JRB's Parade back in NY

Um.. yes.

I adore this show and haven't been able to see it because no one ever does it! Incredible news.

Anyone else up for this? BWW field trip?

https://offoffbroadway.broadwayworld.com/article/The_Secret_Theatre_Presents_PARADE_4716_20110324

saw the LA version based on the West End...still a mess. Not better, but just different. Rumor is Uhry has washed his hands of JRB...no telling as they are both pretty much gentlemen. Love the score, but if JRB doesn't learn to listen about structure, not sure what future the piece has.

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i saw spelling bee there this summer because i had a friend in it. I had also seen the imaginary invalid there awhile before and it was pretty bad. But spelling bee was great, so maybe this will be too. my 2 cents.

Hey. I'm actually a part of this production, thus the brand new account :)

Just wanted to add after the last comment that we actually have a live band playing the music. And, though technically in Queens, it's only one stop from Manhattan. Way better than most of the other theaters deeper into Queens or Brooklyn.

Ghandi: The version is the West End/ LA Production as that's what the rights are now. It's a much tighter show, as you mentioned.

If anyone has any more questions I'd be glad to answer them!

what i saw in LA: the score remains a joy. The configuring of Leo as a central but somehow passive (or at least reactive) character is still tough. Having empathy for him, no matter how well he sings, is a hard row to hoe. i did think some things, like re-thinking the doubling of some roles by VERY strong near-lead actors, was a good idea. Still there is some confusion, narratively, on "whose show is it?"....the narrating newspaperman, Lucille, Leo...these are the structure problems which have always dogged the show...B'way, tour, West End, LA....not saying they are NOT solve-able, but JRB bless his talented heart not always the most collaborative. i mean if the author of DAISY and other beautifully-plotted shows like BALLYHOO is treating a source that has made many a compelling cinematic adaptation, and somehow your musical is STILL not working...perhaps some adjustment of the score and your goals is in order. NOT TAKING AWAY THE BEAUTY OF THE PIECE'S SCORE...but it ain't a song cycle, or if it is, produce it that way and not let all that pesky bookwork stand in the way of your genius opus.

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How many pieces/players in that live band?

I highly doubt this is a "cast your best friend" type of show with a name like Jay Aubrey Jones involved. It seems like this theater is trying to pull itself out of the image that has been made over the years. Good for them.

Updated On: 3/25/11 at 01:16 PM

Good to hear. Most showcases think that a single piano is sufficient (and it is, if the original orchestration was for one piano).

Michelle -- Sorry to burst your bubble, but Leo is the director's boyfriend. Does that say anything?

I was hired to musical direct a production for the same director last summer. Putnam, actually. I requested a metronome about fifty times because they couldn't decide on a tempo. The nights were long and ridiculous. I'd teach harmonies a hundred times. And I often found myself playing on an out-of-town, 60 year old piano that was missing two or three octaves. It was something you'd see Colehouse Walker playing.

The director, while a talented performer, knows exactly what she's doing. It's a very self-serving group of people. Just because she's a fan of the piece, however, doesn't mean that the show will be good. I love HAMLET, but I admit that the production I recently directed was far from perfect.

As for their getting Jay Aubrey Jones -- they have contacts. Plain and simple. A lot of us do. Doesn't necessarily mean that contact wants to be there, either. Could just need the work. Could be bored. Could be dying to do 'Parade' somewhere.

The commute to the theater is an easy one. If you plan on going just for the show itself, the commute is really not that awful. It's four stops from Times Square on the N and Q.

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And yes, I left the production two days before it opened due to a massive clash with the director.

After auditioning 40 Olives and 40 Logans, I was informed the director was casting herself as Logan and her best friend as Olive. She wasted over 50 actresses' (and my) time with a schlep to Queens for that.

She'd want to run the show several times a night, abusing those of us who were not getting paid.

It was just an all-around awful experience. I have no doubt that she's organized a talented cast as many of the people in Putnam were qutie talented. The director herself is also talented.

Just don't expect New York's big return of PARADE to be the grand production you've all been waiting for. The Secret Theatre can barely afford a good piano [although they've got an electric grand... last time I was there, though, the legs were falling off... Hm.....]

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Oh, it was most definitely a spinet. But some of the keys hadn't made noise in months. It was covered in so much dust (which I'm highly allergic to) that I had to finally put my foot down, be a diva and demand a better piano. [Plus, 'Putnam' is not an easy score to play.]

They got another piano and this one was so rough, so old [but luckily in tune] that I sliced the side of my finger open one night trying to play a glissando. That was a lovely night.

While you've got some talented people involved in the production, the values are certainly going to be allow. The Secret Theater, in my opinion, is a little corrupt. I don't like the way they run their business - as a lot of people will tell you. And their shows are not worth it. I've seen a ton of off-off shows that are fabulous. Theirs are not.

[Don't let the company name fool you. That's their "musical thaeter troupe". It's still very much The Secret Theater/Queens Players.]

It just wasn't the kind of environment in which I wanted to be doing theater. Way too self-serving a place to be that vulnurable in.

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your fingers are just better suited to another kind of keyboard (tuned, dust-free, with nothing to slice your gliss's except the shimmer in the air your fingering conjures...)

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iluvtheatertrash- No offense, but what you're saying doesn't look great for you.

"And yes, I left the production two days before it opened due to a massive clash with the director." This comment specifically. You left a production TWO DAYS before it opened? Seems like the issue with the theater is with you (you did call yourself a 'diva') and not with the production (and director) themselves.

You also compliment the director several times which leads me to believe that she actually put on a great production which for whatever reason you took yourself out of.

"Leo is the director's boyfriend" ...And? People hire people they know. Tim Burton works with the same people (including his wife) all the time, does that mean what he's doing is corrupt?

Either way, I don't want this thread to turn into something snarky. You obviously had a bad experience due to... whatever it was and feel a need to vent. Cool. Not stopping me from seeing Parade there. I'll judge for myself.