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July 29, 2024 Leave a Comment on Neo-Nazis came to Broadway to protest ‘Parade.’ All the more reason for the show to go on. – Yahoo News Canada

Mary Phagan

Neo-Nazis came to Broadway to protest ‘Parade.’ All the more reason for the show to go on. – Yahoo News Canada

There were neo-Nazis on Broadway last week.

The night of the first preview of the newBroadway production of "Parade,"audience members waiting to enter the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater were harangued by members of a far-right white supremacist group, The National Socialist Movement.

"Parade" tells the story of Leo Frank, the Jewish superintendent of a pencil factory in Atlanta,who in 1913 was falsely accused and wrongfully convicted of the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan. It is a signal event in thehistory of antisemitism and white supremacist terrorism in this country, and the case was behindboth the creation of the Anti-Defamation League and the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan.

There is a website about the Leo Frank case that is not hard to find on Google. It has been around in some form or other since we first opened "Parade" in the late 1990s, and perhaps even before then. Its quite extensive and you might even think it was a legitimate research archive if you didnt dig too deep.

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But then youll run across something like this article from Oct. 28, 2019, written by the sites curator, N. Joseph Potts: Jewish Men Dying In Jail For Ravaging Young Girls: (Jeffrey)Epstein v (Leo)Frank.

And suddenly there you are, deep in the world of antisemitic conspiracy theory and fearmongering that has followed Jews around since Ptolemy ruled ancient Egypt.

When Jews first encounter this stuff at a young age, our instinct well, let me not generalize myinstinct was to laugh; surely no one believed this. We had horns? We baked matzah with the blood of Christian children? We secretly ran the worlds banking systems? Madness, obviously.

As I got older, I developed a wary familiarity with the nonsense. It didnt seem to affect my life too much, but it was always there, this persistent mockery and hostility that seemed so ridiculous on the surface but was continually being given little infusions of oxygen.

You dont need me to tell you that its all been getting a whole lot more oxygen recently. Correlation might not equal causation, but the Jew haters have certainly gotten noisier and bolder since DonaldTrumps election. You know that. I know that. They know that. Lets not be coy.

'I don't know how we survived': A new generation of the antisemitism we thought was behind us

Fear, hate and ignorance live in darkness: On Hanukkah, the 9th candle reflects how anyone can fight antisemitism by sharing truth

Its not that "Parade" hasnt been on their radar before. Mary Phagans grandniece, Mary Phagan-Kean, has been loudly denouncing Leo Frankand our showsince we opened at Lincoln Centerand has been duly embraced and amplified by antisemitic groups.

There was a certain degree of hubbub when we opened our tour in Atlanta in 2000; and there are many websites (including the one I mentioned above) that include "Parade" in their list of sins against the good white people of Georgia and America, but by and large, to be honest, the show itself hasnt had a large impact on the general public, so it hasnt drawn out the crazies as much as it would have had it been, say, "Hamilton."

But before we had our gala presentation at New York City Center last fall, our producer, Jenny Gersten, called me to ask whether there had been a history of threats against the show. I didnt need to ask why she was calling. I took a deep breath. Ah, I thought. Thats where we are now.

I feel terrible that audience members waiting in line to see our show on Broadway may be accosted by neo-Nazis. (I cant believe Im writing that sentence.) But I'll tell you the truth: Im glad the thugs showed up. Im glad they feel threatened enough to emerge into the light and show their faces. They are what "Parade" is about.

'An Innocent Man Was Lynched': Reporting exonerated Leo Frank in the murder of Mary Phagan

I suspect they dont particularly know or care about the case; they just want to yell out the words Jew and pedophile. They wont really engage with you, they cant; everything they could tell you about Leo Frank and the case has been decisively debunked, over and over again.

No legitimate conversation about the murder of Mary Phagan will end with you believing Leo Frank was guilty.

There is plenty of research, much more than there was when AlfredUhry and I started work on this show, which details in stark clarity the myriad ways in which Leo Frank was targeted and attacked by a society that did not care about the evidence or the law.

The wounded, frightened populace of Atlanta wanted a Jew punished, and in the same way that some people will tell you that there was fraud in our last election no matter how much you show them that there wasnt, the people of Georgia in 1913 believed that a Jew killed that girl no matter how much you proved that he couldnt have. Some of them still do.

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The evidence presented at trial and collected over the past 110 years suggest pretty clearly that Leo Frank was a difficult man to like. He was no hero. He was no martyr. But one of the things "Parade" says is that you dont have to praise or admire Leo Frank to see that he was the victim of a gross miscarriage of justice, fueled by rage and fear and antisemitic hysteria.

For the past couple of months, lots of people have been saying to me how important it is that were bringing "Parade" to Broadway right now, how the world needs to see this story at this moment in time. Honestly, Ive been kind of skeptical; the storys been there all along.

But I have to acknowledge in light of last weeks events that theres something about Ben Platt, a Jewish star, leading this American story about prejudice and scapegoating, right there in our weird little corner of the national cultural conversation, that really counts. Clearly it affects our audience. Obviously its affecting the other side as well.

The conversation was brought right to the stage door last week. Thats where we are now.

Jason Robert Brownis a Tony Award-winningAmerican musical theatre composer, lyricistand playwright. He is the composer and lyricist of "Parade."

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Neo-Nazis protest Broadway musical 'Parade.' That's where we are now

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Neo-Nazis came to Broadway to protest 'Parade.' All the more reason for the show to go on. - Yahoo News Canada

Mary Phagan

Ugly slice of history unveiled in Parade – Washington Examiner

Theres something sweet and simple and wonderful about Jason Robert Browns music written for Parade, a kind of melodic honesty that hearkens back to early Gershwin or the efficacious elegance of Lerner and Loewe. And when you consider that its written for such hefty subject matter as the tragic story of Lucille and Leo Frank and its bitter mark on American history, the cotton-candy lightness of Browns score suddenly lands with a dark, reverberating thud. You can imagine that a musical set in 1913 Georgia isnt going to be a lively romp in the sun for a New York Jew transplanted to Hotlanta. But history shows that Leo Frank was falsely accused of murdering 13-year-old Mary Phagan, one of the young workers in the same pencil factory where Frank was superintendent. From the absurd spectacle and sensationalist drama of the courtroom to Lucille Franks desperate attempts to prove her husband innocent, Parade serves as an ugly reminder of the power wielded by public opinion alone.

Its a long evening at Fords Theatre, and in their co-production with Theater J, director Stephen Rayne milks every opportunity to showcase his strong ensemble cast.

Theres that infectious pop and ragtime score with the soaring melodies of Brown, and here, Steven Landaus musical direction takes front and center stage. Its all brought together by the couple of Franks Euan Mortons brainy, bumbling Leo and Jenny Fellners timid but tough-minded Lucille who carry the evening from bouncy brass to harrowing horns and finally, toward a most foreboding drum cadence.

Morton is expertly cast as a man braving a terrible destiny with courage and character, and Mortons voice is as clean and pure as Franks conscience. Whether hes cutting a rug to Come Up to My Office or serenading his sweetheart in All the Wasted Time, Morton makes it all look and sound effortless. Together, Fellner and Morton journey through arguably the shows best duet, This is Not Over Yet, with reserved, yet skillful, precision.

Of the noteworthy ensemble, Kevin McAllister delivers more than one show-stopping number, and alongside Kellee Knighten Houghs sweet and spicy vocals, the two nearly bring the house down with A Rumblin and a Rollin at the top of the second act. Its moments like these that make this a Parade that shouldnt pass you by.

Mary Phagan

Ben Platt Blasts ‘Disgusting’ Neo-Nazis Who Protested His Broadway Show – Yahoo Lifestyle UK

Ben Platts long-awaited return to Broadway got off to a troubling start this week as incoming theatergoers were accosted by members of a far-right, neo-Nazi hate group.

A video posted to Twitter by journalist Jake Wasserman of the Forward shows a masked man representing the National Socialist Movement distributing antisemitic flyers outside of the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater in New York, where Platt began preview performances in the musical Parade Tuesday.

Youre paying $300 to go fucking worship a pedophile, the unidentified man says in the video.In the background, another person shouts:Romanticizing pedophiles, wow, Leo Frank.

According to Playbill, the man was joined by a small but vocal group of demonstrators carrying handwritten signs with hateful, antisemitic rhetoric.

Written by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown, Parade is based on the life of Leo Frank (played by Platt), a Jewish man who in 1913 was wrongfully convicted of raping and murdering a 13-year-old factory worker,Mary Phagan.Two years into his life sentence,Frank was abducted from a Georgia prison and hanged by a lynch mob.He was posthumously pardoned in 1986.

Platt, who rocketed to fame in 2016 for his Tony-winning performance in Dear Evan Hansen,addressed the protest in a short video posted to his Instagram page.

Micaela Diamond and Ben Platt in "Parade."

For those who dont 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, he said in the clip. It was definitely very ugly and scary, but a wonderful reminder of why were telling this particular story and how special and powerful art and, particularly, theater can be. And just made me feel extra grateful to be the one who gets to tell this particular story and to carry on this legacy of Leo.

After assuring fans who came to see Parade that they would be super safe and secure, the actor went on to note,Now is really the moment for this particular piece.

On Wednesday, the shows production team echoed Platts sentiments in a statement denouncing the vileness on displayoutside the theater the previous night.

Parade premiered on Broadway in 1998,winning two Tony Awards. The current production openedto rave reviews at the New York City Center in November of last year before its Broadway transfer was confirmed in January.

According to Deadline,the Telecharge ticketing site briefly crashed due to high demand for tickets.The musical will officially open March 16.

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Ben Platt Blasts 'Disgusting' Neo-Nazis Who Protested His Broadway Show - Yahoo Lifestyle UK

Mary Phagan

Ben Platt Blasts ‘Disgusting’ Neo-Nazis Who Protested His Broadway Show – Yahoo Movies UK

Ben Platts long-awaited return to Broadway got off to a troubling start this week as incoming theatergoers were accosted by members of a far-right, neo-Nazi hate group.

A video posted to Twitter by journalist Jake Wasserman of the Forward shows a masked man representing the National Socialist Movement distributing antisemitic flyers outside of the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater in New York, where Platt began preview performances in the musical Parade Tuesday.

Youre paying $300 to go fucking worship a pedophile, the unidentified man says in the video.In the background, another person shouts:Romanticizing pedophiles, wow, Leo Frank.

According to Playbill, the man was joined by a small but vocal group of demonstrators carrying handwritten signs with hateful, antisemitic rhetoric.

Written by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown, Parade is based on the life of Leo Frank (played by Platt), a Jewish man who in 1913 was wrongfully convicted of raping and murdering a 13-year-old factory worker,Mary Phagan.Two years into his life sentence,Frank was abducted from a Georgia prison and hanged by a lynch mob.He was posthumously pardoned in 1986.

Platt, who rocketed to fame in 2016 for his Tony-winning performance in Dear Evan Hansen,addressed the protest in a short video posted to his Instagram page.

Micaela Diamond and Ben Platt in "Parade."

For those who dont 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, he said in the clip. It was definitely very ugly and scary, but a wonderful reminder of why were telling this particular story and how special and powerful art and, particularly, theater can be. And just made me feel extra grateful to be the one who gets to tell this particular story and to carry on this legacy of Leo.

Story continues

After assuring fans who came to see Parade that they would be super safe and secure, the actor went on to note,Now is really the moment for this particular piece.

On Wednesday, the shows production team echoed Platts sentiments in a statement denouncing the vileness on displayoutside the theater the previous night.

Parade premiered on Broadway in 1998,winning two Tony Awards. The current production openedto rave reviews at the New York City Center in November of last year before its Broadway transfer was confirmed in January.

According to Deadline,the Telecharge ticketing site briefly crashed due to high demand for tickets.The musical will officially open March 16.

Mary Phagan

OPINION: Antisemitism in Georgia: Will fear or hope prevail? – The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Franks trial unleashed a wave of antisemitic rage. Crowds gathered outside the Fulton County Courthouse to cheer on prosecutor Hugh Dorsey who later was elected governor as he arrived for court each day. According to news reports, the crowds celebrated wildly when news of the conviction reached the street.

The frenzy of antisemitic hatred peaked after Gov. John Slaton, citing what he called insufficient evidence of Franks guilt, commuted his sentence from death to life imprisonment. On the night of Aug. 16, 1915, a group of men calling themselves The knights of Mary Phagan kidnapped Frank from his cell at the state prison farm in Milledgeville, drove him to Phagans hometown of Marietta, and hanged him from an oak tree.

Following Franks death, many Atlanta Jews felt the isolation, loneliness and fear that Schumer spoke of.

The New York Times reported that as many as 3,000 Jews fled Atlanta after the lynching. Steve Oney, author of And the Dead Shall Rise, which is considered the most exhaustively researched book on the Frank case, told ArtsATL he believed that number may be inflated, but he called the Frank lynching a blunt-force trauma to the Jewish community (with most) living in fear and confusion.

Adding to the fear was the fact that the lynching revived the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia after it had been moribund for decades.

Forty-three years after Leo Franks death, on Oct. 12, 1958, another violent antisemitic event shook the Atlanta Jewish community. On that day a white supremacist group detonated a bomb at The Temple, an iconic Atlanta home for Jewish worshippers. No one was killed or injured, but the bomb caused major damage to the Peachtree Street synagogue.

This time, though, many non-Jews rallied in support of the Jewish community. Atlanta Mayor William Hartsfield filmed a statement for TV news as he pointed to the wreckage caused by the bomb:

My friends, here you see the end result of bigotry and intolerance

And Atlanta Constitution Editor Ralph McGill wrote When the wounds of hate are loosened on one people, then no one is safe.

Rabbi Alvin Sugarman, who grew up at The Temple and later became its long-serving chief rabbi, told me that its assembly room was renamed Friendship Hall to honor the support The Temple received from all parts of Atlanta in the wake of the bombing.

But antisemitism isnt a thing of the past in Georgia, and in fact, there are signs that its growing.

Just weeks ago, a white supremacist hate group calling itself the Goyim Defense League projected a laser image praising Adolf Hitler onto an overpass on I-75 in Cobb County. That same group has been responsible for other displays of hatred in metro Atlanta, tossing leaflets with vile antisemitic messages into suburban yards and staging a protest last summer waving Nazi flags in front of a Cobb County synagogue.

And since the war between Israel and Hamas began, Hillel of Georgia has called on the states universities to step up security as pro-Palestinian demonstrations have sparked fear among Jewish students at Emory, the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech. Anti-Muslim activities have increased, too, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

By coincidence, I talked with Rabbi Sugarman on the first day of Hanukkah, which is known as the Festival of Lights because it celebrates a time more than 2,000 years ago when the Jewish people fought out of the darkness of occupation by an invading army in Jerusalem into the light of freedom.

Rabbi Sugarman told me that Hanukkah kindles his spirit of eternal optimism. Skeptics might call his hope misplaced, but Sugarman said he believes that people of goodwill will come together as they did in the days after the Temple bombing to fight the darkness of antisemitism and bring light to the lives of the Jewish people.

As the old Jewish saying goes, Rabbi Sugarman, from your lips to Gods ear.

Mary Phagan

What I learned about my Jewish identity while performing in the … – The Canadian Jewish News

For the last five months, Ive been stepping into the shoes of a Jewish woman whose husband was lynched for a murder he did not commit.

Parade, a musical written and performed on Broadway in the late 1990s, tells the devastating and true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish New Yorker who lived and worked in Atlanta, Georgia in the early 1900s. In 1913, he was falsely accused of murdering 13-year-old Mary Phagana worker at the National Pencil Company where Frank was a supervisor. Since there was no evidence to support the claim that Frank committed the murder, his sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment. However, he was later kidnapped from his cell and hanged by a mob. I play Lucille Frankthe woman who had to watch her innocent husbands lynching.

In Parade, it is clear from the start that Leo embraces his Jewishness. He refuses to change any aspect of himself in order to fit in among the Southerners, using Yiddish words like meshuggeneh in the opening scene. Lucille keeps her Jewishness hidden and doesnt understand why Leo uses Yiddish words.

When I perform this scene as Lucille, I cant help but feel that she wants her family to live as Jews of discretion, an idea from the film Call Me By Your Name that replays in my head every time I step on stage.

Growing up in Thornhill, a heavily Jewish suburb just north of Toronto, I find myself relating to Leo. I went to Jewish schools and summer camps, and my family hasnt missed a Shabbat dinner since I was born. In my family, the Jewish holidays are unfailingly a balaganthe Yiddish term for chaos. I have always welcomed this chaos, as this is a time for my family to celebrate our Jewish identity. I even found my way into the Jewish school system in my professional life, teaching high school drama. I wear my Jewishness proud.

These days, though, I find many in my community relating more closely to Lucille.

Ive lived in downtown Toronto for over three years. I have seen countless protests, rallies, and politically motivated messages plastered around the city. These things never really phased me.

Over the last few weeks, however, these messages have shifted. I have seen swastikas, messages calling Jews pigs, and almost worst of all, images of Jewish kidnap victims being torn down.

One of my closest friends told me that she took her mezuzah down. Another told me she hides her Star of David necklace on the subway. In 2023.

These days, as much as I want to wear my Jewishness loud and proud, I catch myself feeling as though its safer to be like Lucille.

Since Oct. 7, Ive felt a greater weight when working on Parade. Ive been reminded of the consequences of complacency, and that antisemitism truly doesnt care whether a Jew observes Shabbat or the High Holidays. A Jew is a Jew.

I am fortunate to have non-Jewish friends in my life who have reached out to me with care, particularly when there was a verbal threat of violence against the Jewish school where I teach.

Ive also seen many non-Jews remain silent. I almost dont blame them. For many, calling out antisemitism, it seems, is a controversial proclamation which excuses all the actions of the Israeli government.

In light of this, it often feels like Jews dont count in mainstream activism. Its hard for some people to see Jews as a marginalized group. The Holocaust occurred over 75 years ago, and many Jews have enjoyed exceptional success since then.

However, Leo Frank was lynched in 191524 years before the Jews faced a genocide that they still have not recovered from.

Leo Frank was lynched 108 years before I walked past a swastika on my way home in Toronto.

Parade is on stage Nov. 9-12 at NewRoads Centre for the Arts.

Jesse Levy is a teacher and actor based in Toronto.

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What I learned about my Jewish identity while performing in the ... - The Canadian Jewish News

Mary Phagan

Top 10 Broadway Musicals That Seem Great for Kids but Aren’t – Listverse

Musical theater can be a magical thing for a child. The first time they see Wickeds Elphaba rise to the top of the theater, or the chandelier come crashing down in Phantom, can be a memory theyll never forget.

Of course, some shows might not make such a great impact. Occasionally, parents have a tendency to make rash decisions, and some of those end up turning into nights at the theater with kids, watching shows they probably shouldnt be seeing.

These shows arent necessarily bad for children to see. Still, because of somethingits title, famous song, etc.parents may be misled into believing the musical is something its not. And that can lead to an uncomfortable performance for all involved.

So lets head backstage and look at ten Broadway musicals that arent the ones you want your kids watching.

Related: Top 10 Broadway Musicals Youve Never Heard Of

Although its one of the most famous musicals of all time, it might not be the best way to introduce your child to the world of theater.

Cats has a famously convoluted plot that may be difficult for most kids to understand. (Im 23 and barely understand it myself.) In general, the idea is that a group of cats in London are each competing to go to the Heaviside Layer, which is their version of heaven.

Although the show can certainly be a lot of fun, its quite confusing, and a child may not understand whats happening. To top it off, in an effort to transport the audience from a theater to this magical world where cats seem to rule the earth, most productions utilize heavy makeup and interact with the audience when they can, which can be unsettling, to say the least.[1]

The original Broadway production of Spring Awakening starred Jonathon Groff and Lea Michele, both cast members of the hit TV series Glee. Although Glee isnt necessarily a show for children, it was popular with tweens upon its first release and remains so today.

Naturally, these tweens might find themselves drawn to a Broadway musical that featured both Groff and Michele, but Spring Awakening may not be the best idea. Based on the play of the same name from the 1890s, the show is about a young girl (played by Michele) who is raped by a boy (played by Groff). She becomes pregnant and must get a botched abortion, which ends up killing her.

Side plots include incest and sexual abuse from parents, as well as suicide: Pretty far from Groff and Micheles time on Glee, when they just had to worry about their glee club making it to nationals.[2]

Along with Cats, Hair is one of the most pivotal and famous musicals of all time. But despite this distinction, few people know much about the actual plot. Its not just zany singers in wigs: The show is a political art piece criticizing warthe Vietnam War specifically.

Our main characters do drugs, have sex, and swear throughout the entire show. It is integral to the plot, which aims to show what hippie tribes were really doing and talking about during the age of Flower Power.

But the main reason parents should try to steer clear of Hair is one particular scene in which the actors are presented fully nude. This might not be a big deal to some families, but its definitely something to be aware of before bringing the kids (or the in-laws!).[3]

Dont let the name fool you: Parade is not a lighthearted night at the theater.

The titular parade isnt the fun-filled extravaganza youd expect. Rather, it refers to the parade that the people of Atlanta, Georgia, plan to throw once Leo Frank is hanged for raping and murdering a young girl.

Based on true historical events, Parade follows Frank as hes accused of this heinous crime and the gross injustice that follows. Besides the devastating story of Mary Phagan, the girl whos been murdered, Parade also takes a look at the extreme anti-Semitism that caused Frank to be accused and his trial to be sensationalized and botched.

All in all, this is one of the heaviest and most heart-wrenching shows to be mounted on the Great White Way and one that adults still have trouble fully comprehending. Anyone whos done a bit of research on the show would know that going in, but if someones bought tickets based on the title alone good luck.[4]

I know, its almost sacrilegious to say that the iconic West Side Story isnt great for young ones, but its true.

Plenty of kids media is based on Shakespeare. Take Gnomeo and Juliet, for example. But while Gnomeo and Juliet takes Shakespeares tragedy and turns it into a garden trinket-themed farce, West Side Story somehow makes it even more violent.

Everyone knows the main songs from the show: Maria, One Hand, One Heart, and I Feel Pretty. These songs may seem hopeful and innocent, but the plot is not. The love story is only one part of the show, as the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks results in extreme racism and violence, culminating with the violent death of the protagonist. And thats not even mentioning the several references to rape, including one where the beloved character Anita is almost sexually attacked by the Jets.

So maybe stick with the gnome version for the first few years.[5]

Yet another misleading title.

The fun home in question is short for a funeral home, where the main character, Alison, lives with her brothers and parents.

This musical is a biography of writer and artist Alison Bechdel. Today, shes a lesbian icon, but in her youth, she was just a young girl struggling with her sexuality.

She and her brothers romp around the funeral home, playfully introducing the audience to aneurysm hooks and smelling salts. And while there are some sexual overtones from Alisons first girlfriend, Its not the fun home or sex that makes this show a little too adult for young ones.

Turns out Alisons father is also struggling with his sexuality and deals with it by going out cruising and hooking up with barely legal men. Alison tries in vain to get her father to both accept her and himself, but in the end, he chooses suicide over facing the truth.

Not very fun. [6]

Dont let the exclamation point fool you: Oliver! is no walk in the park.

People often assume this adaption of Dickenss Oliver Twist is a childrens show. Its an easy mistake to make, considering the show is named after a young boy, and much of the cast is made up of children. And Im not saying that children dont enjoy or shouldnt see Oliver!just that some people may not be aware of how dark the content truly is.

The plot follows Oliver, abandoned at birth, as he weaves his way through Victorian London. The original book was written as a critique to show how horribly poor people and orphans lived on the streets in those days, and it certainly shows. Oliver is put through trials and tribulations, such as being kept in a coffin, being sold to whoever wants him, and eventually surviving a brutal murder attempt.

Nancy, a prostitute, is one of the only true friends Oliver makes in his time on the streets. So, of course, she winds up brutally murdered by her boyfriend, leaving Oliver alone to grieve at the end of the show.[7]

Theres a reason the kids are played by adults in this one.

This musical focuses on a group of children who are brought together by, you guessed it, a spelling bee. Each one loves spelling, and each has a reason for why they absolutely need to win.

Although the show starts off fairly tame, with the kids arguing about the difficulty of spelling and getting to know each other, it quickly takes a darker turn. From learning that one childs family openly mocks him for his stupidity to two girls breaking down over the pressure they face at home and from school, Putnams characters become three-dimensional faster than you can spell character development.

When contestant Olive is asked to spell the word chimerical, which means wildly fanciful, she begins a daydream song in which her parents repeat I love you and apologize for abandoning her. At the end, of course, her parents (who did not come to the bee) fade away, leaving her alone onstage after one of the most heartbreaking songs in musical theater. It is during this song that the audience also learns Olive may be being abused by her father at home.

But dont worry, its not all sad. Just look at the Act 2 opener: My Unfortunate Erection.[8]

Into the Woods might be fine for kids as long as you leave after Act I. In fact, this is so true that the officially licensed junior version of the show only includes the first hour and a half.

Anyone familiar with Stephen Sondheims other works would know that he generally writes complicated plays that tackle intimate issues that children wouldnt find particularly interesting. To be fair, though, with main characters like Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Prince Charming, and Rapunzel, its easy to see why parents take their kids along to see Into the Woods.

Theres nothing that necessarily makes Into the Woods inappropriate, per se. No foul language or graphic scenes of violence or sex. But unless your kids are mature enough to watch Prince Charming cheat on Cinderella and Red Riding Hoods mother die, its best to steer clear.

Its a fairy tale with no happy ending and some lessons that are hard to swallow no matter how old you are.[9]

Much like cartoons, puppetry has become nearly exclusively associated with childrens entertainment. But as TV shows like South Park have shown us, animation can be very adult.

Avenue Q is to puppets what The Simpsons was to TV: Proof that any art form can be made for grown-ups. With cuddly, fuzzy main characters splashed across advertisements, its an easy mistake for parents to think Avenue Q is a family-friendly Sesame Street-type of show. Which it is in a way.

But instead of teaching kids to tie their shoes and count to ten, this musical instructs adults what to do with a useless college degree, how to use the internet to find porn, and how to address your roommates sexuality. The show is a satire of Sesame Street, but unfortunately, not everyone does their homework before seeing a show. So many parents have unsuspectingly brought children that the official website of the original Broadway production had to add a disclaimer that young children should not attend.[10]

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Top 10 Broadway Musicals That Seem Great for Kids but Aren't - Listverse

Mary Phagan

Holocaust survivor faces torrent of online abuse on Elon Musk’s X … – Ynetnews

Lucy Lipiner is no stranger to antisemitism. A 90-year-old Holocaust survivor, she was forced to live through one of the worst atrocities to ever take place in human history. Yet her lived experience still hasnt prevented the torrent of antisemitic abuse that she, and all Jewish people, currently are experiencing on social media in particular on Elon Musks X (formerly known as Twitter). This week was no exception.

Lipiner, who boasts just under 30,000 followers on the platform, says she regularly uses social media to engage and push back against the rising antisemitism that she is seeing.

2 View gallery

Holocaust survivor Lucy Lipiner regularly uses social media to call out Holocaust denial and revisionism

(Photo: Tel Aviv Institute)

I was appalled at the rise in antisemitism that seemed more blatant less hidden than in the past and more like what we had seen before the war in Europe. I felt, as a survivor, compelled to speak up, she told Ynet.

And she has definitely spoken up. Lipiner regularly uses social media to call out Holocaust denial and revisionism, using her own personal story from Nazi-occupied Poland, as well as her own collection of family photos from the Holocaust, to share the truth.

From taking on former UFC fighter Jake Shields for spreading antisemitic conspiracies to calling out anti-feminist right-wing pundit Pearl Davis for her antisemitic song, to exposing the antisemitism in UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albaneses tweets, Lipiner is extremely active in the conversation on the X platform.

Lipiner considers anti-Zionism a form of antisemitism.

I also thought the rise of BDS was simply a veiled form of antisemitism in the guise of anti-Zionism, which increasingly felt like nothing less than todays version of age-old hatred of Jews, she said.

This week, when she published a post on X about the anniversary of the lynching of Leo Frank, she was met with a massive onslaught of white supremacist antisemitism in response. The result was a community note a fact-checking tool meant to add context to tweets - which incorrectly stated that Leo Frank, the victim of the lynching, murdered and raped a 13-year-old girl. In fact, Frank was wrongly convicted for the rape and murder of Mary Phagan, in a case that is widely believed to be permeated with blatant antisemitism akin to the Dreyfus affair.

I tweeted about the 108th anniversary of the lynching of an innocent Jewish man Leo Frank who was accused of murder amidst a horrifically antisemitic community environment. His lynchers were never brought to Justice. A community note says it all: antisemitism is still alive and kicking today, she said.

Beyond the community note, the responses to her tweet were also antisemitic. One comment read: Gee its almost like they were kicked out of 109 countries for a reason Another: You don't have to be in colonized Palestine to defend the indefensible, you simply have to be a zionist.

While hundreds pushed back and eventually the X platform removed the community note, the evidence of the antisemitic mob remains. Lipiner said that she routinely receives ugly antisemitic threats and messages in her private messages on social media as well, including users mocking her with Holocaust jokes about gas chambers.

Hate-filled trolls seem to enjoy engaging with me. Mostly they deny the Holocaust ever happened or diminish it, compare it to other events- or a favorite of trolls is to co-opt the term Nazi, using it to describe Israel and its right to defend itself against terror, she said.

In another message, Lipiner shared with Ynet, an X user wrote to tell her that she is not a real Jew and that the Torah says the Jews were and are a black race of people. You're not black so stop spreading lies to the public. We are sick and tired of you stealing our history. Not the real Jews is a phrase most commonly used by Black supremacists including Louis Farrakhans Nation of Islam and the Black Hebrews movement - claiming Black people, and not Jews, are the true chosen people of God.

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Holocaust survivor Lucy Lipiner pushes back against antisemitism on social media

(Photo: Tel Aviv Institute)

Yet in the face of such vile conversation, Lipiner isnt backing down; instead, shes doubling down.

The trolls honestly dont bother me. Ive dealt with so much worse, and I guess I must be relevant, she joked. But she is concerned about the level of vitriol on social media, in particular X.

On paper, these platforms may look fair and as if they are searching for the correct balance on the fine line between free speech and hate speech, but in Elon Musks case I think he has shown his true personal feelings and that is influencing what he allows to stand on X, she explained.

Concerns of antisemitism and other forms of cyberbullying have only intensified over the past week, with Musk announcing that he intends to do away with the blocking feature completely.

Despite the challenges, however, Lipiner sees participation in social media as a critical tool.

The role of social media is simple, she said, "to educate, educate, educate. People are reacting to this instantaneous, immediate gratification with less thought than ever before. Slogans carry enormous weight on social media allowing people to latch on to antisemitism and racist attitudes as if its the flavor of the month.

To help push back against the harassment, threats and intimidation, which have become almost expected for a Jewish person on social media today, Lipiner has partnered with the Tel Aviv Institute to help Jewish and non-Jewish influencers combat antisemitism online.

Hen Mazzig, co-founder of the Tel Aviv Institute told Ynet: We work with over one hundred Jewish online content creators and influencers, but no one has the stamina that Lucy has to fight antisemitism online. Every time she speaks at our signature content creator laboratories the participants are blown away by her courage, tenacity and tireless dedication to speaking truth to power.

Lipiners best advice for those in the fight against antisemitism is to: Have a thick skin, do your research, be as honest as possible, and always work toward a greater good, even if it seems like an impossible dream.

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Holocaust survivor faces torrent of online abuse on Elon Musk's X ... - Ynetnews

Mary Phagan

Today in History – Record Herald

Today is Thursday, Aug. 17, the 229th day of 2023. There are 136 days left in the year.

Todays Highlight in History:

On Aug. 17, 1982, the first commercially produced compact discs, a recording of ABBAs The Visitors, were pressed at a Philips factory near Hanover, West Germany.

On this date:

In 1807, Robert Fultons North River Steamboat began heading up the Hudson River on its successful round trip between New York and Albany.

In 1863, federal batteries and ships began bombarding Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor during the Civil War, but the Confederates managed to hold on despite several days of pounding.

In 1915, a mob in Cobb County, Georgia, lynched Jewish businessman Leo Frank, 31, whose death sentence for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan had been commuted to life imprisonment. (Frank, whod maintained his innocence, was pardoned by the state of Georgia in 1986.)

In 1945, the George Orwell novel Animal Farm, an allegorical satire of Soviet Communism, was first published in London by Martin Secker & Warburg.

In 1978, the first successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight ended as Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman landed their Double Eagle II outside Paris.

In 1987, Rudolf Hess, the last member of Adolf Hitlers inner circle, died at Spandau Prison at age 93, an apparent suicide.

In 1988, Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq and U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel (RAY-fehl) were killed in a mysterious plane crash.

In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave grand jury testimony via closed-circuit television from the White House concerning his relationship with Monica Lewinsky; he then delivered a TV address in which he denied previously committing perjury, admitted his relationship with Lewinsky was wrong, and criticized Kenneth Starrs investigation.

In 1999, more than 17,000 people were killed when a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Turkey.

In 2004, at the Athens games, Romania won its second straight Olympic gold medal in womens gymnastics; the United States took silver while Russia won the bronze.

In 2011, Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Beijing to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

In 2020, Texas joined New York, New Jersey and California as states with at least 10,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths; about 80 percent of the Texas deaths were reported since June 1, after the state embarked on one of the fastest reopenings in the country.

Ten years ago: The attorney for a young man whod testified he was fondled by former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky said his client had reached a settlement, the first among dozens of claims made against the school amid the Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. Nick Davilla threw six touchdown passes and the Arizona Rattlers defeated the Philadelphia Soul 48-39 in the ArenaBowl. Kansas Citys Miguel Tejada was suspended 105 games by Major League Baseball for violating its Joint Drug Program, one of the longest suspensions ever handed down.

Five years ago: President Donald Trump said he had canceled plans for a Veterans Day military parade, citing what he called a ridiculously high price tag; he accused local politicians in Washington of price-gouging. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in an interview with The New York Times, said hed been overwhelmed by job stress, an admission that pushed down the stock value of the electric car company and brought pressure on its board to take action; shares in Tesla tumbled about 9 percent.

One year ago: The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a shakeup of the organization, saying it failed to meet the moment of COVID-19s arrival and needed to become more nimble. A bombing at a mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul during evening prayers killed at least 10 people, including a prominent cleric, and wounded at least 27. Two former Pennsylvania judges who orchestrated a scheme to send children to for-profit jails in exchange for kickbacks were ordered to pay more than $200 million to hundreds of people they victimized.

Todays Birthdays: Former MLB All-Star Boog Powell is 82. Actor Robert DeNiro is 80. Movie director Martha Coolidge is 77. Rock musician Gary Talley (The Box Tops) is 76. Actor-screenwriter-producer Julian Fellowes is 74. Actor Robert Joy is 72. International Tennis Hall of Famer Guillermo Vilas is 71. Rock singer Kevin Rowland (Dexys Midnight Runners) is 70. Rock musician Colin Moulding (XTC) is 68. Country singer-songwriter Kevin Welch is 68. Olympic gold medal figure skater Robin Cousins is 66. Singer Belinda Carlisle is 65. Author Jonathan Franzen is 64. Actor Sean Penn is 63. Jazz musician Everette Harp is 62. Rock musician Gilby Clarke is 61. Singer Maria McKee is 59. Rock musician Steve Gorman (The Black Crowes) is 58. Rock musician Jill Cunniff (kuh-NIHF) is 57. Actor David Conrad is 56. Singer Donnie Wahlberg is 54. College Basketball Hall of Famer and retired NBA All-Star Christian Laettner is 54. Rapper Posdnuos (PAHS-deh-noos) is 54. International Tennis Hall of Famer Jim Courier is 53. Retired MLB All-Star Jorge Posada is 52. TV personality Giuliana Rancic is 49. Actor Bryton James is 37. Actor Brady Corbet (kohr-BAY) is 35. Actor Austin Butler is 32. Actor Taissa Farmiga is 29. Olympic bronze medal figure skater Gracie Gold is 28.

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Today in History - Record Herald

Mary Phagan

Israels summer tourists shrug off protests in favor of holy sites and nightlife – Forward

This article is part of our morning briefing. Click here to get it delivered to your inbox each weekday.

What protests? Israels tourists are focused on holy sites and nightlife

While hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been flooding the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in protest of the governments passage of a law limiting the Supreme Courts power, summer tourists are mainly shrugging off the political strife around them.

Our Mira Fox just returned from 10 days in the holy land, where she talked to travelers about the best places to eat, the best sites to see and polyamory. Very few spoke of the protests roiling the nation.

Choosing to ignore: I think I saw something on Instagram and decided not to dive in because it was four days before my trip and I didnt want to freak myself out, said Rebecca Rhodes, a track and field coach at the University of Utah who was in Jerusalem to recruit athletes.

Tourists walk past shops in the Old City of Jerusalem. (Getty)

Not interested: Birthright pilgrims are still flooding markets, archaeological sites and bars across the country. As important as it is, its not what people came for at all, Michael Even-Esh, a tour guide, said of the protests. And truthfully except for a basic overview it interests them very little.

Geopolitical naivete: A shopkeeper in the tourist-clogged alleys of Jerusalems Old City told Mira that he gets more worried calls from friends overseas about bombings in Syria, and then has to explain that it is an entirely different country. Americans are sorry not so intelligent, he said. They never know whats going on outside.

At left, Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein. At right, the real maestro. (Getty)

Opinion | Can we please stop talking about Bradley Coopers nose? Many Jews online are upset about the prosthetic nose that Cooper wears in the just-released trailer for Netflixs Leonard Bernstein biopic a proxy for their broader feelings over a non-Jewish actor being cast to play a Jewish cultural icon. Not our Laura E. Adkins. There are very real problems facing the Jewish people, she writes.Israels democracy is on the verge of collapse. Hate speech is out of control on social media. And were talking about a nose? But Lauras deputy, Nora Berman, begs to differ. Read their conversation

Opinion | Will Donald Trump finally face his personal Yom Kippur? Elul, the Jewish month of penitence and reflection, began last night. Trumps latest indictment, enumerating 191 criminal acts of conspiracy, reads to our contributing columnist Rabbi Jay Michaelson like the confessional Al Chet prayer, including its own repetitive refrain. False claims of voter fraud. This was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy, the indictment says. False accusations against election workers. This was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. Cue Michaelson: Now the Book of Judgment is open, with Trumps alleged misdeeds written out in excruciating detail. Read the essay

Plus

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Palestinians check the damage on a house in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, following an Israeli raid. (Getty)

Israeli forces entered Jenin this morning to arrest two terror suspects, and killed a Palestinian man with a gun during the process. (Times of Israel)

Roughly 80% of new Israeli startups are choosing to incorporate in the United States, according to a new survey. Thats quadruple the 20% of new companies that did so last year. (Reuters)

A light rail through Tel Aviv has been in the works for decades. It officially opens on Friday. (Haaretz)

The leading vote-getter in Argentinas national primary elections this week, Javier Milei, could become the countrys first Jewish president. First hed have to win in October and complete a conversion hes working on. Milei, a far-right economist, was raised Catholic but studies with a rabbi regularly. (JTA)

Vandals in Berlin destroyed windows at the offices of a foundation that manages Holocaust memorial sites. This comes after a telephone booth-sized library of free Holocaust books in the city was destroyed in a fire last week. (JTA)

A new artificial intelligence app lets users instant-message with biblical figures like Job, Lot and Ruth. Some of the characters, including the prophet Isaiah and King Solomon, require a $2.99 monthly subscription. (Religion News Service)

Shiva calls Rabbi Chai Yitzchak Twerski, known as the Rachmastrivka Rebbe, died at 92 Jerry Moss, co-founder of A&M Records and member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, died at 88 Marc Becker, former chairman of the board at the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York, died at 51.

A picture of Leo Frank in the memoir of Ab Cahan, the founding editor of the Forward. (Courtesy of YIVO)

On this day in history (1915): Leo Frank, a Jewish factory superintendent, was lynched by a mob in Marietta, Georgia. Frank had been convicted for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan a conviction most historians view as wrongful in a case that launched both the birth of the Anti-Defamation League and the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan. When the Forwards PJ Grisar met Ben Platt, who played Leo Frank in the Broadway musical Parade, to read Franks letters, Platt was struck by Franks sense of hope in the face of injustice.

In honor of Robert DeNiros birthday, check out our secret Jewish history of the acclaimed actor.

Our senior political reporter, Jacob Kornbluh, talked with me and Laura yesterday about how President Biden is walking a tightrope in his approach to Israel as the presidential election ramps up. Biden hasnt taken any tactical moves to hold the Netanyahu government accountable, Jacob said. It has to do a lot with Bidens genuine love for Israel. Hes famous for saying you dont have to be a Jew to be a Zionist. Watch the episode above, or subscribe to That Jewish News Show wherever you get podcasts.

Thanks to Rebecca Salzhauer and Talya Zax for contributing to todays newsletter.

You can reach the Forwarding team at [emailprotected].