Genesis Outreach puts on productions to entertain. But those shows also aim to educate.

Following their February production of Ragtime, which deals with racial unrest, the nonprofit that works to combat homelessness is back with Parade, a story about a miscarriage of justice that led to a Jewish man’s 1915 lynching in Georgia.

“There are some very heavy topics and themes in this: antisemitism, the ever-prevalent struggle of the Jewish and the Black experience, especially when they are in the same community,” said Brandon Porter, the show’s artistic and musical director. “Genesis is not afraid to have those discussions. At the end of the day, those hard discussions are the ones that will get people talking. It brings opinions. It brings systemic issues that we can discuss. We may be telling a story that’s 110 years old, but the themes being discussed in this show are still things that are happening in this community, in our country, and certainly across the world.”

The production opens Friday, Nov. 1, at First Presbyterian Theater and will run two weeks, concluding Sunday, Nov. 10.

Telling story

When seeing the name of a show that simply goes by Parade, it can be hard to know what it’s about. And for many, even when learning the plot of the story, realizing it’s based on a real event is a shock. But not for all.

“It is a very important story and one that is very well-known, especially in the Jewish community,” Porter said. “It was the first kind of trial of its kind. There were so many times where something was a first: The first time that Black man took the stand and testified against a white man; a white man was lynched, that’s a big deal. 

“It is a story that so many people don’t know, but it is one that some people know. I just think it’s incredible that (author) Alfred Uhry and (music and lyrics) Jason Robert Brown and Hal Prince wanted to write a musical about this story. Once you see it, you know it. You realize there is enormous gravity to this story.”

The story centers on Leo Frank, who is accused of killing 13-year-old Mary Phagan.

Frank was a northern Jewish man who moved to Atlanta to become superintendent of National Pencil Company, of which his uncle was a co-owner.

On one afternoon, Phagan came to work to pick up her paycheck from Frank. That night, her body was discovered by a night watchman.

After initially being cleared of the crime, public outcry led to his arrest. Following a trial fraught with inconsistencies, including a janitor’s ever-changing story — with many believing he was the murderer himself — Frank was convicted and sentenced to death. His death sentence would later be commuted to life imprisonment by Gov. John Slaton, leading to riots and martial law being declared.

After being transferred to a prison farm, Frank had his throat cut by a fellow inmate, but he survived. However, a lynch mob known as The Knights of Mary Phagan abducted him and took him back to Phagan’s hometown of Marietta where he was lynched.

“I didn’t know about Leo Frank until I came across this show maybe 20 years ago,” said actor Stuart Hepler, who plays Frank. “I love history. I was actually a Jewish Studies minor in college. A story revolving around a Jewish character and his wife, who’s also Jewish, all of those things really resonated with me. 

“I feel like the issues that this show tackles, and I think this is when theater or really any art is good, is that it might be something from the past, but elements and things occurring in that time period feel very familiar with what’s going on today. There’s antisemitism, there’s racism, there’s journalism that’s created to be sensational. There’s even lines that one character speaks that feel like they’re ripped out of today’s headlines.”

Leading Man

Hepler also starred in Ragtime, so it would appear he shines brightly in dramatic roles.

“My personality and sort of who I am is drawn to more serious and dramatic things,” he said. “That plays out with the type of roles that I want to invest the time in. I certainly laugh with the best of them, too, and enjoy a good comic.”

A veteran of the Fort Wayne theater scene, selecting Hepler for the role of Frank was an easy one for Porter, who will be making his debut as a stage director.

“We picked this show right after we came off Ragtime, and we just thought, ‘You know what? Stuart has got the goods,’ ” Porter said. “Stuart is an amazing actor, great vocalist. He has such a commanding stage presence, and Leo Frank is a very dense character that feels a lot of things, that tells an incredible hard and tragic story. (Producer) Albert (Brownlee) and I knew if there was anybody in town who was going to handle this character with sensitivity and tell it in an honest, honest way, it was going to be Stuart.”

Complementary pieces

Hepler is not the only one that will impress in the show.

“The cast of is out of this world,” Porter said. “Genesis Outreach, all of our shows we’ve produced thus far in the past eight years, we have not held auditions. We are in this position where we are reaching out to actors and inviting them to be a part of our show. So, we get to select who we think would fit these characters the absolute best. For this production, I just really thought about all the incredible talent we have in this city. Certain names just kind of popped into my mind, whether they were actors I’ve worked with before or some that I have seen on stage, or just heard about them. 

“We just really lucked out with a lot of people that want to support what we are doing. We have a lot of people that feel inspired to want to work with Genesis because of our mission and why we are putting on these productions. They also know if they’re doing a Genesis show, it’s going to be top-notch and the level of artistry is going to be high.”

Porter did correct himself, admitting the role of Frank’s wife, Lucille Frank, did require an audition, which Darby LeClear aced.

“We identified four actresses that we thought would bring a different type of character and approach to Lucille,” he said.

“She is an incredible storyteller. That is what really got her a role. She’s a phenomenal actress. She acts with such sensitivity and rawness and honesty when she tells stories.”

And LeClear plays an important role as she becomes the heart of the story. After being a part of a quasi-arranged marriage, she becomes her husband’s biggest supporter.

“(Leo Frank) doesn’t feel at home, and this marriage is kind of a relationship by necessity,” Hepler said. “I think there’s a love there, but maybe different than we often see in movies. Through the trial, his wife really becomes the one that tries to exonerate him and sort of finds her own voice. She was only in her 20s and suddenly her husband is on death row. Through all that, you sort of see them fall in love and find a deep appreciation for each other.”

Among the other prominent roles are Michael Coale, Martel Harris, Clayton Gaham, Thom Greving, Lincoln Everetts, Tegan Dostal, Caleb Curtis, and A.J. Lorenzini.

Regardless of the role, each actor is helping tell a story that Genesis Outreach feels is important to tell.

“We are selecting stories that are going to bring awareness to social issues that may have happened in the past or may be still prevalent here in the Fort Wayne community or across our country or across the world,” Porter said. “We are selecting that are going to start dialogue.”