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A musical in New York City, called Slam Frank, is portraying Holocaust victim Anne Frank as a pansexual Latina with a non-binary lover. While the entire production appears to be a trolling operation, a petition calling for the “immediate cancellation” of the performance — which it deems “a disrespect to Jewish history” — is now circulating. “Anne Frank never got to come out of the closet,” an Instagram post for the production reads, adding, “Our musical asks: what if she had? How many of the six million never experienced the joy of gender euphoria? How many never experienced positive affirmation?” “This pride Sunday, think of Anne Frank and celebrate the queer bestie she could have been,” the Slam Frank Instagram post continues. “Slam Frank is here. Slam Frank is queer. Slam Frank is a real musical.” The musical — which focuses on its main character, dubbed “Anita Franco” — is being held at the off-Broadway venue, Asylum NYC, and is running until November 16, the production’s ticketing information shows. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Slam Frank: A New Musical (@slamfrankmusical) In a separate social media post, Jewish composer Andrew Fox noted that the actresses who have played Anne Frank are “all white,” adding, “Our world has been getting more and more diverse, but our Holocaust narratives have not been able to keep up — until now.” “I’ve created a new musical called Slam Frank that combines hip hop, spoken word poetry, and mucho diversity so that we can have a version of this story that is prescient and relevant to future generations,” Fox added. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Slam Frank: A New Musical (@slamfrankmusical) The concept of Slam Frank started as a satirical performance that showcases how wokeness can distort storytelling, but the musical spawned into a full production built around a fictional theatre troupe trying to “decolonize” Anne Frank’s story, according to a report by Daily Mail. The outlet noted that the production “spirals into absurdity” as characters discover “new marginalized identities” and replace their yellow stars with rainbow-colored pronoun pins through musical numbers. While Slam Frank may have began as a joke, not everyone is happy with the musical, which has reportedly sold out for most of its performances at Asylum NYC. A petition, titled, “Stop the Opening of Slam Frank — A Disrespect to Jewish History,” is now calling for the “immediate cancellation” of the musical, which it says “distorts and trivializes the true story of Anne Frank, a symbol of Jewish suffering and resilience during the Holocaust.” “Turning her story into a ‘slam’ or any form of entertainment that prioritizes shock value over historical reverence is not only inappropriate — it is deeply offensive,” the petition continues. “The Jewish community, Holocaust survivors, and educators around the world have worked tirelessly to preserve the dignity and lessons of this history,” the petition adds. It goes on to accuse Slam Frank of “undermin[ing] these efforts by reducing a profound tragedy into a spectacle, risking misinformation, desensitization, and mockery of the very real pain millions endured.” “Art and theater must be held to a standard of responsibility, especially when dealing with topics of such grave human suffering,” the petition states. “There are ways to tell difficult stories creatively and thoughtfully — this production, however, fails to honor the memory of Anne Frank and all victims of the Holocaust.” The petition concludes by urging people to sign and share it in order to help preserve “the dignity of Jewish history.” Fox, who reportedly joked about creating a musical to make “Latinx girlies feel included in the Holocaust,” reacted to the petition, telling Daily Mail, “Besides the devastating effect this tidal wave of criticism has had on my mental health (I have RSD – Rejection Sensitivity Disorder), the petitions and outcries have been extremely bad for our sales.” “When our shows started selling out weeks in advance, we had hoped that we would be able to turn away dozens of hopefuls in our standby ticket line — but now, due to all the negative coverage, we only turn away half-dozens,” Fox added in what appeared to be a continuation of trolling. “We request some privacy, so that we may grieve with our chosen family,” he said. “We hope the haters are happy with themselves.” Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
