Writers Theatre announced casting on Monday for director Gary Griffin’s revival of Parade, to be led by Patrick Andrews as Leo Frank and Brianna Borger as his wife, Lucille.
The 1998 musical by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown is based on the real-life case of Frank, a Jewish man convicted in 1913 of raping and killing a young girl in Atlanta in a trial marred by rampant anti-Semitism. Frank was later kidnapped from prison by an armed mob and lynched, after Georgia’s governor commuted his sentence to life imprisonment; no one was ever charged with his death. The original Broadway production won Tony Awards for its book and score, though critics have been divided on the show throughout its history.
The rest of the Writers cast includes Larry Adams (Old Soldier/Judge Roan), Jonathan Butler-Duplessis (Jim Conley), McKinley Carter (Mrs. Phagan/Sally Slaton), Devin DeSantis (Britt Craig/Young Soldier), Kevin Gudahl (Hugh Dorsey), Derek Hasenstab (Governor John Slaton), Nicole Michelle Haskins (Minola "Minnie" McKnight/Angela), Caroline Heffernan (Mary Phagan/Essie), Zoe Nadal (Monteen), Jake Nicholson (Frankie Epps), Jeff Parker (Tom Watson), Leryn Turlington (Iola Stover) and Jonah D. Winston (Newt Lee/Riley). Michael Mahler is musical director, with choreography by Ericka Mac. Parade runs May 24–July 2.
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