If I weigh in, too, on Parade, will I be accused of Brown-bashing?
Parade is precisely the kind of show that sounds great on record but bores you to tears when you see it. It's based on a true story, and yet, outside of the Franks, none of the characters ring true. They're a bunch of illiterate bigots like you've seen in countless depictions of the bad ol' south for so many years. I've heard of the Anti-Defamation League, which fights against negative portrayals of Jewish people. Here, you just want to join some similar League that's against defamation of Southerners. "All the Wasted Time" is a soaring ballad, but it comes way too late in the second act. By that point, Brown and book-writer Alfred Uhry have long out-worn their welcome, making the same point again and again: them bigots iz dumb!
