Local Youth Confront Darker Side of Life in "Parade"

Reported by John Leichenger

Several local young people are appearing in a Berkeley production of the award-winning Broadway musical Parade, a tragic story of anti-Semitism about a Jewish factory manager wrongly convicted of murdering a 13-year-old girl in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1913.

The production by the Youth Musical Theater Company opens tonight, Feb. 25, at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts and will run for six performances over this weekend and next.

One cast member, El Cerrito resident Z Hansen, a student at Albany High School who plays reporter Tom Watson in the show, said the scene about the hanging of the factory manager, Leo Frank, weighed heavily on the hearts and minds of the cast members and is not something they will shy away from.

Other local youth in the production include Albany High student Annalise Chin of Albany, Albany Middle School student Rebecca Lieber of Albany, El Cerrito High student Tom Miller of Kensington, and twins Misha and Simone Riley of Richmond.

The musical, with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and book by Alfred Uhry, won two Tony awards and six Drama Desk awards.

Jennifer Boesing, who directed this production and is the artistic director of the Youth Musical Theater Company, said producing good shows about dark themes can be difficult. Local youth, she said, are prepared to take on works that provide challenge and present a deeper process for learning about life and the unpredictable situations that it offers.

Young people in this area, she believes, are attracted to the theater company for the quality of its work and for the opportunity to share similar values with their peers.

For more than 10 years, the company has provided training and performance opportunities for youth from seventh grade to college-age. Many of the young performers go on to some of the nation's top college drama programs, according to the company.

Accompanying this production will be 21-piece orchestra under the musical direction of Dave Möschler.

The musical is not recommended for elementary school students. Parents are encouraged to visit the the theater company's website to find out more about the production and view an educational guide.

The performances — at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Avenue, Berkeley — are February 25, 26, March 4, 5 at 7:30 p.m., and February 27, March 6 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $22 general, $17 senior (65 and over), $12 youth (22 and under). The Julia Morgan Center adds a $1.25 theater improvement fee per ticket. Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006 or http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/138135. All seats are reserved.

Following the 2 p.m. performance on Feb. 27, there will be an educational panel featuring cast members, Boesing and Nina Grotch, Education Director of the Anti-Defamation League. The league was formed in 1913 in the wake of the Leo Frank trial.