Too big for Broadway?: The limits of historical and theatrical empathy in Parade and The Scottsboro Boys

This article examines the concept of historical empathy through a case study of two factually based musicals: Parade (1998), about the murder trial and subsequent lynching of Jewish factory manager Leo Frank in 1915, and The Scottsboro Boys (2010), a retelling of the 1931 trial in which nine African American teenagers were unjustly convicted of rape. In contrast to theatrical empathy, typically characterized by a reflexive emotional reaction to the situation and feelings of another person, historical empathy requires an intellectual involvement with a piece, a consideration of the particular people, places and circumstances within a broader framework. Both Parade and The Scottsboro Boys challenge their spectators to confront two specific moments of racial bias in America through this kind of empathic perspective taking, destabilizing conventions of musical theatre in their prioritization of history over character. Through an analysis of the productions’ presentation of expansive historical narratives, disconcerting subject matter, and unconventional musical forms, this article explores the tension between theatrical and historical empathy in the musicalization of real-world events.