Slam Frank's Hall of Mirrors

Sep 24, 2026

Theater critic and scholar Alisa Solomon joins Russian-American journalist and author Masha Gessen to dissect Slam Frank, a provocative Anne Frank parody steeped in identity politics and Jewish grievance. They debate what the satire targets, whether its Gaza climax and Holocaust humor punch up or down, how Zionism shapes the drama, and whether its slippery interpretations signal artistic success or political evasion.

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INSIGHT

Satire Needs More Than Assumed Good Faith

The satire depends heavily on audiences assuming the creator shares their political commitments while mocking excesses from within.
Masha Gessen compared this posture to Bill Maher’s self-proclaimed liberalism masking grievance from aggrieved white men.

INSIGHT

A Rage-Bait Tweet Became the Play’s Foundation

The play originated in a 2020 tweet asking whether Anne Frank acknowledged her white privilege.
Arielle Angel argued that treating such rage bait as representative of the left reproduces Jewish grievance politics associated with Baddiel and Horn.

INSIGHT

The Satire May Be Fighting Yesterday’s Battle

Arielle Angel questioned the show’s relevance after DEI’s political defeat and asked whether its satire punches up or down.
Alisa Solomon found the work trapped in self-conscious taboo breaking, with no clear target beyond identity politics’ excesses.

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Slam Frank—the satirical play about a Latina “Anita Franco” stuck in the attic with a colorblind cast (à la Hamilton) of daft identitarians—reopened last week Off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre in Manhattan. While some audience members have reportedly been shocked by its irreverent take on a child hero of the Holocaust, some viewers on both the left and the right are convinced that the play reflects their sensibilities and political leanings. The play’s author, Andrew Fox, has declined to say anything about his personal politics, but touchstone books of Jewish reactionary grievance like David Baddiel’s Jews Don’t Count and Dara Horn’s People Love Dead Jews are part of the show’s dramaturgy.

On this episode of On the Nose, Arielle Angel talks to theater critic Alisa Solomon and New York Times columnist M. Gessen about their differing interpretations of the play. The three argue about what the play actually intends to say about the contemporary left, whether the playwright’s own political leanings matter to the read of the play itself, and whether the proliferation of interpretations is a feat or a liability.

Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”

Links and Further Reading

“‘Slam Frank,’ a Daring Satire, and ‘Crooked Cross’ Demand Our Attention,” Laura Collins-Hughes, The New York Times

“The Composer Making a Hip-Hop Musical About Anne Frank,” Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker

Information on Gazi Kodzo, the author of the original “Anne Frank/white privilege” tweet

Jews Don’t Count by David Baddiel, People Love Dead Jews by Dara Horn, and a Jewish Currents review of both books by Linda Kinstler

“Actress Dasha Nekrasova Fired By Gersh, Dropped From Movie Amid Backlash Over Podcast Interview With Far-Right Political Commentator Nick Fuentes,” Matt Grobar, Deadline

Andrew Fox on i24

Slam Frank reviews in the Times of Israel and the Jewish Journal

“Springtime for Hitler,” The Producers

Slam Frank’s Bondi post and Andrew Fox’s apology

“Campus Politics Takes the Stage in ‘The Ally,’” On the Nose, Jewish Currents

“Anne Frank, the Exhibition” at the Center for Jewish History

“Nosegate,” On the Nose, Jewish Currents