Tony Award-winning actor Ben Platt, who stars in the Broadway revival of "Parade" — a musical about a Jewish man who was lynched in 1915 — has addressed backlash that the production has faced.
Antisemitic protesters gathered outside the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York City for the first performance of "Parade" on Tuesday to speak out against the show.
In video shared on social media, one protester asked patrons, "You want the truth about who you're going to see tonight? You're paying $300 to go f****** worship a pedophile, you might as well know what you're talking about."
The protester was referring to the production's plotline, which follows the true story of Jewish factory superintendent Leo Frank, who was convicted of the 2013 rape and murder of his 13-year-old employee, Mary Phagan, according to People.
Frank maintained his innocence and two years later his death sentence was commuted to life in prison, after a review of the trial exposed discrepancies in testimonies. In 1915, Frank was kidnapped by a group of men who broke into the Milledgeville, Georgia, prison and lynched him.
Taking to social media Wednesday, Platt spoke out about the protests. In a video posted to Instagram, reflecting on the evening on stage, saying that it was "so wonderful and special." He then addressed the protests.
"Then I got offstage and was looking at social media, and naturally the news of the fact that there were some protesters at our show has spread a lot, and that has kind of [been] the stamp on the evening, in terms of the public perception of the evening," Platt said.
"For those who don't know, 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 antisemitic things about Leo Frank, who the show is about, and just spreading antisemitic rhetoric that led to this whole story in the first place," he continued.
Platt then encouraged followers to "look up" Frank's story before making judgments.
"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, and 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," he said. "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."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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