PARADE

UM Theatre is co-producing the Alabama premiere of the musical PARADE with Magic City Actors Theatre (MCAT) of Birmingham. The production is based on the Leo Frank trial in Atlanta, 1913-1915, and offers some unusually rich opportunities for interdisciplinary connections for faculty and students. Click here for curriculum guide.

PARADE is a special event production for UM Theatre and will run 2 weekends at the Virginia Samford Theatre, November 6-8 and 12-15 with 2 Sunday matinees at 2:30 pm. Evening performances are at 7:30.

There are 32  performers in PARADE including some of the best actors in Birmingham, UM students, and several UM theatre alums. MCAT is a 4 year old professional theatre based in Birmingham founded by UM alumni Carl Dean and Leah Faulkner. Dean choreographed UM Theatre’s COMPANY 2 seasons ago and is providing choreography once again for PARADE.

PARADE promises to be an exciting, don’t miss musical event! Tickets are $15 with a UM ID and are available through the Virginia Samford Theatre Box Office, 205-251-1206, or at the door.

Parade
PARADE, based on the true story of the trial and lynching of a man wrongly accused of murder, is brought to emotional and theatrical life by acclaimed playwright Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy) and Jason Robert Brown, one of Broadway’s most important young composers (Songs For A New World, The Last Five Years, Thirteen, etc.).

Plot Synopsis:
In 1913 Leo Frank, a Brooklyn-born Jew living in Atlanta, Georgia, is put on trial for the murder of 13-year old Mary Phagan, a factory worker under his employ at the National Pencil Factory.  The case is quickly sensationalized in a media circus that fuels public outrage and racial tensions in Atlanta.  Leo’s wife, Lucille, a Jewish southerner, joins him in an emotional journey to expose the truth and clear his name.  PARADE is a powerful story about injustice, love, courage, and community amidst the formation of 20th century America.