The New York City Center Encores! production of “Parade” is set to transfer to Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre for a limited-engagement Broadway run. Previews will begin on Feb. 21 ahead of an official opening night scheduled for March 16; the production will run through Aug. 6. The musical ran from Nov. 1-6 as part of City Center’s 2022-2023 season.
The story centers around Leo Frank, a Jewish man who is wrongly accused of the 1913 rape and murder of one of his thirteen-year-old employees.
Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond will reprise their roles as Leo and Lucille Frank. Additional casting is yet to be announced. Casting is by Craig Burns of Telsey + Co.
Platt is a Tony Award winner for the titular role in “Dear Evan Hansen.” Since departing that production in Nov. 2017, Platt has gone on to appear in the Netflix series “The Politician” and the new Amazon Prime film “The People We Hate at the Wedding.” He has also toured North America after releasing two albums of original music. “Parade” will mark his return to Broadway since playing Evan. Diamond will return to Broadway after having originated the role of Babe in “The Cher Show.” She has since appeared in “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical” at the Kennedy Center, the 2021 film adaptation of “tick, tick… BOOM!” as well as television’s “The Gilded Age.”
Tony nominee Michael Arden, who helmed the City Center mounting, will direct. Lauren Yalango-Grant and Christopher Cree Grant will co-choreograph, both making their Broadway choreographic debuts. The design team will include Tony-nominated scenic designer Dane Laffrey, Tony-winning costume designer Susan Hilferty, Tony-nominated lighting designer Heather Gilbert, sound designer Jon Weston, Tony-nominated projection designer Sven Ortel and hair/wig designer Tom Watson. Music direction is by Tom Murray and production stage management is by Justin Scribner.
“Parade,” co-conceived by Tony winner Harold Prince, features a book by Oscar winner Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Tony winner Jason Robert Brown. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1998 and won two 1999 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Musical Score. “Parade” was originally directed on Broadway by Prince.
In a statement, Uhry and Brown said, “It was an extraordinary gift to watch a whole new audience connect with ‘Parade’ at City Center under the thrilling direction of a new visionary: Michael Arden. We couldn’t be more grateful that this production is now moving to Broadway, where even more people will get to see Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond deliver phenomenal performances and lead this large and gifted cast.”
Arden added in a statement, “Parade has been a seminal piece of theater for me as an artist since it premiered 25 years ago, and to be collaborating with this incredible group of producers, designers and artists led by the brilliant Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond is truly a dream come true. The story of Leo Frank is more important than ever to re-examine, and it is my hope that audiences are both inspired and activated to reflect on both the past failure and the enduring promise of the complicated tapestry we call America.”
The production is the second from New York City Center Encores! to transfer to Broadway within the last year. “Into the Woods” arrived on the Main Stem in June 2022 following a successful run at City Center the preceding May.
“Parade” is being produced on Broadway by Seaview and Ambassador Theatre Group.
