Review: PARADE at EPAC

Good musical theater need not always be about glitz, glamour, and sequined chorus girls.  The medium has the potential to tell stories that are thought-provoking, somber, and even uncomfortable.  Take for example, Parade, now playing on the EPAC stage.

Parade tells the true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish supervisor in a turn of the century Georgia pencil factory. Frank is wrongfully accused and sentenced for the rape and murder of a young girl who works for him.  As you might imagine, anti-Semitism plays heavily into the story.  Hatred and discrimination are prominent in a town that still celebrates the elderly Civil War veterans among them.

Wes Wilson is powerful as Leo Frank.  He displays great strength and courage throughout his ordeal.  He is very convincing playing an intellectual Yankee who has never really fit in down South. Kayla Capone Kasper is his supportive and faithful wife, Lucille.  Kasper has some of the few humorous lines in the show and is a welcomed break from an otherwise intense script.

Other stand out performances include Sean Caldwell playing ambitious lawyer, Hugh Dorsey.  Caldwell has set up a little cottage industry playing jerks on the Ephrata stage, and here he does not disappoint! Josh Glacken is solid as Governor John Slaton, who does his best to help exonerate Frank in the second act.

Lastly, Michael Roman is phenomenal as Jim Conley, a man with some secrets in his past, who goes out of his way to make Frank suffer. Roman is a gifted singer, and his soulful interpretation of the song, Blues: Feel the Rain Fall was definitely a production highlight.

Direction by Ed Fernandez and Zach Haines was grounded.  Most of the songs are narrative, and dance is almost non-existent, so the spoken word is the foundation of this show, and directive choices definitely support that.

There were a few questions of motive that seemed unclear.  Why did the police initially feel there was enough evidence to arrest Frank?  Why didn’t the police go after a much more convenient scapegoat, the Black night watchman, Newt Lee? Why did so many witnesses bend the truth or outright lie in their testimony?  I am inclined to do some research on the true story to better connect these dots.

Scenic design by Andrue Morgan was impressive.  The stage was set in a brick façade suggesting a community bandstand in keeping with the theme of a parade.  The floor was a very authentic cobblestone.  Costumes by Claire Mann were also period appropriate and visually appealing.  EPAC talent and production values continue to be light years ahead of every other local community theater.