This week, the revival of “Parade” had its first preview on Broadway. The musical tells the story of Leo Frank, a Jewish man who was wrongly convicted of murder and subsequently lynched in 1915 in Georgia. Starring Ben Platt as Leo and Micaela Diamond as Lucille, his wife, this is the first Broadway production in which Jewish actors portray both Leo and Lucille. And yet, the tone of the first preview wasn’t exactly celebratory.
As patrons entered the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater on Tuesday night, they were met with neo-Nazi protestors from the group The National Socialist Movement. Protestors held a sign which called Leo Frank a pedophile (despite the fact that Frank was posthumously pardoned by the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Parole in 1986, and historians largely agree that he was innocent) and handed out antisemitic literature.
In response, Ben Platt posted a reel to his Instagram page. “I just think that now is really the moment for this particular piece,” he said. “I just wanted the button on the evening, at least for me personally, to be to celebrate what a beautiful experience it is and what gorgeous work all of my wonderful colleagues did tonight. Not the really ugly actions of a few people who are spreading evil.”
Well said, Ben!
So, in support of this beautiful production, let’s learn more about the other star of “Parade,” Jewish actress and up-and-coming star Micaela Diamond.
Here are 18 things to know about Micaela Diamond.
1. Micaela was born on July 17, 1999 in New Jersey to a Jewish family.
2. Her mom Karen is her “favorite part of this world.”
Here they are together:
3. She grew up attending a Conservative synagogue in Margate, New Jersey.
4. At 11 years old, she moved with her mom to New York City to pursuit a career as a performer.
5. She graduated from Fiorello LaGuardia High School in 2017.
6. After graduation, she went on Birthright. She was in Israel when she received the call that she’d landed her debut Broadway role!
7. She made her Broadway debut at 18 years old as Babe in “The Cher Show.”
“I got the role two days before I was about to go to college [at Carnegie Mellon],” she said. “It was my third audition ever.”
8. Listen to Micaela and her mom talk about how she made it to Broadway:
9. You also simply have to watch her singing her “Broadway Bucket List,” including “Cornet Man” from “Funny Girl”:
We need a Micaela Diamond and Julie Benko duet, stat!!
10. She identifies as “a queer lil Jew.”
Honestly, same, Micaela.
11. She has very big feelings about when winter holiday gift guides should come out:
i feel like all the gift guides just came out. which is exactly SO MANY days late for jews. can you imagine if christmas was 8 days and forbes published their gift guide on the fourth day you would burn your bush down but no worries no worries
— Micaela Diamond (@micaeladiamond_) December 14, 2020
12. Some of her friends include fellow Jewish Broadway stars Ben Levi Ross and Zach Piser.
13. She was an ensemble member and understudied for Mary Magdalene (played by Sara Bareilles) in the 2018 NBC television special “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.”
14. In 2021, she played Peggy in “Tick, Tick… Boom!”
15. She first portrayed the role of Lucille Frank when “Parade” ran at New York City Center in November 2022.
16. She considers Lucille Frank to be “one of the great roles for Jewish women in musical theater — though it’s quite a short list.”
Also on that list, according to Micaela, is Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl,” Carole King in “Beautiful” and Golde, Tzeitel, Hodel, and Chava from “Fiddler on the Roof.”
17. In playing Lucille Frank, she has grappled with the concept of Jewishness and race.
“Lucille, like so many Jews before and after her, is white until she is undeniably Jewish,” Diamond told Vogue, “and she has to confront that reality, both in her husband and in herself.”
18. Please enjoy this video of Micaela and Ben Platt singing “This Is Not Over” from “Parade.” It’s absolutely thrilling:
