I saw Parade at OCHSA and was very impressed, both with the performance and the show itself. I had some issues with the show that I won’t get into except to say that I thought the story was probably more complicated then it seemed, and I felt that it was hard to really get in touch with the characters and get behind their reasoning. The story was powerful and, while somewhat detailed, still seemed too simplistic. There must have been more going on in the true murder story then we saw on stage.

Steven Olfey of the New York Times apparently wrote the following article for that paper. It is a very interesting and much more in-depth account of the actual events, and based on the other things I have read about the murder, it appears to be very accurate. That Olfey could get the entire story into one article I think backs my assertion that the people who made Parade could have put in more details to create more ambiguity and thus realism without creating too much confusion.

Because the NYT archives are pay-for-play, and I’m not sure this article is in there anyway, I have included it on the next page.