'Parade' star, producers condemn antisemitic protest of Broadway show

The star and producers of the Broadway revival of "Parade" are speaking out against an antisemitic protest that took place outside of the show's first preview on Tuesday.

In videos shared on Twitter, protesters are seen holding up signs and passing out antisemitic materials, claiming that Leo Frank, a Jewish man convicted of murdering a 13-year-old factory worker in Georgia in 1913, was a pedophile.

Frank, played by Ben Platt, is the subject of the musical which first premiered on Broadway in 1998.

"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," Platt said in an Instagram video in response to the demonstration.

Frank was sentenced to life in prison but was lynched by a mob in 1915. He was posthumously pardoned by a Georgia state board in 1986 and today many believe he was innocent of the crime.

According to Playbill, the protesters identified as members of the National Socialist Movement, a white supremacist group founded in 1994 that spews antisemitic rhetoric and is recognized as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

"I just think that now is really the moment for this particular piece. I wanted the button on the evening…to be to celebrate what a beautiful experience it is, and what gorgeous work all my wonderful colleagues did tonight. Not the really ugly actions of a few people who are spreading evil," Platt said.

The musical's producers posted a statement online Wednesday condemning the protesters' actions while supporting the show's cast.

"If there is any remaining doubt out there about the urgency of telling this story in this moment in history, the vileness on display in front of our theater last might should put it to rest," the producers wrote on Instagram. "We stand by the valiant Broadway cast that brings this vital story to life each night."

According to a recent survey by the American Jewish Committee, 41% of respondents felt the status of being Jewish in the U.S. was less secure in 2022, up 10% from a year prior.