Review: PARADE at Broadway Sacramento is a Powerful Lesson in History

A recent Broadway revival has given a fresh new look to a story that’s worth telling. Parade first opened on Broadway in 1998 to positive reviews, but ran for only a few months despite winning Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. Its 2023 revival lasted a bit longer, playing for a limited run and earning two more Tony Awards and preceding a successful national tour. Parade has now made its stop at Broadway Sacramento and is charming audiences with its powerful score by Jason Robert Brown and heartfelt book by Alfred Uhry.

We know going in that this is not going to end well, as it’s based on the true story of Leo Frank; however, that doesn’t detract from the charm of the production. Its staging is superb, from the tiered stage to the historical projections to the gorgeous period costumes. Max Chernin is an excellent Leo Frank: refined, quiet, and perfectly foreshadowing what’s to come in “How Can I Call This Home?” as he laments his new life in the South and yearns to be back in Brooklyn. His character evolves from arrogant to humble as he's falsely accused of murdering thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan (Olivia Goosman), an employee at the pencil factory where he is a superintendent. As he navigates a trial corrupted by ambitious men, he boasts incredible vocals and presence, particularly in the fantasy sequence “Come Up to My Office.” His neglected wife, Lucille, becomes the most powerful character in the show as she fights against a system that will not let her succeed. She is brilliantly played by Talia Suskauer, whose performances of “You Don’t Know This Man” and “Do It Alone” are achingly breathtaking. Despite playing an unlikable character, Ramone Nelson is incredibly likable as Jim Conley, the man tasked with concocting a story to ensure Leo’s guilt. His rendition of “That’s What He Said” is frantically energetic and hypnotizing, and the number Blues: “Feel the Rain Fall” steals the show. The entire cast is phenomenal, and the ensemble being on stage for most of the show adds a cohesive feeling.

Expect to feel a roller coaster of emotions as we’re led through a journey of shock, hope, redemption, and tragedy. Chernin poignantly conveys the feelings of utter helplessness and despair that Leo Frank must have experienced, while Suskauer embodies a woman pulling from reserves she doesn’t know she has. Parade is a spectacle of class and grace, and its themes of anti-Semitism, racism, politics, and injustice are incredibly relevant today.  

Parade plays at Broadway Sacramento through May 11th. Tickets may be purchased online at BroadwaySacramento.com, by phone at (916) 557-1999, or at the Box Office at 1419 H Street in Sacramento.

Photo credit: Joan Marcus