Parade

[joshtheblopper]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 3:51pm

Hello! I recently started listening to and researching JRB's Parade, can anyone tell me what it was like seeing the OBC or any of the other productions?

[ggersten]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 4:03pm

There are clips of various productions including the OBC on the site which used to be verbotten to speak of.

And the Tony Award presentation - although the show had closed by the time of the Tony Awards
Tony Award Presentation Updated On: 8/13/14 at 04:03 PM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 4:31pm

I saw Prince's revised touring production in Seattle and *loved* it. As you probably know, the show was instigated at Garth Drabinsky's Livent, but I believe the whole fallout and scandal had already taken place before it opened, which did the show no favours. Prince apparently asked Sondheim to write the score, and then chose Jason Robert Brown at the suggestion of his daughter.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 4:49pm

Eric. While it's true that Daisy championed Jason Robert Brown to get the job, his hiring was actually the result of being passed on during composer auditions for RAGTIME two years prior. They did not feel he was the right fit for RAGTIME, but did very much like him for PARADE. The funny thing is that Andrew Lippa auditioned/interviewed for both shows, and pushed very hard for the hire, but was passed on both times. That's gotta hurt! But I digress...

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 4:56pm

Thanks for the clarification.

A Lippa Ragtime or Parade? The mind boggles...

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 5:03pm

I managed to catch PARADE twice during it's closing week. I had a couple of quibbles (the staging of the parade where everyone's back was to the audience and contraptions went by seemed silly), but for the most part it overwhelmed me. It was a sensational cast from top to bottom and to hear the score performed live was thrilling. I don't know that it used the Beaumont to its advantage, but it wasn't defeated by it either. The opening sent chills down my spine and the trial sequence is some of my favorite theater of all time. It's probably the last time I went to a stage door without knowing anyone in the cast. I just needed to tell the cast members how much the show meant to me. They probably thought I was emotionally unstable. But whatever. It's a touchstone musical that represents my first few years living in New York City.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 5:05pm

It is, in my opinion, the most brilliant music Jason Robert Brown has ever written (and will probably ever write). The orchestrations were also just thrilling and gorgeous.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 5:14pm

It's the only score of his I absolutely LOVE. There was a site that compared the changes Prince made between the Broadway and tour stagings (I saw the tour) but I no longer can find it...

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 6:00pm

I once saw a production of the show put on by a youth theatre (High school and college-aged kids), and it was actually quite incredible. I really think it's an amazing, and heartbreaking show, and the production I saw was quite well-done.

I definitely think it was completely robbed of best musical (Fosse? Really?), as well as Carolee for best actress. Updated On: 8/13/14 at 06:00 PM

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 6:07pm

I was lucky enough to be part of a fine production last year, and it was the most artistically fulfilling experience I've ever had, even though I was a chorus member with little featured time. With a good team of people devoted to telling the story (and it's a story that people can easily become very passionate about), it can be a riveting and very moving piece of theatre.

In 2007, further rewrites were made for the Donmar Warehouse production, and a cast recoding was made including every word of the show, spoken or sung. While it may lose the sense of overwhelming community of the town in this chamber version, it's a fantastic record of a thrilling piece.

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 7:02pm

Like all Jason Robert Brown scores, it's pretty music, but it all mashes together with most songs indistinguishable from one another (apart from the great opening song). However, the show itself is way less investing than such a riveting story should be. I never saw the original cast, but I can say that the 2 times I've seen the show elsewhere it has moved at a snail's pace and failed to keep my interest.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 7:28pm

Never saw the Broadway production, but fell in love with the cast recording. I agree with the sentiment that it's easily the best score JRB has written thus far.

I have since seen the show regionally twice and loved both productions- one took a minimalist approach, the other was a "grander" production. Both were equally wonderful.

[After Eight]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 7:53pm

Dull, heavy handed, and a trial to sit through. One of those hit-the-audience-over-the-head-with-a-hammer things that just leaves the audience with a gigantic headache.

The score was dull and dreary.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 8:35pm

"In 2007, further rewrites were made for the Donmar Warehouse production, and a cast recoding was made including every word of the show, spoken or sung. While it may lose the sense of overwhelming community of the town in this chamber version, it's a fantastic record of a thrilling piece."

Thanks for the reminder--I always intend to buy this, and forget. He used to have an mp3 of one of the changed songs (or a cut song?) on his website...

While it's not a perfect book, I think Alfred Uhry's libretto should be mentioned--according to Garth Drabinsky (so he may be lying :P ) it was Garth who approached Uhry asking if he wanted to do a musical, and Uhry suggested the subject matter. Then Hal came on board, probably thanks to how much he loved working with Drabinsky at the time, and then JRB--not to take away from his score. I do wonder what Sondheim's score would have sounded like. On first thought it sounds like a good fit--a serious, heavy musical done by Sondheim--but the more I think about it the more I can see why Sondheim felt he was the wrong person for it.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 8:39pm

A nice clip of Hal talking about the show

[sing_dance_love]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 8:41pm

I did see the Donmar production when it played at The Mark Taper Forum in LA with Lara Pulver and T.R. Knight. I did slightly miss the ensemble vocals and, as someone said, "sense of overwhelming community of the town" in the revision, but that's such a small quibble because the show is a complete knock-out. Beautiful, thrilling score, the courtroom sequences are absolutely riveting, and the story is fascinating and tragic. Have loved this show for a long time.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 9:44pm

Oh, yes, Alfred Uhry's book is really wonderful and is never given the credit it deserves. His writing is rather minimal, but there's so much to be unpacked in it. It's astounding how was able to compact a story that very well could have been three times the length of the show that it is without making the audience ever feel like they're missing anything. The more in-depth you research the history, the more his work astounds.

The other thing about the chamber version that I don't like is that there are so many character doublings that it can become confusing for an audience. But if a theatre that wants to do Parade but can't hire more than 15 actors, I wouldn't let that stop them from presenting such a beautiful and important piece.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 8/14/14 at 12:43am

Far and away Jason Robert Brown's best work.
The original production / tour were great, but. I much prefer the chamber version. While the big orchestrations amd chorus sound great, the chamber version is far more focused on the human aspcts of the story and, ultimately for me, more moving. Sometimes less is more.

[nicnyc]

Posted: 8/14/14 at 4:28am

I saw the OBC and was lucky enough to see Brent Carver play Leo Frank. His beautiful performance truly was the heart of the show and gave it its' emotional weight. Jason Robert Brown's score is gorgeous - but Carver's performance drew the audience in to the urgency & the life-or-death stakes of Leo Frank's tragic plight. I also agree with other AwesomeDanny about the under appreciated book.

[nmlhats]

Posted: 8/14/14 at 11:46am

I saw the touring production in Dallas way back (c. 2000), with JRB himself conducting. I thought it was great, and still listen regularly to the CD. Also saw a pretty good local production about 5 or 6 years ago. Speaking of JRB and closing early, I hope the BoMC tour materializes as planned....

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 8/14/14 at 12:58pm

There were magnificent things about that first OBC production, but my overarching memory can be summarized in 2 words: HANGING TREE. Having no prior info on the show, we watched the lights go up on Riccardo Hernandez's unimaginative factory window walls and one huge tree center stage. I turned to my honey and whispered-- what are the chances someone's gonna hang in ACT II?

That aside, I loved lots of Act I, culminating in the spectacularly spooky "Come Up to My Office" sequence which was a pitch-perfect musical theater moment for the horror in the story. If only more of the show had matched this highpoint. Unfortunately Act II was an especially long slog with very little story and one miserably unlovable pair at its romantic center. And then came the hanging. Yisgadal v'yiskadash shmey robo, indeed.

Two howevers, however: One, I play the gorgeous JRB score all the time, and have grown to accept (if not love) the central relationship as something worth spending time with. And two, we were lucky enough to also catch the superb Donmar Production that played the Mark Taper Forum-- just brilliant on so many levels, including a stunningly good performance by T. R. Knight. One of our favorite nights of theatergoing that year.

Updated On: 8/14/14 at 12:58 PM

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 8/14/14 at 1:07pm

I saw this in London's fringe at the Southwark Playhouse and loved it and thought the score was mind blowing.
I saw this in London's fringe at the Southwark Playhouse and loved it and thought the score was mind blowing excellent.

But, but it was obvious that Leo Frank was going to get it and the judge was going to get promoted to state governor because of it, how did I know? Because this story has been done millions of time before.

[ggersten]

Posted: 8/14/14 at 1:51pm

Phantom, whether it had been done before on stage is irrelevant. The story of Leo Frank is a true story - and a significant one in Jewish America. The Frank lynching led to the formation of the Anti-Defamation League in the US.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/14/14 at 2:20pm

"There were magnificent things about that first OBC production, but my overarching memory can be summarized in 2 words: HANGING TREE. Having no prior info on the show, we watched the lights go up on Riccardo Hernandez's unimaginative factory window walls and one huge tree center stage. I turned to my honey and whispered-- what are the chances someone's gonna hang in ACT II? "

Hal Prince says in the video I posted that that's exactly why he thought it was a hard sell and his wife made the exact same comment to him.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 8/14/14 at 2:34pm

As much as I loved the show, it was the staging with which I had the biggest problem. The material overwhelmed me, but the staging just seemed so...Hal Princey. The massive tree, the angry mob with torches, touches that felt Breachtian but didn't really serve the piece. It needed a staging cinematic in scope, instead of the static theatricality we got. But Carver and especially Carmello were astounding.

The shame is that we've moved on to chamber sized versions of this piece. Now...I'm not against them in any way. But I hope I do get to experience a grand production with a terrific staging.