Mark Taper PARADE program with rehearsal photos

[fade2black2]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 4:32pm

PARADE Program

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 4:41pm

...how can the same person play Newt Lee, Jim Conley AND Riley? How can Jim Conley play more than one role anyway?

Posted: 9/18/09 at 5:03pm

because they've rewritten the show to accommodate for a smaller cast. thats part of the whole point of this production. its the "revised" Parade that was presented in London at the Donmar

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 5:10pm

well, I figured that. I was just confused since those three characters sing A Rumblin' and a Rollin' together.

[nealb1]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 5:56pm

Thanks for the link. I'm looking forward to seeing it next month. What the hell did Davis Gaines do to his face? Between the bad plastic surgery and the extreme hair coloring, he's so distorted.

[musicman_bwayfan]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 1:19am

A friend of mine is the production assistant for the show...he said it was coming along great as of the other day after their first full tech rehearsal.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 1:25am

I know they just had Oleanna transfer, but what are the hopes of this? I really love this show, and I'd love to see it on stage. I'm not sure where it would work in NYC, but hopefully it will.

[fade2black2]

Posted: 9/28/09 at 10:11am

Not finding much about the previews???? Here is a link to an article with a production photo.
Everyone Loves a Lynching Musical

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 9/28/09 at 11:08am

There are a couple of reports on All That Chat on the West Coast Board.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 9/28/09 at 11:59am

I don't seem to be able to find the ATC West Coast Board, Michael Bennett. Can you provide one for me? All I found was a review. I must be missing something. Thanks.

[fade2black2]

Posted: 9/29/09 at 10:02am

This was on the regular ATC board not the West Coast.
PARADE in LA- A Star is Born!!!

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 9/29/09 at 10:31am

Ghost - here is the link to comments on the ATC West Coast Board:

http://talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=1777238

http://talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=1776097

[Geridith]

Posted: 9/29/09 at 3:27pm

https://losangeles.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Flash_Griffith_Knight_Pulver_Star_In_PARADE_At_Mark_Taper_Forum_20090929

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 9/29/09 at 5:41pm

THERE WILL BE BLOOD. The Musical.

[lemiz3001]

Posted: 9/30/09 at 12:52am

Hi everyone!
I bought tickets for the final matinee on the 15th and i thought it was funny that there were so many seats left. Do you think this means the understudy will be on that afternoon?
Any info would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

[FeelingElectric2]

Posted: 9/30/09 at 1:03am

If anyone is in the area, go see it, I've been hearing nothing but raves for this production.

[fade2black2]

Posted: 9/30/09 at 10:39am

To Lemiz: I would think that for this short production, the understudies are there only for emergency/illness. Also, being the final shows, I would guess the leads would not want to miss the last day.
Updated On: 9/30/09 at 10:39 AM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 9/30/09 at 11:23am

Folks in Los Angeles don't typically buy tickets months in advance for events, plus PARADE has just begun previews. It's also a little bit of a tough sell (Love those lynching musicals). I don't think open ticket availability for the final performance infers any of planned cast absences.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 9/30/09 at 6:43pm

Belated thanks to all (esp Bennett) for your responses.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 9/30/09 at 7:56pm

I saw the show last night.

Wrote a little review about it.

Wanna read it? It goes something like this...



MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS











I really wanted to enjoy it more, but with the small cast and they were constantly changing characters; I was very confused at some points. At the top of Act II, I had to ask myself, "Did the writer become the Governor and then marry the mother of the dead girl?" Then, when Michael B. came out as the prision guard at the end, it was falling into "Greater Tuna" area for me. How many parts CAN one person play in a show? It was the same thing with the AOC. ONE guy and girl to play ALL of the colored parts? What happened to the Ensemble? They seemed to disappear.

TR gave a wonderful performance as Leo Frank. I just wished that he could match Lara Pulver, who played his wife, Lucille, in singing. Ms. Pulver was perfection, as was David St. Louis, and Deidrie Henrey, in every part they played. Curt Hansen is just too handsome for his own good. PJ Griffith was equal parts slime and religion, all mixed together in a sulking presence. Christian Hoff was quite powerful as the prosecuting attorney, and a complete transformation from anything 'Jersey Boys'. And it was so odd to see Davis Gaines relegated to basically an ensemble role.

Charlotte d'Ambiose performance, as both the mother of the murdered child and the Governors wife, was the one that threw me off the most, as I could never really tell who she was supposed to be in any particular scene (except for when she was wailing over an open grave). Her 'look' for both characters were far too similar.

The acoustics in the new theatre seemed odd. I was dead center in the second row, yet when an actor was standing right in front of me, I couldn't hear them at all, but I could hear them through the sound system. The 9-piece orchestra sounds rich and full. I'm not sure why JRB feels the need to mix so many strident tones in the crowd scenes; it makes for a lot of noisy confusion, as does the dialog the actors have seemed to be asked to say as they leave through the audience. Some of it was so loud, you got the idea that you were supposed to follow that person and it pulled focus.

The 'girl in the blue dress' as I will refer to her, was distracting. During her last march downstage, with the lights blazing behind her, I half expected the set to open up and reveal that we were in the finale of Sam Mendez's CABARET.

It's a powerful piece of theatre that I believe people should see, because you do leave the theatre wanting to talk about the production. It does not tie everything up with a neat bow, and you are still left to wonder, why would anyone want to persecute this man for no other reason than he is slightly different from them?

Updated On: 9/30/09 at 07:56 PM

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 9/30/09 at 8:22pm

Thanks for the review, Diva.

AND CONTINUED SPOLIERS!!!

So Michael Berresse (I presume that's who you mean by Michael B, though you use others' full names) plays FOUR roles? Governor Slaton, Mr Phagan, Britt Craig, and at the very end, a prison guard? Bizarre, esp the final part. Play three major characters and then a prison guard?

"It does not tie everything up with a neat bow, and you are still left to wonder, why would anyone want to persecute this man for no other reason than he is slightly different from them"?

Good question, but it's largely a true story. It was never was tied up in neat neat bow either.

I can totally see your point about Ms d'Ambiose. When I heard she was playing both characters I wondered how they were going to pull that off.
Updated On: 9/30/09 at 08:22 PM

[Geridith]

Posted: 9/30/09 at 9:54pm

There is no "Mr Phagan" character. In Hugh Dorsey's song, it is explained that Mary's father died, which is why she and her mother moved to the city. Michael Berresse plays three roles.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 9/30/09 at 9:59pm

Thanks. Fixed that.

Yes, Michael Berresse was also the guard at the end. I kept thinking, "Did everyone else go home? Isn't there anyone else backstage?"

There was also a bit of staging that made me wonder for a second if Frankie Epps had done it. The transition from “what had happened that night” to “the final montage” which left things unclear.

I saw that Michael had posted on his Facebook page that it was still a work in progress, so things may change.

I was wondering why they hadn’t registered the show for the Ovations. I think they may be waiting until after changes are made.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/30/09 at 11:29pm

http://talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=1778377

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 9/30/09 at 11:31pm

"There is no "Mr Phagan" character. In Hugh Dorsey's song, it is explained that Mary's father died, which is why she and her mother moved to the city. Michael Berresse plays three roles".

Thanks, I knew there was no Mr Phagan in the original or the Donmar version, but Diva's post made it unclear as to whether the character might have been added. I also understand that at one point that actor played four roles, so I was curious as to the who the fourth might have been. Either I'm in error, or one of his roles has been cut. No matter either way.