New York City Theater

Jason Robert Brown's PARADE, which will receive its London premiere this fall in a production directed by Rob Ashford, is due for a New York revival in some capacity, whether it be an Off-Broadway blackbox or a one-night benefit concert.

This weekend I returned to Frenchwoods Festival of the Arts, the theater camp where I essentially grew up, for their second production of PARADE, the first having been performed in 2003. Jason Robert Brown is one of Frenchwoods' more prominent alumni. As such, doing PARADE well would be of big importance for the camp. In fact, Brown came up to the camp to talk to the camp a week earlier, just as he did four years earlier.

How was the production? Not as good as the first time I saw it, as that production had a much better director and a far better cast. The orchestra this time around was outstandingly large, but far too loud, to the point of drowning out much of the dialogue.

The show's director, who is also the camp owner, always makes pre-show speeches where he tries to put the show into historical context. He claimed the show began in 1860 (WRONG! It begins in 1861) during the prologue and then goes to 1910 (WRONG! It then goes to 1913). And in his weirdest moment, he claimed that the dance which the chorus breaks into at the end of Act One, after Leo Frank has been found guilty of the murder of Mary Fagin, is exactly the same dance they did in real life. Is that true?? At least one former PARADE cast member has informed me that this was not the case.

So, what is there for me to see this week in terms of theater? Almost nothing. I guess I'll check out some Fringe shows. But till GREASE on Saturday night, it'll be a slow week. Maybe that's a good thing, as law school starts up again in merely a few days.