Soundworks Productions have had a very successful run with “Parade.” After a run at Chapel on Chapel in Melbourne, the production has come down to Sydney to play at the Seymour Centre for a limited season. It was a full house for opening night, all of whom were excited to see a much-anticipated musical after its recent success in the Broadway revival starring Ben Platt. 

The first thing that jumps out about Parade is its superb score. With a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics from Jason Robert Brown, the quality of the music immediately hits when experiencing the work. Brown is a master of his craft, effortlessly combining vocals, orchestra and narrative for a seamless experience. This is one of Brown’s most famous works and even though some of his song cycles may be more consistent throughout, the peaks of the music in this production are extraordinary, Music director Mark Bradley does well to bring this out of his cast with some wonderful harmonies which accentuate the beauty of Brown’s score. In fact, whenever the cast sung together, it was superb. 

Unfortunately, when it came to solo numbers, pitch and diction issues became quite apparent. Whenever pitch issues are widespread, I am hesitant to be too critical given the potential for illness to spready around a cast but even accounting for the moments of dissonance built into Brown’s score, there were a few too many moments that felt quite discordant. It seemed as though many of the performers were struggling to hear the orchestra (which may not be the fault of the cast, given the sonic limitations of the Seymour Centre) and this did lead to some awkward moments. This had a flow-on effect where it felt as though some performers were behind the beat with the orchestra meaning that the crispness of Brown and Uhry’s words were lost. 

Again, while this may be to do with the venue, diction was consistently a problem throughout the production with the words of many performers being obscured. Of the performers, Montana Sharp was a stand-out with a powerful and nuanced portrayal of Lucille Frank. Her version of “You Don’t Know This Man” was stunning and full of the emotion that the song demanded. 

While there were some musical issues throughout the show, the acting was largely convincing with Aaron Robuck and Guillaume Gentil stand-outs in this regard. It is a challenging piece of musical theatre so the ability to convey the story authoritatively was welcomed. Harry Gill’s set and costume design was also strong and bombastic as the show demanded while Sidney Younger’s lighting certainly added to the ambiance. 

While Parade is certainly profound in its exploration of prejudice, it does have some limitations. Notably, the almost perfunctory treatment of African-American characters and the prejudice that they had to face in the Deep South is a glaring omission from the script. This is something that this production picks up on and Director Mark Taylor helpfully says in his Note that “we must be mindful that other voices and viewpoints may not find representation within this particular retelling” (this issue is explored further in this superb article in the New York Times) but this is certainly something that prompts consideration when watching this musical. 

Ultimately, this is a production with a lot of promise given the fabulous score that the production team has to work with and the obvious acting and singing talent of the cast (as evidenced by their fabulous harmonies). Perhaps it was a case of illness and sound issues combining at the wrong time that meant some of the vocals were a little off-colour but if those issues could be addressed, this would be a great production. 

Rating: ★★★

Parade plays at the Seymour Centre until 25^th May. For more information, click here. 

All photo credits: Matthew Chen