A neo-Nazi protest outside the show’s Broadway premiere

Broadway News

Neo-Nazi protest outside processionFirst preview performance on Broadway

Members of the far-right neo-Nazi movement harassed theater-goers on Tuesday night. processionProducers, star Ben Platt replies.

This story has been updated to include a statement from procession‘s Star Ben Platt.

on February 21, as patrons lined up for the premiere preview performance of the Broadway revival procession– A musical about the true story of the false denunciation and murder of a Jewish man named Leo Frank in 1915 – Members of the far-right neo-Nazi movement protest outside the Jacobs Theatre. Individuals carried signs with handwritten hate speech, shouted at theatergoers and attempted to give out antisemitic fliers to those lining up to see the show.

It was a satirical display of anti-Semitism given that procession The musical is an indictment of hate. procession, a musical written by Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Urey, chronicles the life and tragic death of Frank, a Jewish factory manager living in Georgia in the early 1900s. He was falsely convicted of killing 13-year-old factory worker Mary Phagan. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. But Frank is then murdered by an angry white mob. After Frank’s death, it is revealed that Phagan was murdered by Jim Conley, another factory worker. Frank has since been exonerated.

The far-right white supremacist group, known as the “National Socialist Movement”, protested the show on the grounds of denouncing Frank’s innocence. Their posts also described their opposition to the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit civil rights group that helps victims of anti-Semitic allegations. The League was founded over a century ago in response to Frank’s murder.

She also mentioned leaflets distributed by neo-Nazis a streaming platform from another anti-Semitic group, Joyem Defense Association. That group has been in the news recently related to the offender Anti-Semitic shootings in Los Angeles last week —who has since been charged with hate crimes.

When requesting a statement, the procession The producers told Playbill: “If there is any doubt left about the urgency of telling this story at this moment in history, the atrocity on display tonight should put it to rest.”

video Shared on Twitter by The Forward editor Jake Wasserman, originally shot by Madeleine Blossom, the scene appears outside the Jacobs Theater earlier this evening. video and others Likes In the photo, neo-Nazis are shown holding large banners describing Frank as a pedophile, and shouting anti-Semitic and racist slurs. Police were called in to prevent protesters from harassing audience members attending the show.

members procession The cast watched the disturbing show from their dressing room windows. One of the show’s flops, Prentiss E. Mouton, posted to his Instagram story: “Are you really doing the real work of an artist if you’re not…[ing] Neo-Nazi protested? If I wasn’t proud enough to be a part of this production, it’s cemented today.”

After the evening’s performance, Ben Platt, who plays Frank, is taken over by the star of the show his Instagram to record his reactions. Speaking from his home, with his dog by his side, Platt said, “It was definitely very ugly and scary, but it’s a wonderful reminder of why we’re telling this particular story and how special and powerful art and especially theater can be. And he continues Leo’s legacy.” He also encouraged theater fans to come to the show, saying that those who work at Jacobs Theater make sure the cast, crew and audience are safe.

Platt continues, “I think now is really the time for this particular piece. I wanted the button to be in the evening, at least for me personally, to celebrate a nice experience, and what a great job all my fellows did tonight. Not really ugly deeds for a number Few people who spread evil.”