Similarly to the Black Lives Matters movement emerging throughout the United States today, Elon Univerisity’s Deparment of Performing Arts will explore racial tensions and injustices in the production of the musical “Parade.”
Set in 1913 in the American South, the show explores ideas of love and hope set against the backdrop of religious intolerance, political injustice and racial tension.
The Tony Award-winning musical will be performed Oct. 27-29 and Nov. 3-5 in McCrary Theatre.
Originally a book by Alfred Uhry, “Parade” features music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and dramatizes the trial of Leo Frank, who was accused and convicted of raping and murdering Mary Phagan, a 13-year-old employee at the National Pencil Company.
During the trial, spectators were racially segregated. The trial proceedingslead to the revival of the KKK and the creation of the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish Civil Rights organization. But after Franks’ death sentence was lowered to a life of prison, an angry lynching party kidnapped and hung him.
To bring the intense story to life, there are 43 cast members, with even more stage managing, assisting directing, running sound, working in costume and finding props. An orchestra of professional musicians supports the cast and is responsible for carrying out Brown’s challenging and complex musical score.
“Jason Robert Brown has written in a very specific, sophisticated and brilliant way that captures the undertones of pride, fear and hope expertly,” said, Musical Theater music Director and Conductor Ethan Andersen.
Andersen feels that “Parade” not only boasts one of the most powerful musical theater scores written in the past two decades, but also is extremely relevant to what is happening today.
“Our hope is that seeing this production will not only provide an entertaining evening of great storytelling, but also provide an opportunity to reflect on many of the same struggles our country still faces,” he said.
Senior Fergie Philippe-Auguste — who plays Jim Conley, the janitor at the National Pencil Company, star witness at the trial and also suspect in the murder — hopes “Parade” sparks conversation on Elon’s campus.
After hearing racial slurs yelled on the streets of campus, he believes it is an important message to be told.
“Myself and several friends of mine have been the victims of hate speech multiple times just walking down Haggard,” Philippe-Auguste said. “There are fundamental problems happening in this world, and whether we want to accept it or not, they have carried into the minds of some of the students that walk around Elon’s campus and they need to be addressed.”
The cast itself keeps in mind the importance, sensitivity and difficulty of the themes discussed in “Parade.” Senior Emily Fallon, who plays Lucille Frank, Leo Frank’s wife, is certain the show will tug at the audience’s heartstrings as it does the
performers’.
“It is difficult to perform at times because the feelings are so real and the details are so unfathomably true,” Fallon said. “We want to produce this true story and feel that although it is hard to hear or understand at times, it must be told.”
Though some of the aspects of the show can be difficult to hear and see, the cast and crew believes it is important to do so.
“This material is going to hit home for a lot people really quickly and it’s going to be difficult to deal with that in that moment,” Philippe-Auguste said. “But we need pieces of art like this to help us confront these issues that a lot of us don’t want to think or talk about.”