On Parade in Amazon America

On Parade in Amazon America

Friday, November 13, 2020

New Bette Davis Musical Fearlessly Tackles Freedom of Speech

 

From Red Cameras Roll
the longest running under-consideration musical on Broadway!
Now in its 18th month at York Theatre

While shooting Storm Center in a small Northern California town, Bette Davis is invited to march in a rose festival parade, amidst growing community opposition to the film.  To her cohorts, she expresses her true feelings:

 My parade is unafraid to sing a song,
    dark as death, red as rage
    for my colleagues who were censored, one by one,
    out of words, off the stage.
    I salute them all who stood up to injustice
    and answered, "No, I will not share your shame.”
    I parade for friends imprisoned    
    who refused to name my name!

    When free souls aren’t free to speak their minds,
    is this America?
    Do we light the world by burning books,
    or have we lost our way?
    

Based on the making of the movie Storm Center in Santa Rosa, CA, 1955, during the red scare/communist witch hunt era, the story depicts the plight of the town's librarian when she refuses to remove from her shelves a book titled The Communist Dream.

Music by Max Dancer
Book and Lyrics by David Lewis

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