PhotosPHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Two-Show Day at Gallery Players' Parade With "Mary Phagan," Jenavene HesterThe Gallery Players, the award-winning Brooklyn theatre company now in its 46th season, presents Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown's Tony-winning musical Parade. Jenavene Hester, who stars as the doomed teen at the center of the story, shares a day the the theatre.
By
Matthew Blank
February 11, 2013
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PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Two-Show Day at Gallery Players' Parade With "Mary Phagan," Jenavene Hester
PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Two-Show Day at Gallery Players' Parade With "Mary Phagan," Jenavene Hester
The Gallery Players, the award-winning Brooklyn theatre company now in its 46th season, presents Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown's Tony-winning musical Parade. Jenavene Hester, who stars as the doomed teen at the center of the story, shares a day the the theatre. Read the Playbill.com story.
27 PHOTOS
Rise and Shine! I wake up bright and sunny as my husband brings me breakfast in bed to begin my two show day! I skip the orange and go straight for the cinnamon rolls.
Jenavene Hester
I of course have to get sufficiently bundled to brave the icy weather outside. I am a Texas girl, and winter in NYC is freezing! Trust me, if I could cover my eyes as well I would!
Jenavene Hester
I stop by the gym to get my pump on. Naturally I incline bench 225 lbs. about 5-10 times. Just some light lifting to keep me toned.
Jenavene Hester
I then jump over to train some self-defense. I may be small, but I can kick some boo-tay. Dynamite comes in small packages!
Jenavene Hester
I stop by the diner for some much needed protein after my workout before I head to the show!
Jenavene Hester
A two show day is never an option without my caffeine fix! A blonde roast for a blonde girl! Something tells me this won’t be my last stop at a coffee shop today…
Jenavene Hester
I hit the train for my long commute to Brooklyn for the show at Gallery Players. A perfect time to get some light reading in. Today I am reading the complete works of William Shakespeare…NBD.
Jenavene Hester
Show number one: First major step to becoming Mary Phagan: Pin on giant BOWS.
Jenavene Hester
Next step, putting on makeup…did 13 year old girls even wear makeup in 1913?
Jenavene Hester
Showing off my beautiful flowers that my family sent me. They brighten up the room and my day!
Jenavene Hester
Here are the amazing women of Parade in the girls dressing room about to rock out to a sold out performance!!
Jenavene Hester
After my tragic death on stage, I wait in the dressing room to pass out tissues to the women weeping over my demise as they return from my funeral.
Jenavene Hester
Now that I’m dead, it’s a perfect time to get in some more light reading before my ghost reappears in Act II.
Great show everyone! A group of company members traditionally goes out to grab some dinner between shows. Here are my good friends Mark Mozingo, Danny Lindgren, and Kristen Marie!
Jenavene Hester
Caffeine dosage number 2! Elizabeth Burton plays Iola Stover, (Mary Phagan’s BFF) We thought it important to keep the BFF thing going on and off the stage.
Jenavene Hester
FaceTime with the folks! Quick chat to say hi to my incredible parents, Adam and Donna Hester, and to tell them that they are going to be on Playbill.com!
Jenavene Hester
Back to the theater for Show number 2! Here’s a shout out to all the amazing men in Parade! (I charged them each a dollar to pick me up)
Jenavene Hester
Gathered the incredible production team, Robert Earle Jones, producer, Hans Friedrichs, director, and Christine O’Grady, choreographer. They are fantastic!
Jenavene Hester
Getting ready for the show, Minnie McKnight, played by the fabulous Crystal Sha’nae, always comes by to check my bows. The Bow Ritual.
Jenavene Hester
Got my parasol and I’m ready for show number 2!
Jenavene Hester
Annnnnd now I’m dead again. Time to pose for the camera! Here are Leo and Lucille Frank played by the very talented Jesse Manocherian and Jennifer Lorae.
Jenavene Hester
Intermission Pics! Frankie, played by Mark Mozingo, stops by to say hi to Mary Phagan!
Jenavene Hester
Also, a little mother-daughter time at intermission. Here’s my mother played by Leah Jennings.
Jenavene Hester
Second curtain call of the day with castmates Mark Mozingo and Emma Ruck!
Jenavene Hester
My husband, Seth Bazacas, greets me after the show with a coke (shhhh caffeine dosage #3…don’t tell anyone) What a sweetie-pie!
Jenavene Hester
Back on the train for the hour and half commute, I try to continue my light reading…
Jenavene Hester
Home sweet home! I end the day with a luxurious foot massage from my husband, aka my knight in shining armor, (and yes, he’s wearing an Italian Stallion robe) and a nice big bowl of popcorn. It’s a tough life, I know, but someone’s got to do it.
The piece, starring Jesse Manocherian, opened Jan. 26. Directed by Hans Friedrichs, the limited engagement continues through Feb. 17.
Manocherian (The Hidden Sky at Prospect Theatre Company) plays Leo Frank with Jennifer Lorae (Fiddler on the Roof at St. Louis Muny) as Lucille Frank and Jenavene Hester (The Sound of Music at Paper Mill Playhouse, How the Grinch Stole Christmas) as Mary Phagan.
Parade, according to Gallery Players, "is based on the true events of the 1913 trial of Leo Frank, a Jewish man from Brooklyn who runs a pencil factory in Marietta, Georgia. Frank is accused of the murder of 13-year old Mary Phagan, a factory worker under his employ. Already guilty in the eyes of everyone around him, a sensationalist publisher, determined district attorney and a janitor’s false testimony seal Leo’s fate. His only defenders are a governor with a conscience, and eventually, his assimilated Southern wife who finds the strength and love to become his greatest champion. 2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the crime."
The cast also includes Mike Backes, Bill Brooks, Elizabeth Burton, Patrick Dunn, Ashley Harris, Leah Jennings, Lorinne Lampert, Danny Lindgren, Eric Morris, Mark Mozingo, Spencer Robinson, Emma Ruck, Crystal Sha'nae, and Anthony Wills, Jr..
Here's a look at the Gallery Players production: For more information, please visit visit GalleryPlayers.com.
The event celebrating the work of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of August: Osage County and this season's Bug will be held at Circle in the Square.
