The first mainstage auditions for the 2015-16 school year were a success!
Parade is the premier mainstage show and based on the true story of the trial and lynching of Leo Frank, a man accused of murdering 13-year-old Mary Phagan. This is a show fraught with religious intolerance, racial tension, and the consequences of political injustice, which makes it a perfect fit for St. Ambrose's year-long theme of Justice.
Leo Frank was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in a Jewish household. He married Lucille and moved to Georgia to be superintendent at a pencil factory. On one Confederate Memorial Day celebration forever ingrained in history, a girl under his employment (Mary Phagan) was murdered. Leo was promptly arrested and doomed to die by lynching when a sensationalist publisher and a gauntlet of the city's inhabitants uttered false testimonies against him. With only the city's governor and his wife to save him, Leo sets out to prove his innocence to an unbelieving world.
Professor and guest director Kim Kurtenbach Furness arranged an audition workshop where Becky Seward accompanied students on piano. Students brought the songs and monologues they would perform at the audition and were given constructive criticism on how to improve their performance for the auditions.
The auditions, over a two-day period, were comprised of song excerpts, monologues, and cold reads from the script.
This show has a very large cast compared to past productions at St. Ambrose; a total of 26 performers were selected!
CAST LIST
Leo Frank..........Sam Jones, Junior
Lucille Frank..........Kayla Lansing, Sophomore
Jim Conley..........Jordan McGinnis, Senior
Mary Phagan..........Amelia Fischer, Senior
Frankie Epps/Ensemble..........Vince Solis, Senior
Hugh Dorsey/Ensemble..........Jordan Webster-Moore, Junior
Governor Slaton/Ensemble..........Jonathan (JJ) Johnson, Senior
Tom Watson/Young Solider/Ensemble..........Max Moline, Junior
Judge Roan/Old Soldier/Ensemble..........Evan Wood, First Year
Mrs. Phagan/Ensemble..........Rachael Pribulsky, Junior
Britt Craig/Ensemble..........Nick Pearce, Junior
Minnie McKnight/Ensemble..........Mikhaila Westerfield, Sophomore
Luther Rosser/Mr. Peavy/Ensemble..........Christian Colmenares, Sophomore
Iola Stover/Ensemble..........Rebecca Moews, First Year
Monteen/Ensemble..........Kelci Eaton, Junior
Essie/Ensemble..........Emily Mitchell, First Year
Sally Slaton/Ensemble..........Becca Brazel, Senior
Officer Ivey/Ensemble..........Brian Leibforth, Sophomore
Factory Girl/Ensemble..........Sarah Goodall, First Year
Angela..........Miracle Leach, '13 (Graduate Student)
Riley........................Blake Billups, Senior
Detective Starnes..........Conor Strandquist, Senior
Guard..........Nevada Nilsson, Sophomore
Ensemble.................Alexis Greene '15, Anjie Swidergal, Hanna Murray
The cast and crew are only a few weeks away from opening night! So how are students handling such a serious show?
"The students have been so respectful of the difficult subject matter, and we will have a stronger production because of it," said director Daniel Rairdin-Hale '04.
Rehearsals have involved learning music and blocking, as well as working on Southern accents and learning different dances of the period. Rairdin-Hale has also spent a considerable amount of time working with the actors on the history of the show and realizing that what they are portraying are actual events that need to be taken seriously. Many of the actors have done in-depth research on the case and their characters in order to make the show as realistic as possible.
"This is going to be an incredibly powerful show," Sophomore Kayla Lansing stated. "We want people to come enjoy the show, but we really want it to make you think. So many themes in this musical are prevalent today and deserve to be talked about. This story really demonstrates our country's dark past and how far we have come - still with plenty of work to do."
Parade is showing at the Galvin Fine Arts Center October 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 11, at 3:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Galvin Box Office, by phone at 563-333-6251, or online on the Galvin Fine Arts Center page. Tickets are $17 for adults, $16 for faculty/staff/alumni/senior citizens, $15 for non-SAU Students, $14 for groups, and SAU students with a current valid student ID are free.
Come see a fantastically powerful show that is sure to leave you thinking!
Parade Details
Book: Alfred Uhry
Music and Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years, Bridges of Madison County)
Additional Contributions: Harold Prince.
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