Last night I went to the Mark Taper Forum at the Music Center to see the Donmar Warehouse production of "Parade." Some have hailed this show as the best theatrical presentation of the year in the Southland.

I haven't seen everything that's out there but thought "Parade," with a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown was excellent and very moving.

It's not the light fluff some expect from musical theater -- it tells the true-story of a Brooklyn-born Jew in Atlanta at the turn of the last century wrongly-accused of murdering a young girl. The show touches on racism, mob mentality and the desire of some to get elected to office.

The cast is super-stuffed with talent including T.R. Knight (Grey's Anatomy), Michael Berresse (Kiss Me, Kate and [title of show], Charlotte d'Amboise (A Chorus Line), Christian Hoff (Tony winner for Jersey Boys) and provides a break-out opportunity for Los Angeles-area, young actor Will Collyer.