Touring show locks up main character — and the audience

The method to measure the power of “Parade” is not by applause. It is through silence. The musical’s plot is so gripping that audiences have been reluctant to clap.

Call it a reverse-fourth wall concern, where the crowd doesn’t want to bust into the story.

“It’s when the performance was phenomenal and deserving of applause, but the moment maybe doesn’t call for it,” says Talia Suskauer, who portrays co-lead Lucille in the historical drama and thriller set more than a century ago. “I think audiences are kind of forced to reckon with their responses. It’s a really beautiful, cool thing that they probably haven’t experienced before.”

“Parade” opens Tuesday night at Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center, running through June 15. The production claimed the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 2023. Smith Center President Myron Martin was especially instrumental in slotting into this season’s Broadway Series.

This is not exactly a singalong show or jukebox musical. From a review in the Seattle Times, Clapping somehow feels both like an unwelcome interruption and not enough of a response.”

The story is set in 1913, based on the true story of Frank (played by Max Chernin), a Jewish man from Brooklyn who moved to Georgia to manage the National Pencil Co. factory (you know a show is vintage when it involves a pencil factory). The business is owned by the uncle of his new wife, Lucille (Suskauer).

When 13-year-old Mary Phagan (Olivia Goosman) is found murdered in the factory, Leo is accused of the crime. The story winds through the DA’s aggressive prosecution of Leo, stoked by an aggressive reporter to build a case against a defendant who seems innocent.

Not to spoil, but Leo is sentenced to death, his case then reinvestigated and sentence commuted. But Leo is not a free man.

There is a lot more to applaud, or not, in this production. The score is from Jason Robert Brown, who won a Tony for Best Score alongside Alfred Uhry for “Parade” in 1999 (the production premiered in 1998). The blend of blues, ragtime and military-parade marches — using music to shift moods — has been a hit with critics.

Suskauer uniquely identifies with Las Vegas. Her parents used to drive out from New York, and later Florida every year for vacation. The family stayed at the Golden Nugget, a short parade from The Smith Center.

“This was in the ’60s, ’70s and into the ’80s, and it was kind of an amazing thing,” Suskauer says. “My grandparents just always loved Vegas.”

Suskauer would return, professionally, to open the national tour of “Wicked” at Reynolds Hall in September 2019, in the role of Elphaba. She got to know the Arts District a little and “see this incredible, bustling life in Las Vegas that is off the Strip.”

She returns in an unalike role, her “Parade” character speaking in a dialect from early 20th-century Georgia.

“It’s very emotional in different ways, and different physically. I’m using a different set of muscles, a different quality of voice,” Suskauer says. “But I do feel like the emotional ride that I go through every night is similar. This is a very emotional experience.”

Tease this …

Ruby-red slippers on the Strip? Or nearby? Keep your eyes open, my little pretty …

Cool Hang Alert

Michael Brown and Kent Johnson, aka the Michael Brown and Kent Duo, play the popular Piano Bar at Harrah’s on from 3-6 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The Strip-facing lounge is popular among the walk-in crowd, but the talent is anything but pedestrian. No cover. Click to caesars.com/harrahs-las-vegas/ for intel.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.