Parade Critique
Ball State University Department of Theatre and Dance’s production of Parade shows the story of the Trial of Leo Frank, a Jew convicted of murdering a thirteen-year old girl, Mary Phagan. The white southerners in the show convict him guilty of murdering Mary. They do not have any evidence of convicting him guilty though. The convict him because he is Jew. This trial shows how racial discrimination is the overall them of the story. Ball State University Department of Theatre and Dance’s Production of Parade uses costumes, lights, props, and specific characters for scene changes to portray the theme of radical discrimination towards minorities in the city of Atlanta, Georgia.
Ball State University’s Production of Parade uses …show more content…
The production uses a small amount of props, but the inclusion of a broom, shoes, rags, and a map and bucket in the song, “Rumblin’ and Rollin’,” presents the theme of discrimination. While the four black laborers are singing, one is sweeping with a broom, one is cleaning shoes with a rag, one is cleaning a chair with a rag, and one is mopping the floor with a mop and a bucket. The use of these props shows that black southerners were the ones who did all the physical labor for white southerners. The characters also use the props as instruments to show that they have worked their whole lives and this is all they know what to do. The rope used to lynch Leo Frank is reminiscent to the KKK’s way of killing those who deserved to die. The fire-lit lanterns used by some of the members of the white southern mob represent the KKK. The KKK emblem has a flame in the center which represents their hatred towards those they believe to be inferior. Some of the characters that are part of the white southern mob carry crosses with them. The emblem for the KKK is a white cross inside a red circle. They carry the crosses intimidate those who do not believe in their …show more content…
The black cast members are the ones moving the chairs and tables on stage in front of the scrim. This reminds the audience that black Americans were the people who did the physical labor in the south. The Civil War ended almost fifty years before this musical is set and the slaves were already freed at the time, but that does not mean they stopped doing all of the hard physical labor. southern black Americans from Atlanta had to work to make an income so they could provide for their family, but the only jobs available to them were the same ones they had as slaves. The white southerners continued to do their higher-paying jobs and barely lifted a finger while they watched the black southerners do all the work for
Ball State University Department of Theatre and Dance’s production of Parade shows the story of the Trial of Leo Frank, a Jew convicted of murdering a thirteen-year old girl, Mary Phagan. The white southerners in the show convict him guilty of murdering Mary. They do not have any evidence of convicting him guilty though. The convict him because he is Jew. This trial shows how racial discrimination is the overall them of the story. Ball State University Department of Theatre and Dance’s Production of Parade uses costumes, lights, props, and specific characters for scene changes to portray the theme of radical discrimination towards minorities in the city of Atlanta, Georgia.
Ball State University’s Production of Parade uses …show more content…
The production uses a small amount of props, but the inclusion of a broom, shoes, rags, and a map and bucket in the song, “Rumblin’ and Rollin’,” presents the theme of discrimination. While the four black laborers are singing, one is sweeping with a broom, one is cleaning shoes with a rag, one is cleaning a chair with a rag, and one is mopping the floor with a mop and a bucket. The use of these props shows that black southerners were the ones who did all the physical labor for white southerners. The characters also use the props as instruments to show that they have worked their whole lives and this is all they know what to do. The rope used to lynch Leo Frank is reminiscent to the KKK’s way of killing those who deserved to die. The fire-lit lanterns used by some of the members of the white southern mob represent the KKK. The KKK emblem has a flame in the center which represents their hatred towards those they believe to be inferior. Some of the characters that are part of the white southern mob carry crosses with them. The emblem for the KKK is a white cross inside a red circle. They carry the crosses intimidate those who do not believe in their …show more content…
The black cast members are the ones moving the chairs and tables on stage in front of the scrim. This reminds the audience that black Americans were the people who did the physical labor in the south. The Civil War ended almost fifty years before this musical is set and the slaves were already freed at the time, but that does not mean they stopped doing all of the hard physical labor. southern black Americans from Atlanta had to work to make an income so they could provide for their family, but the only jobs available to them were the same ones they had as slaves. The white southerners continued to do their higher-paying jobs and barely lifted a finger while they watched the black southerners do all the work for