“Slam Frank”. Book by Joel Sinesky, Music and Lyrics by Andrew Fox. Directed by Sam LaFrage. Music Director, Alex Harrington. Choreography by Esosa Oviasu. Presented by Group Productions, Stage Time, Steven Brandon, Andrew Fox, Alex Lewis, Joel Sinesky, Sarah Battaglia, Erin Boeke Burke and Katie Rosin at the Orpheum Theatre, 126 2nd Ave, New Yok, New York through November 30.
By Michele Markarian
In 2022, a tweet asked, in all sincerity, if Anne Frank had ever acknowledged her white privilege. The tweet and subsequent discussion were the prompt for the satirical hip-hop musical “Slam Frank”, which reimagines Anne as a Latina named Anita Franco (Olivia Bernabe), the product of a Black mother, Edith (the majestic Austen Horne), and neurodivergent – among other things – father Otto (Rocky Peterra). It’s both funny and confounding, and decidedly more refreshing than the talking-head, socially instructive plays post-pandemic that left one feeling lectured and bored. During the 110 minutes of “Slam Frank”, you will be anything but bored.
I had a feeling I would like the show when one of my favorite musical theater actresses, who was briefly canceled for something so sadly misinterpreted it’s not worth typing about, was featured in the “Turn Your Phone Off” slide presentation. The Artistic Director of a politically correct theater (John Anker Bow, who also plays Mr. Van Daan) introduces his politically correct, reimagined Anne Frank with an obligatory, disingenuous and very funny Land Acknowledgment. Things get whackier, funnier and more disturbing from there, as we move to the attic. Joining Anne are her parents and her speechless, devout sister Margot (Amelia Louise Barr), along with the Van Daans: father, mother (Jaz Zepatos), and non-binary son, Peter (Alex Lewis). The Van Daans’ unhealthy family dynamic is disruptive to the Franks, particularly Edith, who sings against the patriarchy in the mighty anthem “Yeast of Edith”, ‘Cuz every woman is a Jew hiding in her own attic”. The Van Daans are headed by a blazing misogynist who treats his wife like chattel, and while Edith doesn’t like him, Otto finds him attractively masculine. While the prisoners in the attic spend more and more time together in this show within a show, their differences are revealed and celebrated. As Anne says to Peter, “Sometimes if you can’t explain your identity, it means it’s even better than others!” Without giving anything away, the trajectory of Anne and her housemates in the woke version veers drastically from history.
The score, with a few nods to Lin-Manuel Miranda, is catchy, and nicely shows off the vocal capabilities of the talented cast, As Anne/Anita, Benabe is full of energy, with a powerful voice to match. Horne is hilarious as the beleaguered Edith, and Zapatos is equally funny as Mrs. Van Daan. Barr plays two characters convincingly – Anita’s warm, gregarious Abuela, and the solemn, silent Margot. While the male performers are all strong, the show belongs to the women.
The most confounding thing about “Slam Frank” is the audience, who react in ways that are surprising. Cheers went up for revelations that I thought were being satirized; laughs abounded for things I didn’t think were funny. My husband and I felt a strong need to talk about it afterward; as the young friend who recommended it was out of town, we descended upon two female theatergoers – strangers on the sidewalk- to get their opinion. All of us had a slightly different take. My take? The injustice of being called the wrong pronoun or being mistaken for a normie is nothing compared to the horror of what happened to the Franks, Vaan Daans, and six million Jews, but that’s my take. Go see for yourself and let me know yours.
For more information and tickets, go to: https://www.slamfrankmusical.com/
