After everything that's happened to poor Theater Works, you'd expect their product to suffer. Leave it to them to find a spot in the middle of Retirement Babylon Sun City to mount first Albee's existential slam of American mores A Delicate Balance and then the critically acclaimed musical drama Parade. I'll readily admit that I was afraid of what I would find when entering the Lakes Club Banquet Facility, and while the visual and audio elements are definitely adversely affected by their new location, Theater Works and Director Jim Linde have defied logic by offering an excellent, thought-provoking product.

Parade chronicles the incidents surrounding the false accusations against Brooklyn-born Leo Frank in the murder of one of his charges, 13-year-old factory worker Mary Phagan in 1913 Atlanta, an incident that graphically exposed the rampant anti-Semitism of the post-Confederate Southland. More than just an effective indictment, though, this show is also a love story as Leo and his wife Lucille, who have grown apart through his workaholic ways and her native Georgia upbringing, facing this adversity and rediscovering the depth of their feelings for each other. Not the stuff of typical Sun City entertainment.

Mr. Linde faced a big challenge. The cast is huge and difficult to double up. The material is not typical musical theatre fare and requires skilled actors as well as singers and dancers. The music can be as difficult at some points as one of Sondheim's trickier scores. The resulting production is a masterstroke for Mr. Linde and Theater Works. Lead by excellent performances from D. Scott Withers and Lisa Fogel as Leo and Lucille, most of the cast is impressive vocally and in acting. Mr. Linde and Choreographer Laurie Case have created moving stage pictures and dance moments that carry both important themes of the show.

Mr. Withers is always a gamer, and even though he is not Leo's physical type, he captures the character's mix of outsider fear and arrogance. He relates nicely to Ms. Fogel, who offers an excellent character arc as his assimilated wife. Katie Olsen is a hauntingly sweet Mary Phagan, and Damon Bolling gets things stirred up with his accusatory custodian and eager perjurer Jim Conley. Jeremie McCubbin is strong in acting and solid in the minor key singing of down and out newspaperman Britt Craig. Important to note is that, with very few exceptions, the cast is always in the moment and believe completely in the proceedings, adding heart as a mixture to the cerebral.

A few are not quite up to the level of the ensemble, but do not affect the overall level of the piece. Ernest Dillihay is off key as night watchman Newt, but his performance overcomes the sour notes. Bruce Halperin seems uncomfortable singing the role of racist publisher Tom Watson. These and a few minor glitches are the only errant points of a very impressive production.

It feels wrong to complain about William H. Symington V's rudimentary set design, as the space is not conducive to a bigger treatment, as well as Erik Michael's lighting, which is too dark and too full of holes that actors seems to slip into at crucial moments. Problems also exist in Jeb Johnson's sound design, but again, circumstances excuse such flubs. Annette Crismon is to be complimented for her period costumes. As always, even with its occasional problems, Dana Graybeal's nine person orchestra is welcome in comparison to a pre-recorded soundtrack.

At intermission, I mingled among the crowd to hear reactions. Many liked what they were witnessing, and were quick to forgive the design problems. A sizable amount, though, mostly older patrons, were upset by the material and chose to leave. One woman said she was "shocked that Theater Works would keep this in their schedule when they knew they were playing here." I, too, am shocked (and gladdened) that they did this. Let those who prefer their evening spent sugarcoating the past avoid this show, but everyone else should come out to support a company defying the odds and producing excellent work under less than stellar conditions.