Ben Platt responds to Parade protesters spreading 'anti-Semitic rhetoric' outside Broadway musical's preview
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Ben Platt is stressing the importance of the new Broadway revival of Parade after protesters harassed theatergoers during its first preview Tuesday night.
In video footage from the event shared online, a group of protesters can be seen holding signs that read "Leo Frank was a [pedophile]" and shouting that the musical "romanticizes pedophiles" as guests wait in line to enter the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
The Tony award–winning musical is a dramatization of the 1913 trial and imprisonment of Leo Frank, a Jewish man who was convicted of the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan amid a growing wave of anti-Semitism in Georgia. In 1915, Frank was kidnapped from prison and lynched.
After the performance, Platt, who plays Frank, posted an Instagram video in which he celebrated the show's "wonderful and special" opening preview but added that it had been eclipsed by the dissenters outside.
"For those who don't know," Platt said, "there were a few neo-Nazi protesters from a really disgusting group outside of the theater, bothering some of our patrons on their way in and saying anti-Semitic things about Leo Frank, who the show is about, and just spreading anti-Semitic rhetoric that led to this whole story in the first place."
He continued, "If you don't know about it, I encourage you to look up the story and most importantly encourage you to come see the show. It was definitely very ugly and scary, but a wonderful reminder of why we're telling this particular story and how special and powerful art and, particularly, theater can be. And just made me feel extra, extra grateful to be the one who gets to tell this particular story and to carry on this legacy of Leo."
Platt also thanked the theater and its employees for keeping the audience, crew, and cast — which also includes Micaela Diamond, Paul Alexander Nolan, and Erin Mackey — "super safe and secure" amid the protests outside.
"I just wanted the button on the evening, at least for me personally, to be to celebrate what a beautiful experience it is and what gorgeous work all of my wonderful colleagues did tonight," Platt concluded. "Not the really ugly actions of a few people who were spreading evil."
The producers of Parade issued their own statement Wednesday morning.
"If there is any remaining doubt out there about the urgency of telling this story in this moment of history, the vileness on display in front of our theater last night should put it to rest," it read. "We stand by the valiant Broadway cast that brings this vital story to life each night."
The musical, which originally ran from 1998 to 1999, also received support from the Anti-Defamation League. The international Jewish organization, which was founded after Frank's murder conviction in 1913, aims to fight anti-Semitism and bias, and denounced the protest in a statement.
"The vile anti-Semitism on full display outside the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre last night during a premiere performance of Parade underscores the importance of telling Leo Frank's story," CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said. "The irony should not be lost on anyone that these anti-Semitic extremists decided to protest a play that details the true story of the lynching of an innocent Jewish man by an anti-Semitic mob, and used it as an opportunity to spread conspiracy theories and hate."
Greenblatt continued, "ADL locks arms in solidarity with the entire cast and wants to especially thank the producers of the play and Ben Platt for their poignant statements speaking out in the face of hate. Despite the presence of a half-dozen neo-Nazis, New York City will continue to remain no place for hate."
Parade opens March 16. The limited engagement will run at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre through Aug. 6.
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