Critical Review at Hennepin Arts

  My first impression of Hadestown was that this was a party on stage. The show had been talked up to me by many of my friends and the audience was going wild as soon as the lights dimmed, and the production certainly justified all the excitement. Hermes, the host of this party, was played by the exuberant Jaylon C. Crump, who led the audience through the story with a passion that was shown equally in happy and serious scenes. He also introduces each character as they make their grand entrance into the party that is the opening number, “Road to Hell”.  One of the first characters he announces is Persephone, played by Namisa Mdlalose Bizana, who, while having a nice voice, never quite gave the energy and commanding presence needed to play the boisterous Persephone. This was proven in her somewhat lackluster performance of “Our Lady of the Underground” that failed to have the power behind it necessary to make the song effective. In striking contrast, Hades (Nickolaus Colón), th...

“It is still ongoing.” These are the words that the audience is left with on the final drum beat and blackout of the 2025 national tour of Parade. The show follows the true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish man who was convicted of allegedly murdering a 13 year old girl in post-Civil War Georgia, and his subsequent lynching. The musical, which was revived in 2023, adds new updates to Frank’s story since its original 1998 premiere, as the Fulton County District Attorney agreed to reopen his case in 2019 due to faulty testimony and new evidence that is still being considered today. But the final sentence of the show doesn’t just echo the additional truth of the story, it hauntingly echoes the present as well. Through a stellar cast, devastatingly beautiful music and captivatingly intricate direction, Parade is one of the most important, timely, and impactful stories that is being told today.   Jason Robert Brown’s exquisite lyrics and score manage to perfectly capture both the astoun...

Parade is not a show that’s easy to watch. As audiences take their seats, they’re confronted with a projection of the “Leo Frank Lynching” memorial plaque in Marietta, Georgia. The musical tells the harrowing true story of Leo Frank (Max Chernin), a Jewish man from New York accused in 1913 of murdering a 13-year-old white girl at the pencil factory he managed in Atlanta and his subsequent lynching in 1915. First premiered in 1998 under the direction of Hal Prince, Parade features a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. The 2023 Broadway revival, directed by Michael Arden, brings a powerful and timely dramatization that’s unafraid to lean into its darkness to life once more. Arden, who won a Tony for his direction, excels at bringing subtext to the foreground. Mary Phagan (Olivia Goosman), the girl whose murder reignites the fury of the post-Confederate South, returns in several scenes to stand eerily stock-still atop a ladder behind the scrim, positioning her...

Through the jokes and teases often aimed at people like myself who cherish musical theater, one question has always lingered in my heart: Can musical theater truly provide a meaningful dialogue on our current society? On January 21st, as I left the Orpheum Theatre after a life-changing performance of the national revival tour of Parade , I found my answer resounding all around me: “I didn’t know about that.” “I can’t believe it.” “But who did it?”. Yet what struck me most was the bitter taste of my own lack of surprise—a reflection of how desensitized I, like so many others, have become to stories of injustice and prejudice. And that discomfort is precisely the point, making Parade not just a performance to witness, but one to let sink in. Parade tells the true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory superintendent in 1913 Georgia, falsely accused of murdering a young girl, Mary Phagan. The musical exposes systemic injustice and prejudice against the backdrop of a post-Civil War South...

Based on a true story, Parade captures the historical and emotional intensity of the Leo Frank Case. With music by James Robert Brown, the lyrics and orchestrations drive the storytelling in a way that intersects the historical and dramatic weight of the story. When Mary Phagen (Olivia Gooseman) is mysteriously killed, the town of Atlanta, Georgia is quick to accuse and convict Leo Frank (Max Chernin), a Brooklyn-raised Jewish man. While he is imprisoned, Lucille Frank (Talia Suskauer) continues to fight for the freedom of her husband. Through the hardships and challenges the Franks face, audiences are left wondering whether the truth can transcend the biases that have determined his fate. Max Chernin was a standout performer who brought a haunting intensity to the role of Leo Frank, carefully capturing the character’s vulnerability with extreme depth.  His performance delivered a chilling portrayal of a man wrongly accused by navigating both his crisis as well as the weight of s...

It’s rare for a musical to leave an audience in stunned, reverent silence as the curtain falls, but Parade accomplishes just that with breathtaking poignancy. Jason Robert Brown’s Tony Award-winning score and Alfred Uhry’s masterful book come together to tell a harrowing, deeply human story of justice, prejudice, and resilience. Based on the true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish pencil factory manager falsely accused of murder in 1913 Georgia, Parade is both a searing indictment of systemic injustice and a profoundly moving testament to love and humanity in the face of hate. Right as the lights dimmed, the production pulled us into the uneasy heart of the post-Civil War South, a society grappling with its fractured identity. The opening number, “The Old Red Hills of Home,” swelled with haunting nostalgia, its harmonies foreshadowing what was to come. The lush orchestrations and the ensemble’s stirring delivery painted a vivid image of a region clinging to its past, setting the stage for ...