L.A. Theater- T.R. Knight in Parade

[+ Lucky]

Next week I am taking a trip into the big city to see a revival of the musical Parade at the Mark Taper Forum. T.R. Knight from Grey's Anatomy plays the lead. Here is one person's look:

 

http://popbytes.com/archive/2009/09/first_look_tr_knight_in_parade_as_leo_frank.shtml

[+ Lucky]

So last night was my visit to LA to see Parade. After fighting hideously miserable traffic to get there, we located the Mark Taper Forum in the midst of a variety of other venues, all drawing their own respective crowds. The Taper Forum is an indoor amphitheater, with steep rises in the seats so that the effect is of looking down into a pit to see the actors.

 

The show is based on a murder case in Atlanta some 90 years ago wherein a white, Jewish factory superintendent was railroaded for the murder of a 13 year old female employee, after she had collected from him her paycheck of $1.20 for 12 hours work putting erasers on pencils.

 

T.R. Knight plays the unlucky superintendent, often sounding like Mathew Broderick. He does a good job, playing Frank as a cold man who always thinks his way is best.

 

Christian Hoff, a Tony Award winner from The Jersey Boys, plays a corrupt DA looking for a big case to propel him into the governor's mansion. He can't go with the Negro suspect as that has been done too many times, and he wants to stir things up. So, he gets a variety of witnesses to testify falsely against Leo.

 

This murder mystery is also a musical, but it does work. There are some absolutely wonderful voices in the show, making T'R.'s ordinary voice suffer in comparison. The show opens with a beautiful boy with a beautiful voice singing a solo some years past the Frank incident. Other than liking him a lot, I thought the opening made no sense at all. (The actor is young Curt Hansen, making his first big stage role and singing and dancing his heart out.)

Also in the show is Davis Gaines, formerly the Phantom of the Opera over 2000 times. He plays 3 small roles here, something of a comedown I thought. Another award winner in the show is Tony nominee Charlotte d'Amboise, with a long list of Broadway shows under her belt. David St. Louis, skillfully playing three roles with his booming deep voice is also a big hit with the crowd.

 

But the bottom line is that seeing Parade was a bit like jumping on a pogo stick throughout the performance. We jump from scene to scene, sometimes skillfully, sometimes landing with a thud, as the show is inconsistent. It's an ambitious undertaking and could have used some cuts.

 

The highlight of the show was seeing the crowd of Frank-haters go into a frenzy of excitement when he was convicted. Times sure haven't changed, as mobs continue to get excited when they see someone they don't like get in legal trouble.

 

No doubt a show this big has ideas of Broadway. The original version played there in 1998, winning a Tony for best book of a musical. This version originated in 2007 at the famed Donmar Warehouse in London, revising the original and adding newer theatrics.

 

As for the Mark Taper Forum, there are signs everywhere telling you that the theater is the Amelia Taper Theater, and that you are in the Taper Forum, but none telling you how to find your seat. The ushers seemed to have LA attitude- meaning they were there for looks, not show.

[Guest greatness]

A nice review

 

Thanks!