| Slam Frank | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Music | Andrew Fox | ||
| Lyrics | Andrew Fox | ||
| Book | Joel Sinensky | ||
| Premiere | September 17, 2025: Asylum NYC | ||
| |||
Slam Frank is a 2025 off-Broadway satirical hip-hop musical based on the story of Anne Frank. It was created by Andrew Fox and Joel Sinensky after a Twitter thread about Anne Frank's "white privilege" went viral in 2022. The show is a show within a show of an ultra-progressive theatre troupe that reimagines Frank as a pansexual Latina named Anita Franco, along with Peter van Daan as a non-binary dancer. While the show itself is purportedly satirical, its viral social media promotion, with snippets of the show and tongue-in-cheek commentary, never acknowledges the satire.[1][2][3][4]
Some editorials or op-eds from Jewish newspapers, written before the show's debut, criticized the show's "disrespectful" treatment of Anne Frank,[5] and the show provoked a petition to stop its opening entirely.[1]
History
The show is based on a Twitter debate from 2022 regarding whether or not diarist and Holocaust victim Anne Frank had white privilege.[6][7] The initial tweets were widely condemned by Jewish organizations.[8] The show had a concert presentation on June 16, 2025 at Asylum NYC and began a fully-staged developmental run on September 17, 2025.[4]
Synopsis
Slam Frank opens with an Artistic Director addressing the audience, explaining that they are attending the opening night of a small regional theatre company’s production. During his monologue, he delivers a confused land acknowledgement, praises the LGBT community, and announces that one actress quit during dress rehearsals, requiring an ensemble member to assume two roles. A montage of contemporary news clips and political memes plays and the show starts.
The Frank family goes into hiding from the Nazis in 1942, leading Margot to sing about feeling forced to hide, while Anita (Anne) performs an energetic rap about documenting everything happening around her ("Write It All Out"). As the family settles into the attic, Edith instructs everyone how to behave in hiding. She chastises her husband Otto for being distracted by a fidget spinner used to manage his anxiety and rebukes Anita for attempting to assert a Latinx identity, insisting that her name is Anne and that she should model herself after Margot, who rarely speaks. The ghost of Anita’s abuela appears, urging her to write on behalf of her ancestors, leading Anita to begin journaling ("An Immigrant Girl").
The Van Daan family consisting of a misogynistic Mr. Van Daan, a submissive Mrs. Van Daan, and their son Peter, arrives. Anita expresses discomfort with Margot’s increasing Jewish religious observance and begins developing a romantic interest in Peter. Peter confides in Anita about his feminine side, while Edith, Otto, and Mrs. Van Daan lament their respective struggles against societal expectations as a Black woman, a neurodivergent person, and a woman ("Fighting Expectations").
As 1944 approaches, tensions rise over rationing ("Cabin Fever"). Edith and Mr. Van Daan argue over authority in the attic, with Edith asserting that the men must contribute more labor. Mr. Van Daan delivers a monologue about feeling threatened as an insecure white man, Edith responds with a piece of Black feminist slam poetry likening the patriarchy to Jewish confinement in the attic.
Edith encourages Mrs. Van Daan to leave her husband and provides her with feminist literature. Mr. Van Daan mocks Anita’s diary writing but Peter defends her. A radio broadcast announces that the Dutch government plans to publish firsthand wartime accounts, including diaries, inspiring Anita to revise her writing for publication ("Rewrite My Diary"). Edith and Otto inform Anita that publication would require suppressing her Latinx identity and ceasing to write in Spanish. After being told she must be white, Anita is visited again by her abuela's ghost ("Abuela I Can’t"), whom she rejects, calling her "Grandma".
Mr. Van Daan confronts Mrs. Van Daan for reading feminist literature and Edith accuses him of being the source of the attic’s problems. Mr. Van Daan demands his wife leave with him but she refuses then Edith, Mrs. Van Daan, and Anita perform a feminist anthem celebrating liberation ("Herstory"). As Mr. Van Daan departs, he shares a moment with Otto lamenting that women cannot understand men as men understand each other. Otto misinterprets this interaction as romantic and attempts to kiss Mr. Van Daan.
Following Mr. Van Daan’s departure, Margot lights Shabbat candles and reads from the Torah, drawing puzzled reactions. Anita confides in Peter that she previously had no one to talk to, disregarding Margot, and admits she has largely forgotten about the Nazis, focusing instead on familial stress. Peter reveals that he is non-binary, prompting Anita to identify as pansexual ("Something Between"). Otto comes out as gay, Edith as asexual, and Mrs. Van Daan as having a fetish. As the others replace their Star of David badges with pronoun pins, Margot silently gathers the discarded stars.
Struggling to write, Anita is again visited by her abuela, who urges her to reconnect with her roots. A surreal sequence depicts Anita’s childhood in the barrios of Frankfurt, a CIA-backed coup bringing Nazis to power, her family’s journey through German jungles, assistance from an Indigenous, shamanic Moses figure, and her grandmother’s death ("Don’t Forget Where You Came From"). Anita resolves to write her diary in Spanish rather than "the colonizer language".
A radio announcement of the Allies nearing Amsterdam prompts reflection ("Aren’t You Grateful"). Everyone discusses post-war plans, with Anita advocating continued activism across causes while the rest pledge various acts of allyship ("We Can Be Allies Too"). Margot finally speaks, proposing the creation of a safe space for people like them in Palestine ("Safe Space"). When Anita notes that people already live there, Margot dismisses the concern. They don black hats and exaggerated noses of antisemitic caricatures and sing about colonizing Palestine, extracting rent, conquering the Global South, and expanding empire. Margot urges Anita to remember her people.
Anita mourns that her family has become oppressors but reiterates her belief that people are good ("Anita’s Decision"). Concluding that Jews inherently occupy space that does not belong to them, she writes a letter revealing the attic’s location and throws it from the window. Nazis arrive and execute each resident as they assert their identities, leaving Anita and Margot last. Margot confronts Anita, who argues that every Jew sacrificed saves thousands of lives. Margot removes her microphone and exits the show.
Adolf Hitler appears from the audience, applauds, revives the cast, and announces that he has been inspired to transition into Adeleine Hitler and declares the Holocaust canceled. The attic residents express relief that they no longer need to confront Palestine. Hitler praises Anita for changing the world. The cast, excluding Margot, performs a final number, advocating an uncompromising pursuit of justice, including the suppression of dissent ("Justice"). They remove their costumes, piling their shoes onstage, and revealing shirts bearing activist slogans—some of which overlap with Nazi rhetoric—as a montage plays featuring diverse groups alongside footage of antisemitic attacks and the Nova music festival massacre.
Reception
Ben Brantley, former chief theater critic for the New York Times, said, "the already notorious little musical "Slam Frank" may be the most important new show around", in a post on X.[9] Zachary Stewart writing for Theatermania called it, "A blistering satire of progressive, terminally online sensibilities" and "the edgiest musical playing in New York."[10] Writing for The Times, Ben Kawaller described it as "skewer[ing] the absurdity of tribalism while championing our common humanity."[11]
Controversy
On December 14, 2025, the Instagram account of the show posted a meme in response to the 2025 Bondi Beach shooting, using tongue-in-check revolutionary rhetoric echoing defenses for the Nova Massacre to facetiously defend the attack. It was quickly taken down.[12] Two days later, the creator of the show, Andrew Fox, posted an apology on the account for the post being in bad taste. Fox also expressed his annoyance with people continuing to spread the screenshots on the basis that it was spreading more pain.[13]
Principal Cast/Creative Team
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Anita | Olivia Bernábe |
| Peter | Alex Lewis |
| Mrs. Van Daan | Jaz Zepatos |
| Otto | Rocky Paterra |
| Margot / Abuela | Anya van Hoogstraten |
| Edith | Austen Horne |
| Mr. Van Daan / Artistic Director | John Bow |
| Assistant Stage Manager | Walker Stovall |
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Creator | Andrew Fox |
| Book | Joel Sinensky |
| Director | Sam LaFrage |
| PSM | Nikita Chernin |
| Producer | Steven Brandon |
| Producer | Stage Time (PJ Adzima & Yuriy Pavlish) |
| Associate Director | Emily Abrams |
| Costume Designer | Sarah Lockwood |
| Choreographer | Nico DeJesus |
| Music Director | Alex Harrington |
| Set Design & Props | CJ Howard |
| Lighting/Video Designer | Zack Lobel |
| Marketing/PR | Katie Rosin, Kampfire Inc. |
References
- ^ a b Zinoman, Jason (2025-08-28). "The Comedian as Master Troll". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
- ^ Tsur, Talia Bannon (August 7, 2025). "Anne Frank as a Pansexual Latina Immigrant: Holocaust Hip-hop Musical Causes a Stir in N.Y.C." Haaretz. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
- ^ Strauss, Joseph (2025-08-27). "'Anne Frank, Superstar'? Satirical musical reimagines the Holocaust victim as a symbol of wokeness". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
- ^ a b Strauss, Joseph (2025-08-21). "Musical with Anne Frank as pansexual Latinx has audiences wondering, 'Is this for real?'". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
- ^ Ganz, Alicia (2025-05-08). "'Slam Frank': When Satire Goes Too Far". The Jewish Link. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
- ^ Bandler, Aaron (2022-07-12). "Twitter Debate on Anne Frank and White Privilege Condemned". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
- ^ "Twitter Debates Whether Anne Frank Had 'White Privilege'". TMZ. 2022-07-09. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
- ^ Starr, Michael (2022-07-10). "Twitter debates whether Anne Frank had 'white privilege'". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
- ^ https://x.com/BenjBrantley/status/1974854532984426530
- ^ Stewart, Zachary (2025-10-09). "Review: In Slam Frank, Anne Frank Gets the Hamilton Treatment - TheaterMania.com". Retrieved 2025-11-10.
- ^ Kawaller, Ben (2025-10-17). "'Offensive' musical starring a pansexual Anne Frank could save Broadway". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
- ^ FiveFruitADay (December 14, 2025). "Slam Frank's very quickly deleted post from today". Reddit. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ^ Fox, Andrew (December 16, 2025). "Apology post". Instagram. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (October 8, 2025). "Slam Frank Musical Extends Off-Broadway; Creator Andrew Fox Joining Cast". Playbill. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
External links
- Official website
