. Here are your top five reasons to see "Parade."

The first reason to see this show is for the story.  The story starts by introducing us to a Jewish man from New York named Leo Frank.  He and his wife, Lucille, have moved to Georgia for a better-paying job.  We see Lucille is more comfortable than Leo in Georgia.  We are also introduced to teenagers, Mary Phagan and Frankie Epps, who are discussing going to the movie together.  Mary tells him she is going to stop by work to pick up her pay.  We then see Leo giving Mary her pay of $1.20. In the next scene, we find out that Mary has been killed at the factory Leo works at, and he is taken to prison, tried, and found guilty of her murder. The second act raises questions about his guilt, leaving it to the audience to decide.

The second reason to see the show is the beautiful score by Jason Robert Brown.  This isn't the first time his beautiful music has been heard on the Civic Center stage.  The last time Brown's music was featured on the Civic Center stage was when the tour of "The Bridges of Madison County" debuted. He directed the orchestra for the show. With "Parade," Brown beautifully captures the period by incorporating some patriotic music and hymns into the beautiful music he has written for the show.  The way he weaves his music with patriotic music and hymns is beautiful and dissonant at times, allowing us as an audience to hear that things may not be as they seem.  

Reason number three to see the show is the Tony Award-winning direction of Michal Arden. He won his first Tony Award for his direction of "Parade" and won this last season for "Maybe Happy Ending," a show I hope is in the 2026/2027 season here in Des Moines.  What I appreciate about his direction is how he can create a vivid picture onstage and put the story at the forefront of what is happening on stage.  One of my favorite moments of his was during "This is Not Over Yet."  In the song, both Leo and Lucille are singing, but without the use of sets, props, or costumes, he makes it clear they are celebrating and singing in separate locations.

Our fourth reason to see Parade is the use of projections by Sven Ortel. They are an integral part of the storytelling being done with the show.  Instead of being an enhancement to the set, the projections take us to the actual locations where the story took place, and include photos of the people whose stories are featured in this production.  It was a beautiful form of storytelling I had not seen done in productions. By taking us to the people and places featured in the story, it made this true story real to the audience. This forces us to leave and consider whether Leo was falsely accused.

What truly brings this story to life is our fifth reason to see this show. The cast of this show does an exceptional job of bringing this story to life on stage. On Tuesday evening, we had four understudies in the show, who all delivered standout performances.  Caroline Fairweather as Mrs. Phagan, Jerquintez A. Gipson as Newt Lee and Riley, Jodi Snyder as Nurse and others, and Brianna Javis as Ensemble, all brought their characters to life with depth and emotion. It also featured two fantastic performances with Olivia Goosman as Mary Phagan and Jack Roden as Frankie Epps.  They both do an excellent job of portraying the young couple who are torn apart when Mary is murdered.  Olivia captures an innocence in the character of Mary, which pulls us into the story.  Jack takes us on a journey with someone dealing with loss, and we see his anger towards Leo grow throughout the show.

We can't talk about the performances in the show without talking about Max Chernin as Leo Frank and Talia Suskauer as Lucille Frank. Going into the show, I was excited to see Talia on stage again, as I had seen her as Elphaba in "Wicked" on Broadway in 2022.  So I knew she had a powerful voice.  I was still shocked by her singing and performance in this show. This show is another excellent fit for her voice, and she sings the score beautifully.  We also get to see her pain as Lucille deals with the hurt of seeing her husband being tried for murder and her husband telling her not to help him get his conviction overturned. Max as Leo is another phenomenal performance.  Not only do we see him as the character Leo, as intended in the story, but we also see how his accusers see Leo during the trial at the end of Act One.  Having to go back and forth between those two portrayals of the character is something I won't soon forget.

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