F.U.D.G.E. Theatre Company Presents PARADE at Watertown's Arsenal Center for the Arts, 10/12-10/20

The Friends United Developing Genuine Entertainment (F.U.D.G.E.) Theatre Company will present their 12th Anniversary Season's inaugural production of Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry's musical, PARADE, beginning on Friday, October 12 at The Arsenal Center for the Arts (321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA) where it will play through Saturday, October 20.

Director/Choreographer Joey DeMita (F.U.D.G.E.'s Founding Artistic Director) has chosen the incendiary and re-worked London's Donmar Warehouse 2007 version to bring to Boston's audiences.

Musical Direction is by Steven Bergman.

First produced on Broadway in 1998, PARADE has music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and a book by Alfred Uhry. Both men garnered a number of major awards for their work on Broadway and at the Donmar; as did the musical itself. The American and European Tours that followed both productions were equally lauded, acclaimed and award winning.

PARADE is a true story set in Marietta, Georgia, a powder keg of racial stress and sexual tension. The musical's harrowing events take place between the town's 1913 and 1914 Confederate Memorial Parades and tells the story of the anti-Semitism that shaped the sensational trial of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager, accused of murdering one of his employees, thirteen year-old Mary Phagan.

The trial had it all; an over-zealous prosecutor, an amoral, opportunistic reporter 'on the make,' an isolated and despised defendant, an oppressively hot summer, a witness more than willing to sell his testimony to the highest bidder, a political chameleon of a judge, a conflicted wife of the defendant, an under-age corpse and the Klu Klux Klan's re-emergence onto the national scene.

The F.U.D.G.E. cast features Adam Schuler (Leo Frank), Lori L'Italien (Lucille Frank), Tristyn Sepersky (Mary Phagan), Ashley Korolewski (Iola Stover), Susie Lunt (Monteen), AnneMarie Alvarez (Essie), Ken Orben (Hugh Dorsey), Shawna Ciampa (Mrs. Phagan/Sally Slaton), Jim Petty (Tom Watson/Officer Starnes), Kelton Washington (Jim Conley/News Lee/Riley), Ross Brown (Governor Slaton/Britt Craig/Mr. Peavy), Mike Fay (Old Soldier/Judge Roan), Kira Cowan (Minnie McKnight/Angela), Matt Phillipps (Young Soldier/Frankie Epps/Guard), and Andrew Cromartie (Officer Ivey/Luther Rosser/Guard).

Performances are on October 12, 13, 18, 19, and 20 at 8 pm and on October 14 at 2 pm. For tickets, priced at $25, call 617-945-0773 or visit www.FudgeTheatre.com. Special $15 tickets will be available at the door for the Thursday, October 18 performance.

The Arsenal Center for the Arts is located at 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA.

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