Stage to PageWho Should Play Leo Frank Opposite Laura Benanti in the Parade Concert?It was recently announced that Tony winner Laura Benanti will portray Lucille Frank in the one-night-only concert presentation of Jason Robert Brown’s Tony Award-winning musical Parade. Playbill.com wondered who our readers would like to see star opposite the Tony winner, so we took to social media to gather your predictions and top picks.
Geri Weinstein:Norbert Leo Butz – he’s proved he’s a genius at Jason Robert Brown musicals, just listen to The Last Five Years!
Ali Schmitz: Norbert Leo Butz would be perfect. He has experience with Jason Robert Brown scores, he’s an excellent actor, and he would be great opposite Laura
Nobert Leo Butz is one of only nine actors to have won the Tony Award twice for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. He is also the recipient of the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, a Drama League Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award. Butz made his Broadway debut as Roger Davis in
Rent in 1996 and has since starred in
Thou Shalt Not, Wicked, Big Fish and
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
Max Laycock: I hope this concert will be aired….and shortly followed by a Broadway revival….and I would like to see Christian Borle as Leo.
Tom Zurla: I think Christian Borle would be a good fit!!! He can tap into a variety of characters…and has the pipes to do it!!!
Christian Borle
Another Tony-winning actor, Christian Borle was recently seen as Mr. Darling and Smee in the NBC "Peter Pan Live!" event, which was broadcast to millions of viewers nationwide Dec 4. Borle won his Tony for his work in Peter and the Starcatcher, and was also seen in Mary Poppins and Legally Blonde. He also starred as Tom Levitt in the NBC musical-drama series "Smash."
Raul Esparza
Tanner Berry: Raul Esparza. No question.
Diane Watkinson: Raul Esparza!!!!!!
Raul Esparza
A four-time Tony nominee, Raul Esparza garnered a Theatre World Award for his performance in the 2000 Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show. Other Broadway credits include Cabaret, Taboo, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Company. The complex role of Robert in the musical Company saw him nominated for a Tony Award and also receive a Drama Desk Award. He is also featured regularly on “Law & Order.”
Mike Canestraro: Aaron Lazar. He’s perfect for it.
Aaron Lazar
Aaron Lazar is currently starring in the new Sting musical The Last Ship, a role that marks his ninth Broadway show. His other Broadway credits include A Little Night Music, Les Miserables and Mamma Mia! He also recently performed his solo show, Look For Me in the Songs, at 54 Below.
Bryce Pinkham currently stars as Monty Navarro in the Tony-winning Best Musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Further Broadway credits include Ghost and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. A talented actor and philanthropist, he is a founding member of Zara Aina, which uses theatre to empower disenfranchised children in Madagascar.
Bertie Carvel
Photo by Monica Simoes
David Usdan: Bertie Carvel was Leo in London and was brillian!
Emily Kranking: Bertie Carvel!
Rachel Godfrey: Bertie Carvel! : )
Bertie Carvel
Bertie Carvel is an Olivier Award-winning British actor who played the role of Leo Frank in the 2008 London production of Parade, which saw him nominated for an Olivier for Best Actor in a Musical. In 2013 he played Miss Trunchbull in the Broadway production of Matilda, for which he won a Drama Desk Award and earned a Tony Award nomination. His numerous TV credits also include the popular British series “Doctor Who” and “Midsomer Murders.”
Playbill.com readers also suggested Laura Benanti’s former husband, Steven Pasquale. Perhaps best known for his role in the critically acclaimed TV series “Rescue Me,” Pasquale was recently seen in the Jason Robert Brown musical The Bridges of Madison County. He was also the leading man in the NBC series “Do No Harm.”
Laura Benanti
Jonathan Pal: Laura Benanti should just play all the parts. James La Bella: Laura Benanti. Laura Benanti for Mary. Every role played by Laura Benanti.
Laura Benanti
Laura Benanti has been taking Broadway by storm since the age of 18. She has earned Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards and boasts an impressive list of Broadway credits.
The play comes on the heels of a broader cultural conversation about Dahl's work and the prejudice that was embedded in many of his most beloved stories.
