Slam Frank, the 2025 musical that reimagines Anne Frank as a pansexual Latina, is set to premiere off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre on 4 October. The production, which satirizes identity politics through a show-within-a-show structure, follows a sold-out run at the Asylum NYC comedy club last year, now retroactively referred to as a workshop.
Creator Andrew Fox, who also manages the show's social media, describes the piece as an attempt to "grapple with the last 15 years of cultural and intellectual upheaval and get some comedy out of it." The idea originated from a 2022 tweet dissecting Frank's alleged white privilege, which inspired Fox to compose a hip-hop musical. He then reconnected with writer Joel Sinensky, who suggested the backstage concept.
Satire and Controversy
Sinensky explains that the duo was "tired of didactic theater," noting that much commercial work in the last decade has been "very direct about what you're supposed to take away from it." Instead, they wanted to write something that reacted to that trend. The musical's form lampoons the art resulting from the current sociopolitical moment, with its logo riffing on Hamilton's and its musical sensibility imitating the blockbuster's verbose rap style.
Fox says they committed early to avoiding "a specific viewpoint or message," swinging in another direction whenever a point starts feeling like a lecture. Sinensky revels in Reddit reviews that label them as pro-Zionist, antisemitic, and extremist right- and leftwing, seeing it as "one of the best indicators that we succeeded."
Reactions and Walkouts
Reviews have been largely positive. The show's publicist highlights an X post by former New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley, arguing it "may be the most important new show around." Director Sam LaFrage recalls a visit from Patti LuPone, who came backstage at Asylum NYC to mention how moved she'd been. Olivia Bernábe, the non-binary actor playing Anita, acknowledges that "there have been a couple of times where people have walked out," adding, "We are teasing, but not actually making fun of the identity. What the show plays with is the idea of your identity equaling your ethics, because that's just not true."
The musical was previously ejected from a BMI workshop for its non-binary coming out song, which Fox notes was the favorite song among new non-binary members the following year. The entrance to the Orpheum's auditorium has been made to look like the bookcase leading to the Frank family's hideout, with a neon sign welcoming visitors to "The Attic."
Final Act and Impact
The final 20 minutes, set off by a plot twist, are the most controversial, widening the scope from historical satire to contemporary excoriation. Actor Walker Stovall, who initially had misgivings, now sees its value: "The reason I had a problem with it is why I think it's important to put it onstage." Slam Frank runs at the Orpheum Theatre, New York, until 30 November.
