Dr. Blackwell's BLOG

I am speaking at the American Public Health Association conference this week in Washington, DC. I have planned my trip to DC several months ago after being notified that my proposal was accepted. And I also learned around that same time that the musical Parade, one that I have desperately wanted to see for a long time, was going to be produced at the historic Ford’s Theater (the famed location of President Lincoln’s assassination); consequently, I assured myself I would finally see Parade and planned my trip accordingly. Parade originally opened on Broadway in 1998. The show was directed by famed stage director Harold Prince (The Phantom of the Opera) and was produced by the massive (yet ultimately bankrupt) Livent Productions, the same production company behind Ragtime. Parade is one of those few musicals that achieves what only a few others ever have; it is so effective, chilling, and haunting, it creates an atmosphere that is strikingly unpleasant, yet beautiful. And that unfortunately resulted in its inability to be a commercially successful Broadway production; it’s life at the Vivian Beaumont Theater was cut short after only 84 performances.

The story of the show centers around the true life events of the 1913 murder of 13-year old Marietta, Georgia factory worker Mary Phagan and the subsequent framing and anti-Semitic-driven conviction of the factory’s Jewish superintendent, Leo Frank. The south was rife with extremely racist and anti-Jewish sentiment at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Jews were considered greedy industrialists who abused laborers, including children, for their own financial profit. This mixed with the racially-charged hatred of Blacks in the South sets the somber tone of Parade. The DC production is headed by Tony-nominee Euan Morton, who plays the idiosyncratic Jewish mannerisms of Frank perfectly well. His acting and singing are amazingly on-target as is that of Jenny Fellner, who plays Franks’ wife Lucille, who would become the heroine of the story by the Second Act. The supporting cast is as strong as the principle actors, particularly the performance of Kevin McAllister, who plays Jim Conley (who ultimately was largely believed to be the real culprit of Phagan’s murder).

The music of Parade is outstanding. The score took home the Tony in 1998 and it was obviously well-deserved. The first number (“The Old Red Hills of Home–Part 1”) is a simple ballad that eventually leads into a march-like ensemble number (“The Old Red HIlls of Home–Part 2”) which serves to introduce the still bitter post-Civil War Georgian White citizens of Marietta. But perhaps the most moving numbers come later in Act One. Phagan’s funeral scene is riveting and the number “Funeral” not only displays the sorrow of the friends and family she left behind, but their growing anti-Semitic hatred and bloodthirsty quenching for revenge. And when Frank is on trial (“Trial IV”), his character bursts into a musical over-the-top depiction of the false behaviors being described by the witnesses testifying against him that while providing some comedy relief, is also chilling. The Second Act is also supported by strong numbers, particularly “Rumblin’ and a Rolin.” This is the Act’s opening number that shows a desperate Lucille Frank interrupting a drunken ragtime dance party in the Governor’s Mansion in an attempt to save her husband’s life. Again, writer Alfred Uhry (who won the Tony for Best Book of a Musical in 1998 for Parade) knows how to take his audience on an emotional roller coaster–he manipulates the audiences’ craving for gaiety and  any semblence of lightheartedness and quickly replaces it with the grim reality of the situation.

In the end, Parade is a highly effective piece of musical theater that depicts an event in American history that was a pathetically perfect example of a hatred-fueled misjustice. The show uses a score that is just as moving and unsettling when it is extremely simplistic as it does when it is more grand. The Ford’s Theater production of Parade couldn’t have been any better. I was honored to be able to see the final show of its run. The story, music, and near-perfect direction and performances left me speechless; and this show really moved my spirit. Theater can make an enormous impact and reach down into your soul and truly make a mark on your psyche when it is executed perfectly. The Ford’s Theater Production of Parade certainly left me with an experience I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

The Phantom of the Opera turned 25 years old today and an amazing spectacle of the classic show was staged at London’s Royal Albert Hall to celebrate the occasion. Phantom Live was beamed via satellite to movie theaters across the United States and other parts of the world on Sunday. The show began at 2pm ET (8pm London time) and was attended by celebrities and numerous actors, producers, and other key players of the musicals’ success, including composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and producer Cameron Mackintosh. This production was incredible! The ensemble cast was more than double the size of the standard Phantom production, which gave numbers like “Masquerade” and even “Prima donna” an amazing power that was seen in the motion picture version of the film but is impossible to replicate on the stage.

In addition to the large cast, a 200-piece orchestra provided the lush background score for the musical, sending chills up and down my spine countless times during the show. The Phantom score has some incredible woodwind and string accompaniment that sets the darkness of the show and also adds to the music’s rich beauty. With an orchestra of such an enormous size, all of this was amplified amazingly well in this production, yet still not quite to the richness found in the movie version of the musical. The sets and staging were much different here as well. While the sets of the traditional stage are ever-changing and punctuated by special effects and pyrotechnics, much of this was accomplished by large digital projections which spanned the entire stage from left-to-right and above the orchestra, that was placed above the action on the stage. A scaffolding bridge also served to execute certain numbers (eg. the first journey Christine takes with the Phantom down to his liar).

The digital projections worked most of the time and even added to the show’s elements, with a projection of the phantom engaged in the background of various scenes. For example, this is seen when the Opera Populaire’s managers read the Phantom’s notes signaling the need to replace Carolotta with Christine Daae in the opera’s production of Il Muto. Simultaneously, in the superior projection, an image of the Phantom writing the notes is seen along with a scrolling of their words. The only issue with the digital projections came with a few of the closeup shots, where the screens could be seen in the background and appeared slightly pixilated.

The actors in this 25th Anniversary spectacular were phenomenal! They were by far the best cast I have ever seen perform in these roles; and I’ve seen this show presented on Broadway, in Las Vegas, and on countless national tours. Of course, the strongest of the cast were the leads. The Phantom was played by Ramin Karimloo, who not only provided his breathtakingly gorgeous voice for the Phantom, but gave what can only be described as a tour de force performance! I have never seen an actor play that role more perfectly. Christine Daae was played by Sarah Boggess, who gave a spine-tingling performance and made the theater erupt with applause many times during the show, which is quite an accomplishment given I was watching it in a movie theater!

“Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” was probably the highlight of the show; and the audience in the Royal Albert Hall applauded for a solid two minutes at the song’s reprisal. Both of these actors are Phantom veterans who were most recently seen in these roles in Webber’s Phantom sequel Love Never Dies in the West End. The supporting players were also great. My only criticism is for Hadley Fraser, who played the role of Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny. While Fraser has a great powerful voice, the role of Raoul has a sense of sweetness and tenderness that seemed to be lacking.

The Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary performance at the Royal Albert Hall was simply put, beautiful. Anyone who is a fan of the show should see this staging during its encore showings in theaters nationwide. If you’re unable to make it, the show will be released on DVD in November. But, even the most window-shattering home theater systems will not do this production justice. It really should be enjoyed on the big screen in the theater. For a list of showtimes and dates (there are only a few) to see the show at a theater near you, click the link below: http://www.fathomevents.com/performingarts/series/phantomoftheopera.aspx. Below is a trailer for the show: