New York City Center's gala production for the 2022-2023 season will be Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry's 1998 musical Parade, starring Ben Platt as Leo Frank and Micaela Diamond as Lucille Frank. The production is returning to the traditional fall gala spot, with a benefit performance set for November 1 and a run continuing through November 6.
Telling the true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish man who was wrongfully accused and convicted of murdering a 13-year-old girl in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1913, Parade features a score by Brown and a book by Uhry. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1998, receiving nine 1999 Tony nominations and winning two, for its book and score. In the years since, a major revision premiered at London's Donmar Warehouse in 2007, which later played Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum in 2009. Jeremy Jordan and Laura Benanti led a concert presentation in 2015 at New York City's then Avery Fisher Hall.
City Center's production will be helmed by two-time Tony nominee Michael Arden (Once On This Island, Spring Awakening), who plans to incorporate trial photography and projections.
Further programing for the Manhattan venue's 2022-2023 season will be announced next month. Tickets for Parade go on sale for City Center members May 19 and to the general public June 14.
The production will be Platt's first major NYC theatre performance since winning a 2017 Tony Award for playing the title role in Dear Evan Hansen, a performance he reprised for its 2021 film adaptation. He's also been seen on screen in Pitch Perfect (and its sequel), Ricki and The Flash, Run This Town, The Premise, and The Politician.
Diamond is best known for her Broadway debut performance in The Cher Show, in which she created the role of youngest Cher, Babe. She has also been seen in Row at Williamstown Theatre Festival, NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, The Gilded Age, and tick, tick...BOOM!
