"When I'm free of the Southern breeze, free of magnolia trees and endless sunshine..."

It's hard to believe that something could be too controversial for Broadway, but it happens.

Take, for instance, the musical Parade. I love the music for this show, but I've never seen it. It hit Broadway in November of 1988. It had 39 previews and only 84 shows despite the amazing music and a fair amount of good reviews. It's also won numerous awards -- so why, you're probably asking, did it close so early?
The problem is the controversy.
It's mostly because it's based on a true and tragic story, the kind that people are not likely to want to admit occurred or could occur. It's a horrid retelling of a murder, a trial, and another murder.

You see, Mary Phagan was just "two months shy of fourteen" when she was murdered in the factory that she worked in. The key witness was a black man who pinned the murder on the Jewish Leo Frank. The accusations are pushed by the prejudices of an attorney and the ambitions of a less-than-scrupulous reporter, and Atlanta takes up the cries against Leo Frank zealously. Things go from bad to worse and then to worse and then to even worse but I'll let you all run out and buy the CD to find out why. ;-)

What also makes this play so controversial is that it examines all kinds of prejudices -- sexism (which is found mostly in the protagonist for an interesting twist), racism, anti-semitism, classism, even some prejudice based on region (North vs. South). And it examines all of these in song -- many of which are perfectly upbeat and cheerful. I mean, there's a cakewalk at the end of the trial.

It definitely takes the stereotype that musicals are cheerful, light fluff and turns it on its head.

Oh, if I could sing I would love to be in this show! After, of course, I succeed in my dream of playing Prior, Joe, or Louis in Angels in America. It's too bad I'm utterly tone deaf. :-P