The South threatens to rise again June 13, when Parade, the dark 1999 Tony Award-winning musical, begins a national tour at genteel Atlanta's Fox Theatre.
The musical retelling of one of the most notorious crimes in American history, the murder of young Mary Phagan, is staged again by Broadway helmer Harold Prince, and musical-directed by Jason Robert Brown, the composer who won a Tony Award for Parade's music and lyrics.
This four-month tour of short bookings continues to Oct. 29. David Pittu, late of the national tour of Titanic, and Andrea Burns, recently of Off-Broadway's Saturday Night, play Leo and Lucille Frank, respectively, in the serious-minded, fact-based musical about murder, race, anti-Semitism in 1913 Atlanta.
Composer-lyricist Brown will conduct the tour, which plays June 13-18 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta before marching on to St. Paul, MN, Memphis, TN, Denver, Green Bay, WI, Seattle, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Dallas.
Librettist Alfred Uhry, who won a Tony Award for the book of the musical, and Prince are expected to be in Atlanta for the opening. Prince recreates his 1998-99 Lincoln Center Theater staging. Choreographer Patricia Birch and designers Riccardo Hernandez (set) and Howell Binkley (lighting) reunite for the summer-to-fall 2000 tour.
The company includes Adinah Alexander (Mrs. Phagan), Ray Aranha (Newt Lee), Kristen Cullen (Mary Phagan), Jeff Edgerton (Young Solider/Fiddlin' John), Donal Grody (Old Soldier/Judge Roan), Rick Hilsabeck (Governor Slaton), Daniel Frank Kelley (Frankie Epps), Keith Byron Kirk (Jim Conley), Randy Redd (Britt Craig), Peter Samuels (Hugh Dorsey), David Vosburgh (Luther Rosser/Floyd MacDaniel), John Leslie Wolfe (Tom Watson). The ensemble includes Anne Allgood, Mimi Bessette, Justin Bohon, Elizabeth Brownlee, Diana Brownstone, David Coolidge, David Dannehl, Sandra DeNise, Peter Flynn, Carla J. Hargrove, Tim Howard, Siri Howard, Jamie Johhson, Raissa Katona, Emily Klein, Corey Reynolds, Greg Roderick, Laura Schutter, Natasha Yvette Williams.
Sound designer is Duncan Edwards, costume designer is Judith Dolan and Clayton Phillips in assistant to Prince.
Reprising their original Broadway roles are Klein as Essie, Edgerton as the Young Soldier, Wolfe as Watson and Aranha as Newt Lee. Original cast members returning in new roles are Alexander as Mrs. Phagan, Redd as Britt Craig and Samuel as Hugh Dorsey.
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The announced Chicago booking of the national tour of Parade has fallen through -- due to a "routing issue" -- taking a prime market off the schedule.
The tuner was to have played the Cadillac Palace Sept. 5-10. Hoped-for dates in Boston (for summer) and St. Louis (Nov. 14-19) did not material.
The Parade tour route includes:
June 13-18: Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA
June 20-25: Orpheum Theatre, Memphis, TN
June 27-July 2: Music Hall at Fair Park, Dallas, TX
Aug. 1-13: Ordway Theatre, St. Paul, MN
Aug. 15-20: Benedum Center (CLO), Pittsburgh, PA
Aug. 22-27: Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, Green Bay, WI
Sept. 12-24: Denver Center Buell Theatre, Denver, CO
Sept. 26-Oct.15: 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle, WA.
Oct. 17-29: Playhouse Square, Cleveland, OH.
An original cast recording of Parade is available on the RCA label. The script and lyrics will be published in the summer 2000 issue of Show Music magazine.
