A wonderful theatrical experience awaits in a little-known theatre by a little-known theatre troupe, with the Broadway hit Parade being given a stellar run by Bump In Productions. Tucked away in the Brisbane suburb of Seven Hills is the Ron Hurley Theatre, with a modest capacity of about 160 seats. There, magic is happening.
What a gem of a musical Parade is. The songs often have a Stephen Sondheim-esque complexity and dissonance, making them quite a challenge to sing, especially a couple of the duets. The musical was first presented in 1998 and won Tony Awards for Best Original Score for Jason Robert Brown and Best Book of a Musical for Alfred Uhry. Then, in 2023, it also won Best Revival of a Musical.
The performances in this production are brilliant, to the point where I was wondering why most of the cast weren’t performing on the stages at QPAC (Queensland Performing Arts Centre) at Brisbane’s Southbank. It goes to show the depth of talent in the city. Credit to director Johnny Peek and musical director Michael Keen for eliciting such high-quality work from their actors. Also, to Maureen Bowra for helming the often-complex choreography in the group dance scenes.
The real-life case on which the story is based has been a controversial one. Set in 1913 in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s about Jewish factory manager, Leo Frank, who’s found guilty of murdering 13-year-old Mary Phagan, who works at the factory. The musical comes down on the side of Leo, adeptly played by Michael Lewis, being innocent. The antisemitism involved at the time seemed to be even stronger than racism against the African Americans, with the only other main suspect being an African American janitor.
Issues such as the frightening aspect of mob mentality and prejudice are skillfully woven into the narrative, along with the often-stirring musical numbers. While all the performers deserve mention, Belinda Lewis stands out as Leo’s long-suffering wife and Matthew McKenzie sings up a storm in a prison chain-gang song that gave me goosebumps. Others of note include Casey Martin, Ashton Simpson, Chris Herden and Mabel Tamone.
Parade is playing at Ron Hurley Theatre until 3rd August, 2025.
Vicki Englund
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- Parade (Chapel Off Chapel) – musical theatre review
- Ladies in Black (Genesian Theatre Company) – theatre review
- Spring Awakening (Chapel off Chapel) – theatre review
Vicki Englund is a film, TV and theatre reviewer, a credited TV screenwriter on shows including The Bureau of Magical Things and Home and Away, and a film screenwriter with several projects in development. She was the daily TV reviewer for The Courier Mail for 11 years and has reviewed films and TV for Rave Magazine, Time Off, The Courier Mail and Daily Review.