PARADE'S Michael Arden Wins Tony for Best Direction of a Musical
“This is Not Over Yet!” Michael Arden wins a Tony! Michael Arden has won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Broadway’s revival of Parade. Arden was crowned onstage at the 2023 Tony Awards at the United Palace. He beat out fellow nominees Lear deBessonet, Into the Woods, Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot, Jack O'Brien, Shucked, and Jessica Stone, Kimberly Akimbo.
Third times a charm, Arden! Michael Arden has been nominated twice before in this category for his direction of hit musicals Spring Awakening and Once on This Island. Michael made his Broadway debut in Deaf West Theater and Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Big River. Arden received the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for his revival of Spring Awakening. Other directing credits include My Fair Lady at the Bay Street Theater and Merrily We Roll Along at the Wallis Annenberg Center. Michael's film credits include Source Code, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Bride Wars, and So B It, among many others.
Parade is based on the true story of Leo and Lucille Frank, a Jewish couple who lived in the South in 1913, during a period of immense antisemitism. His thirteen-year-old employee, Mary Phagan, was raped and murdered, and Leo was wrongfully convicted of both crimes. A mob kidnaps and hangs Frank while he is in jail. This powerful musical examines antisemitism in Atlanta and Georgia, carrying on the tradition of using the arts to educate and inform the public about history.
