Working on this show night after night, I’m forced to face another truth: Anti-Semites have never cared what kind of Jew you are, whether you go to synagogue or use Yiddish words. “Parade” speaks of historic anti-Semitism and mob violence, and it forces us to see how anti-Semitism and racism are inextricably linked, highlighting how the pursuit of justice fails in a fractured justice system. There is a fear of recognizing ourselves – Jewish people – as marginalized. But as Lucille learns over the course of the play, assimilating yourself into the mainstream and hoping that will protect you isn’t the solution. When we refuse to embrace our inherent otherness—the parts that definitively make us Jewish Americans—we forget our common struggles with other marginalized people.
The evidence presented in court against Leo mainly revolves around Jewish stereotypes. We hear about Leo’s “sweet talk” and his “sweat from every pore,” and we hear testimonies that he had a habit of inviting underage girls to his office. Many of these stereotypes seemed strange to me, but such conspiracies are at the heart of informal anti-Semitism. The idea of ”fancy talk” is a dog whistle that hints at the perception that Jews run the world. The allegations of pedophiles are rooted in what is known as a blood libel, a rumor dating back to the Middle Ages that Jews murder Christian children and then use their blood for ritual purposes such as baking matzah.
But the play does not only vilify and abuse Jews. The only other person the police considered a suspect in the murder was a black man, the pencil factory’s night watchman. In the show, the district attorney has been tasked with quickly pronouncing a conviction, casually stating that hanging a black man “isn’t enough this time. We have to do better.” He knows that throwing the crime on a Jewish man will cast the outcome in a different light than on a black man: he can bring down the Jewish man, while the black man’s social status cannot fall any further. In the layered narration of “Parade,” we can see how anti-Semitism and racism are integrally linked, and how white rulers are incentivized to pit minorities against each other, using racism to provide convenient scapegoats and the illusion of law and order. to create.
Minnie – Minola McKnight, played by the incomparable Danielle Lee Greaves – is the Franks’ Black housekeeper. She has developed a relationship with Lucille over the years and has become her confidante. But Minnie testifies against Leo, offering evidence which we later learn was fabricated by the prosecution. It’s a devastating moment, both because it leads to Leo’s indictment and because it forces the public to consider how the criminal justice system is failing to protect all those without power.
“Parade” was first produced on Broadway in 1998 and Michael Arden, who directed the 2023 production, understands that successfully reviving a musical requires purposeful reinvention. Throughout the process, he has guided with beautiful intent to make those who were underrepresented in 1913 (or 2023) stronger and more active. One of my favorite moments on the show is one of the last: Minnie and Lucille, reconciled, center stage, singing softly under an umbrella together. A black woman and a Jewish woman, undone by the same system, having a picnic.