‘Parade’ launches Revival Theatre fundraiser named for late music director Cameron Sullenberger

CEDAR RAPIDS — “Parade” is one of those “perfect” shows, with a “perfect” book and a “perfect” score, said Brian Glick, co-founder and artistic director of Revival Theatre Company.

So it was the perfect choice to launch the Cameron Sullenberger Overture Series, an annual benefit concert that not only raises money for Revival Theatre’s ongoing programming and educational efforts, but also honors the memory of the troupe’s other co-founder and musical director.

A nationally respected educator, musician and visionary, Sullenberger died Feb. 11, 2023, after suffering a heart attack at CSPS Hall before a rehearsal of “Million Dollar Quartet.”

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Shortly thereafter, Glick told The Gazette: “Cameron always would say, ‘Be a first-rate version of yourself.’ He exemplified that.”

The troupe persevered, regrouped and marched into the future. “Parade” marches into the past and present, reflecting the way a dark chapter in the nation’s history continues to resonate.

Based on a true story, the 1999 Tony-winning musical chronicles the life and death of Jewish American entrepreneur Leo Frank, who moved from Brooklyn, N.Y., to his wife’s hometown of Marietta, Ga., where he would run a pencil factory that’s in her family. In 1913, he was tried for the rape and murder of 13-year-old employee Mary Phagan.

Despite questionable evidence, but fueled by rising antisemitism, a media circus and public rancor, Frank was convicted and sentenced to death. The state’s outgoing governor later commuted that to life in prison, but after Frank was transferred to a different facility in 1915, he was kidnapped in the middle of the night, driven 100 miles away, and lynched.

That action led to the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, and in response to Frank’s case and rampant antisemitism erupting in that decade, the creation of the Jewish civil rights organization, the Anti-Defamation League, in 1913.

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Stripped-down staging

Revival Theatre Company presented a staged concert version of the show at the Scottish Rite Temple in Cedar Rapids in 2015. Leading players were costumed, moved around the playing space, and scenic elements were projected on the auditorium’s back brick wall. A large chorus and orchestra were dressed in black and seated on stage, apart from the action.

This time, the show is moving to Revival Theatre’s new home at CSPS Hall, and is being stripped down even more. A much smaller chorus and orchestra still will be dressed in black and seated on stage, but the leading players also will wear black attire that reflects their characters, and they will move less during the various scenes.

“It gets a more simplistic presentation, even though I’d say what we do is pretty simplistic, as well. Artistic, but simplistic,” said Glick, 37, of Cedar Rapids.

As before, the curtains will be removed, exposing the brick wall at the back of the stage.

“Everything will be fully exposed, so it looks like a courtroom,” he noted. “We’re going to be putting in the old pew benches that are around (CSPS), so it really gives that feel of the 1913 courtroom. What will be different, is the intimacy of this space will make that feel very immersive … very, very close to the action.

“If you look at historical pictures of that courtroom, this is how they were back in the day. Everyone was packed in on top of each other — there was no space. And that's what this is going to feel like, even with the audience. It’s all going to feel like they are the audience, and that should heighten the experience,” he said.

“Little things like that will make the experience feel a little bit more raw and real.”

Some cast and chorus members were in the 2015 production, including Joe Wetrich as Leo Frank and Loralee Songer as his wife, Lucille. Others are new to the production, and some are new to Revival shows.

And because the event is a fundraiser, all cast and orchestra members are volunteering their time and talents. Since they aren’t being paid, Glick is having just eight days of rehearsals to get the concert presentation on its feet, and cast members will be holding their scripts and music in binders.

They have had the material since January, and even though they aren’t required to memorize their parts, “they still have to know the material very well,” Glick added.

“It’s challenging — it’s not easy — and so it was important to make sure they got the materials early; they knew what was going to be needed from them; to come in being extremely familiar with the piece; and then putting people in who could pick it up quickly and had some veteran experience, so we could jump right in.”

It’s all about putting the emphasis on the Tony-winning story by playwright Alfred Uhry and the Tony-winning music by Jason Robert Brown. The music ranges from joyous and proud to raw and heart-wrenching, across various genres.

“At the end of the day, this is about seeing the score to its fullest potential, and acting those scenes to the full, heightened story that Alfred Uhry was after,” Glick said.

“By not having all the other physical demands or props or costumes, the audience can easily get tied in, and the performers can focus on what I call the ‘meat and potatoes’ of the piece.”

Among all its touchstones and messages, “I think what this play does is remind us that there is a difference between misinformation and disinformation,” Glick said.

According to the American Psychological Association: “Misinformation is false or inaccurate information — getting the facts wrong. Disinformation is false information which is deliberately intended to mislead — intentionally misstating the facts.”

Both “can have very dangerous consequences,” Glick said.

“With the story of Leo Frank, he never stood a chance. … What people have to understand is, there were 20-plus men who kidnapped him from prison, drove him 100 miles … in the middle of the night to hang him, and the judge was a part of it. The attorneys, the former governor — all the influential people were there and had a part in his death.

“And so, when you think about trust, I think a lot of people can relate to that today. And our political divide is, who can you trust and who can you not, and is our judicial system fair? …

“You and I can't fix that, but what we can help, what we can learn from this, is … being a better human, being a good person, trumps racial and religious and political intolerance. That at the end of the day, be a good human, treat people with respect, tell their truth, even if it might not go your way,” he said.

Leo Frank’s story isn’t over. The case was reopened in 2019 and remains ongoing. The musical also was revived on Broadway in 2023, and will be going on tour in 2025, with a stop at the Des Moines Civic Center from July 29 to Aug. 3, 2025.

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com