Broadway’s ‘Parade’ co-star Micaela Diamond says she Celebrates her Jewish Roots Nightly on Stage

This story originally appeared on Time Out New York. READ THE STORY HERE.

Two truths become apparent upon catching Parade on Broadway. The first: grandiose theater spectacles filled with outstanding music and top-notch acting no longer define the form—but they should. The second: antisemitism still has a grip on our culture. Unfortunately, the hostility has yet to be eradicated.

Twenty-three-year-old Micaela Diamond recognizes these truths as she portrays protagonist Lucille Frank.

"This musical is such an event," Diamond says over Zoom while clutching a mug. "I think that, as time has gone by, Broadway has morphed into different things and there's something nostalgic about seeing a show with a huge cast and orchestra. It's like going to an event and getting your ticket price's worth."

Some of the most successful Broadway productions of the last few years have been about the "celebrity" status of its leads (The Music Man), familiar subject matter (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Moulin Rouge! The Musical) or catchy music numbers (Six, Waitress). Back in the day, Broadway felt more like an attempt at a well-rounded take on diverse topics explored through lyrics and arrangements that could only be fully experienced in a live theater setting. The success of Parade, therefore, comes as both a pleasant surprise and a natural next-step.

Of course, the fact that Broadway darling Ben Platt stars as Lucille’s husband Leo Frank, a real-life, Brooklyn-raised Jewish man who lived in the south and was falsely accused of and imprisoned for the rape and murder of his 13-year-old factory employee Mary Phagan back in 1913, helps sell tickets.

But it’s more than that: Parade’s musical numbers, top-notch set design and enthralling storyline truly remind us of productions of yore while also interestingly dissecting the omnipresence of antisemitism across all eras and social systems.

So direct is the commentary on the topic that, when previews for the show kicked off in February, masked neo-Nazi protesters waving signs and distributing antisemitic pamphlets stormed the area outside of the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.

“The protests sort of lit a fire under all of us to tell this story with more resonance,” says Diamond. “When you have neo-Nazis outside the theater, it clearly means you’re scaring them when telling this story. It wasn’t ideal but it solidified the fact that the plot is relevant and I hope that the audience felt that, too.”

It would be hard not to feel all that emotion. Diamond, Platt and the rest of the cast have an extraordinary vocal range that, paired with their outstanding acting skills, force viewers into a self-reflective mood that sticks around way after the curtains are drawn.

"I hope that the audience is moved by the inquisitive and agnostic ways that Jewishness is portrayed within the concept of white supremacy and how we give due process in our country," says Diamond. "At the end of the day, though, I love not telling the audience what to feel and I think that, depending on the day you see the show, you are going to be more perceptive to a certain part of the story, whether it's how the news can blow something out of proportion or how white supremacy pits minorities against each other on purpose."

As for her own relationship with Judaism, Diamond acknowledges how playing Lucille has allowed her to "embrace" her own version of the religion more freely.

"I think much of the story, especially for Lucille, is about the undeniability of her Jewishness even though she wishes she wasn't [one]," she says candidly. "I think I keep embracing my Jewishness even more while I do the show because it is undeniable. The more I am in the character's shoes, the more I want to celebrate and find joy within my Jewishness and not kind of disappoint myself while thinking that I'm not a better 'Jew' than I was when I was a kid."

Clearly, Diamond needs to unwind after every performance, which she explains she's able to do thanks, in part, to a sensitivity specialist that's on staff. She also finds that going through the performance every night helps her relax.

“Bows are a big part of the de-roling process,” she explains. “Theater is my first true love and that immediate validation is what I try to take with me while sharing the moment with the people in the audience.”

Perhaps, though, Diamond’s next role, not as serious as that of Lucille Frank, might aid in the decompression as well: you can catch the actress in the new musical series Up Here, now available for streaming on Hulu, also starring Mae Whitman and Carlos Valdes.