ADC Theatre
Tuesday 11 - Saturday 15 November
Dir. Matt Eberhardt; Musical Dir. Nick Sutcliffe; CUMTS

Four Stars

The redneck southern state of Georgia. Racial tensions reaching boiling point. An unravelling and re-knitting of common justice. I wonder whether CUMTS had the recent US elections in mind when they chose to stage Parade?

The storyline is peculiarly powerful for a musical: a real life account of a Jewish factory boss convicted of raping and murdering a thirteen year old belle in the Deep South, and the struggle to overturn his conviction resulting in sudden tragedy.

Musically this production is very strong - almost too strong as the orchestra occasionally completely obliterates the clumsily miked singers. Although the score is varied it remains oppressively reminiscent of Sondheim (who turned down the original commission) - but without his wit and incredible emotional subtlety. The result is an astonishingly well-sung production in which disappointingly few of the songs are memorable or resonant - save Jonathan Kanagasooriam's rousing, stamping chain gang attack which had the audience whooping. At the most powerful points atmosphere is created by a magnified, thumping heartbeat percussion in which the sweating claustrophobia and dread is almost palpable - all credit to musical director Nick Sutcliffe and his assistant Joe Bunker.

The choreography is arresting, and director Matthew Eberhardt makes a bold move in foregrounding it against a superbly minimal set and powerfully ominous lighting. It doesn't always come off. At several points, however, it is truly electrifying and gives the production the emotional crescendo the score fails to deliver. Take the mesmerising testimony of the factory girls against their Jewish boss in the climactic first act courtroom scene and the brilliant, grotesque, dislocated parody of a j oyful dance that the court engages in after the initial verdict.

My American history is shamefully shaky, but I felt that the writers were trying to cram far too much into the necessarily simplified musical structure. By the end of the production I was still perplexed as to who was against whom and why. Plus, deflatingly, there is never any real doubt as to the innocence of the protagonist. The result is a striking musical and, in this case, an almost flawlessly executed production, which fails to make a meaningful connection between characters and audience.

Despite its flaws, take the chance to see a tight, slick, pared down, wonderfully cast production of one of the few musicals which tries to cut through glitter, suspenders and schmaltz. Sarah Palin would probably hate it.

Isabel Taylor