The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, November 21, 2008 -5
A Parade' of
drama from.
a darker era
By NORA FELDHUSEN
DailyArts Writer
A true story of vigilante justice
in 'the South will unfold at the
Power Center
this weekend.
"Parade," '
written by Friday and
Alfred Uhry, Saturday at 8
tells the story p.m., Sunday
of Leo Frank, a at 2 p.m.
Brooklyn-bred Power Center
Jew who moves
to Atlanta,
where he meets his wife Lucille.
His life is quickly turned upside
down when he becomes the main
suspect in the murder of a 13-year-
old girl. The antisemitism of North
and South at the turn of the cen-
tury sets the stage for a story of
discrimination and misunder-
standing, alongside the tale of a
couple who rediscovers one anoth-
er in times of trouble.
"Parade" is the third in a series
of plays written by Uhry called
the "Atlanta Trilogy." The story of
Leo and Lucille Frank is enhanced
on stage by a luscious score writ-
ten by Jason Robert Brown with
up to 13-part harmonies sung by
the ensemble. In "Parade" you'll
find "kitchen-sink drama within
a melodramatic musical," said
director Adam Moskal, a senior in
the School of Music, Theatre and
Dance.
Kevin Hegmann, the actor who
plays Leo, called the scoring of
"Parade" brilliant. He said that
Brown, as part of a new generation
of composers, writes music that
fits the story better than ever.
"The rhythms falls on the
important words;" Hegmann said.
That gives the audience a sense
that they are just "watching a
scene that happens to be sung."
Elise Turner, Musical Director
and senior in the School of Music,
Theater and Dance, has been a fan
of the music of "Parade" for years
and admits that she didn't "fully
grasp the depth of the score until I
first saw it." Still a week before the
Rhythm and
murder.
show, she is finding nuances and
connections in the music and story
that were not apparent at first.
Watching Heggman and co-
star Allison McDowell, who plays
Lucille, on stage together will cer-
tainly set off an emotional reac-
tion. There's a lot of discomfort
See PARADE, Page 10
The gift of laughter
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)hen Colbert and tireless energy helps fuse together
its disparate parts.
celebrity guests Comprised of an odd combina-
tion of parody and patronage to the
oke fun at the usual Christmas special shtick, the
.ldy .ii episode finds Colbert trapped in his
hioliday spirit cabin in the wilderness, afraid to
leave due to an angry bear trolling
By IMRAN SYED outside. But thankfully, the bear
DailyArts Writer doesn't prevent special guests -
Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, John
hristmas special from Ste- Legend, Feist, Elvis Costello and
olbert - America's favorife Colbert's comedic other-half, Jon
tra-con- Stewart - from dropping by and
ve "news- * singing songs.
- was long Besides simply providing an
e. Liter- A Colbert excuse for Colbert to sing along
with some big names (all of whom
ert had appeared on "The Colbert Report"
d to do a The Greatest in recent weeks and apparently
last year, Giftof Ai taped their segments at the same
is book time),thespecial also hasthe decid-
semi- Sunday at edly irreverent twinge that drives
bid for 10 p.m. everything Colbert does. The songs
residency Comedy Central are supposed to satirize holiday-
ored, of themed debates like the alleged
, by Dor- war on Christmas; its ongoing ter-
id the writers' strike kept it ritorial skirmishes with Hanukkah
The delay clearly left him and the prayer/patience dichotomy
antsy - "A Colbert Christ- that's probably bothered everyone
he Greatest Gift of All!" pre- at some point.
this Sunday, over a month Much of the lampooning hits
Christmas. It's a romp that the mark. Especially effective are
obably pass by without con- Feist's hilarious recorded message
ce. The show leaves some- as an angel on God's prayer line and
o be desired, but Colbert's Stewart's attempt to sell Colbert on
a different holiday. (Stewart sings:
"Can I interest you in Hanukkah,
maybe something in a festival of
lights?" Colbert responds: "I'm try-
ing to see me as a Jew, I'm trying
even harder / But I believe in Jesus
Christ, so it's a real non-starter.")
Several of the show's send-ups,
however,labor somewhere between
sophomoric and badly miscalcu-
lated. John Legend's innuendo-
laced ode to nutmeg (from which
the cleanest line is: "I'm going to
cover you with my nutmeg") may
be funny but serves only as a sense-
less distraction. Funnier, but equal-
ly out of place, is Willie Nelson's
solemn yet disturbing portrayal of
a fourth wise man in the nativity
scene, singing a hymn for his "won-
der weed."
While some songs come across
as crass or underdeveloped, there's
See COLRERT Pae 10
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