Nazis protest Broadway musical about anti Semitism

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Neo-Nazis protest outside performance of Broadway musical about antisemitism

Theatergoers waiting to see the sold-out first preview of a classic Broadway musical Tuesday were interrupted by neo-Nazis chanting, holding banners and passing out false information about the show's subject.

The group was identified by the musical's producers as the National Socialist Movement. The group is the largest membership-based neo-Nazi group in the United States and is known for "violent antisemitic rhetoric" and "its racist views," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

One patron, who shared brief video of the incident on Twitter, called the protest "absolutely wild" and "genuinely scary."

The musical, "Parade," first appeared on Broadway in 1998 and is being revived at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater in midtown Manhattan after an acclaimed concert production in 2022. It tells the true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager who was falsely accused of murdering a 13-year-old girl named Mary Phagan in Georgia in 1913. After Frank's sentence was commuted, he was murdered by a lynch mob.

The trial, which historians believe included false testimony, and the antisemitic media coverage at the time led to the creation of the Anti-Defamation League, which still exists today. Frank was also granted a posthumous pardon in 1986, and the Georgia Historical Center erected a marker honoring Frank in 2008. In 2018, the first national anti-lynching memorial was placed at the site.


U.S.
Neo-Nazis protest outside performance of Broadway musical about antisemitism

By Kerry Breen

Updated on: February 22, 2023 / 2:40 PM / CBS News

Theatergoers waiting to see the sold-out first preview of a classic Broadway musical Tuesday were interrupted by neo-Nazis chanting, holding banners and passing out false information about the show's subject.

The group was identified by the musical's producers as the National Socialist Movement. The group is the largest membership-based neo-Nazi group in the United States and is known for "violent antisemitic rhetoric" and "its racist views," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

One patron, who shared brief video of the incident on Twitter, called the protest "absolutely wild" and "genuinely scary."

The musical, "Parade," first appeared on Broadway in 1998 and is being revived at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater in midtown Manhattan after an acclaimed concert production in 2022. It tells the true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager who was falsely accused of murdering a 13-year-old girl named Mary Phagan in Georgia in 1913. After Frank's sentence was commuted, he was murdered by a lynch mob.

The trial, which historians believe included false testimony, and the antisemitic media coverage at the time led to the creation of the Anti-Defamation League, which still exists today. Frank was also granted a posthumous pardon in 1986, and the Georgia Historical Center erected a marker honoring Frank in 2008. In 2018, the first national anti-lynching memorial was placed at the site.

The members of the National Socialist Movement outside the theater claimed that Frank was a "pedophile" and criticized the ADL. Social media footage of the protest quickly went viral, leading to outrage online.

Ben Platt, who plays Frank, said in a video message that the first preview of the show was "so wonderful and special" until he saw videos showing the scene outside the theater.

Platt said that the group was "bothering some of our patrons" and spreading the "antisemitic rhetoric that led to this whole story in the first place."