Knight, Pulver, d'Amboise, Berresse and More March in Parade, Opening Oct. 4 in L.A.

By Kenneth Jones
04 Oct 2009

Parade stars T.R. Knight and Lara Pulver
Parade stars T.R. Knight and Lara Pulver
Photo by Craig Schwartz

T.R. Knight stars in the U.S. premiere of the Donmar Warehouse production of Parade, a revised version of the Tony Award-winning musical by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown, opening Oct. 4 after previews from Sept. 24 at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.

Knight is best known for playing George on TV's "Grey's Anatomy." He was also featured in the Broadway revival of Noises Off.

Center Theatre Group presents the L.A. run of the London production, again directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Rob Ashford (Thoroughly Modern Millie).

Lara Pulver reprises her Olivier Award-nominated performance as Lucille Frank, who stands by her wrongly accused man, Leo Frank, played by Knight. The tale of social injustice in 1913 Georgia made headlines around the country at the time and remains a scar in the face of American justice.

The staging features (in alphabetical order) Brad Anderson, Michael Berresse (Kiss Me, Kate, The Light in the Piazza, Obie Award winner for his directing and choreographing [title of show]), Will Collyer, Charlotte d'Amboise (Tony Award nominee for playing Cassie in the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line), Karole Foreman, Davis Gaines (a longtime masked man in The Phantom of the Opera), Laura Griffith, P.J. Griffith, Curt Hansen, Deidrie Henry, Christian Hoff (Tony Award winner for Jersey Boys), Sarah Jayne Jensen, Lisa Livesay, Hayley Podschun, David St. Louis, Rose Sezniak, Phoebe Strole (Spring Awakening), Josh Tower and Robert Yacko.



Composer-lyricist Brown and librettist Uhry won Tony Awards when the musical premiered on Broadway in 1998-99. Opening is Oct. 4, and performances will continue through Nov. 15.

This production (seen in London with a different cast) represents rewrites by Uhry and Brown since the 1998-99 Broadway production. The musical was co-conceived by Harold Prince in 1998.

Knight, formerly George on "Grey's Anatomy," appeared on Broadway opposite Patti LuPone in the 2001 revival of Noises Off, as well as in Tartuffe, and received a Drama Desk nomination for his role in Off-Broadway's Scattergood. Pulver received an Olivier Award nomination for the Parade role of steely wife Lucille in London's Donmar Warehouse production of Parade. She currently appears on the BBC series "Robin Hood."

Here's how TCG bills the musical: "A shameful event in American history and a poignant love story are at the heart of Parade…[which] follows the true story of the arrest, conviction and lynching of Leo Frank in post-Civil War Atlanta, Georgia. Mary Phagan, a 13-year-old factory worker, has been murdered on the day of the 1913 Confederate Memorial Day parade. Frank, the factory's superintendent and a Jewish outsider, is immediately cast as a suspect. As the media frenzy ensues, with journalists thirsting for news to boost circulations and ambitious politicians seeking votes, Frank — the transplanted Yankee — becomes the scapegoat. His wife, Lucille, passionately works for her husband's release from jail but public hatred continues to rise to a fever pitch. Despite the terrible circumstance, Leo and Lucille find a renewed commitment to each other as well as a moment of transcendent grace in their tragedy."

Rob Ashford won the Best Choreography Tony Award for Thoroughly Modern Millie.

The new Donmar Warehouse production received 2008 Olivier Award nominations for Best New Musical, Best Theatre Choreographer and Best Director, among others.

Scenic and costume design are by Christopher Oram, lighting is by Neil Austin and sound is by Jon Weston. The musical director is Tom Murray, and the production stage manager is David S. Franklin.

Tickets for Parade are available by calling (213) 628-2772 or online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org.