Remembering Leo Frank

Atlanta’s notorious Leo Frank case is returning, however briefly, to the public consciousness. Frank, the Jewish manager of an Atlanta pencil factory, was falsely accused of the killing of young Mary Phagan in 1913, convicted of murder and lynched in Marietta in 1915 after a judge commuted his death sentence.

The case inspired the 1937 film They Won’t Forget, the 1988 TV miniseries The Murder of Mary Phagan and the 1998 stage musical Parade, the book of which was written by former Atlantan Alfred Uhry. Having received mixed reviews at its New York premiere, Parade is currently enjoying an acclaimed revival at London’s Donmar Warehouse.

Closer to home, Marietta City Councilman Van Pearlberg will deliver a lecture on “The Trial of Leo Frank” as a fundraising benefit for Theatre in the Square. (In 2000, Theatre in the Square presented the powerful stage play The Lynching of Leo Frank by Robert Myers.) The lecture will be held at the theater Monday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m., at the playhouse. For more information, click here.