Theater News

Laura Benanti, Ramin Karimloo, and More to Star in Parade

Jason Robert Brown’s musical drama returns to the stage for one night with a star-studded cast.

Laura Benanti will star as Lucille Frank in the Manhattan Concert Productions' one-night-only presentation of Parade.
Laura Benanti will star as Lucille Frank in the Manhattan Concert Productions' one-night-only presentation of Parade.
(© David Gordon)

Initial casting has been announced for Manhattan Concert Productions' February 16, 2015 presentation of Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry's musical Parade at Avery Fisher Hall, directed by Gary Griffin. The one-night-only concert comes on the heels of MCP's acclaimed stagings of Titanic and Ragtime.

Parade, which premiered at Lincoln Center Theater in 1998, dramatizes the 1913 trial of Jewish factory manager Leo Frank, who was accused and convicted of raping and murdering his 13-year-old employee in Atlanta, Georgia. The musical, which originally starred Brent Carver and Carolee Carmello in Drama Desk Award-winning performances, also received a Tony for Uhry's book and the Drama Desk for Outstanding Musical.

The star-studded cast will feature Tony winner Laura Benanti (Gypsy) as Lucille Frank, Katie Rose Clarke (Wicked) as Mrs. Phagan, John Ellison Conlee (Murder Ballad) as Hugh Dorsey, Charlie Franklin (The Bridges of Madison County) as Young Soldier/Frankie Epps, Davis Gaines (The Phantom of the Opera) as Old Soldier/Judge Roan, two-time Tony nominee Joshua Henry (Violet) as Jim Conley, Caitlin Houlahan as Iola Stover, Andrea Jones-Sojola as Minnie Mcknight/Angela / Nina Formby, Tony nominee Ramin Karimloo (Les Misérables) as Tom Watson, Andy Mientus (Les Misérables) as Britt Craig, Nathaniel Stampley as Newt Lee / Riley, and Emerson Steele (Violet) as Mary Phagan.

The creative team will include Tom Murray (music supervisor), Beowulf Boritt (set designer), Jeff Croiter (lighting designer), and Jon Weston (sound designer).

Griffin, who directs the concert, also serves as the director of Brown's upcoming Broadway musical Honeymoon in Vegas. Brown, who won a Tony Award for his Parade score in 1999, will serve as the concert's musical director.

Additional casting and creative team members will be announced at a later date.

Click here for tickets.

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