When Anne Frank Meets Hip-Hop: Enter Slam Frank

Steven Brandon, Andrew Fox, Alexander Lewis, Joel Sinensky, and STAGE TIME
​Proudly Present

SLAM FRANK

IS A REAL MUSICAL

Starring JOHN ANKER BOW, OLIVIA BERNÁBE, AUSTEN HORNE, ALEX LEWIS, ROCKY PATERRA, ANYA VAN HOOGSTRATEN, JAZ ZEPATOS 

Music & Lyrics by ANDREW FOX

Book by JOEL SINENSKY

Directed by SAM LAFRAGE

LIMITED ENGAGEMENT

SEPTEMBER 17 – OCTOBER 19, 2025 AT THE ASYLUM

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT ASYLUMTIX.COM

STAGE TIME, in association with SLAM FRANK LLC, is pleased to present this fearless and controversial new work SLAM FRANK featuring a razor-sharp score by Andrew Fox (orchestrator/arranger of Starkid: Homecoming, SONDHEIM IN THE STYLE OF…) and a book by Joel Sinensky (Daisy Jones & The Six, Roadies) the show blends the are-they-really-going-there audacity of The Book of Mormon with the incisively dark comedy of Assassins. Following a sold-out industry showcase this spring, SLAM FRANK will have its limited engagement run this fall at Asylum NYC (123 E 24th St, NYC), directed by Sam LaFrage, with performances beginning on Wednesday, September 17 at 9:30 pm. The show has already sold out four weeks of evening performances, with additional matinees and weeks added. Tickets are $60-120, https://asylumtix.com/asylumnyc/SLAM.

Inspired by the viral Twitter thread that asked, “Did Anne Frank ever acknowledge her white privilege?”, SLAM FRANK is a new musical that imagines what happens when a progressive community theater company decides “now is not the time to center privileged, straight, white Europeans (who happened to be hiding from Nazis).”

Instead, they transform Anne Frank’s true story into a genderqueer, multi-ethnic, intersectionally feminist, Afro-Latin hip-hop musical. The result is Slam Frank, a genre-defying musical satire that’s igniting debate long before opening night. The show reimagines Anne Frank’s life through a self-aware lens of overzealous inclusivity: Anita Franco is now a pansexual Latinx girlboss with a hip-hop diary flow; Peter Van Daan is a non-binary dancer struggling against gender norms; and Mister Van Daan, the lone cis male, is literally worse than the Nazis. 

And you, the audience, have the privilege of witnessing it.

CONTENT WARNING: Everything.

Press Is Starting to Take Notice:

The Comedian as Master Troll - Jason Zinoman, New York Times

Anne Frank as a Pansexual Latina Immigrant: Holocaust Hip-hop Musical Causes a Stir in N.Y.C. - Talia Banon Tsur, Haaretz

‘Anne Frank, Superstar’? A satirical musical reimagines the Holocaust victim as a symbol of wokeness. - Joseph Strauss, Jewish Telegraphic Agency

The production stars Olivia Bernábe as Anita, Alex Lewis as Peter, Anya van Hoogstraten as Margot, Austen Horne as Edith, Rocky Paterra as Otto, John Anker Bow as Mr. Van Daan, and Jaz Zepatos as Mrs. Van Daan. Covering the company are Kris Bramson (Female Understudy), Peter Kendall (Male Understudy), and Crystal Stewart (Standby for Edith).

The creative team also includes Associate Director Emily Abrams, Music Director Alex Harrington, Choreographer Nico DeJesus, Assistant Choreographer Arianne Meneses, Costume Designer Sarah Lockwood, Set and Props Designer CJ Howard, Lighting and Live Video Streaming Designer Zach Lobel, and Projections Designer Nicholas Ferrarii. Nikita Chernin serves as Production Stage Manager. Marketing and publicity by Katie Rosin, Kampfire.

The band features Mike Pettry (keyboards/guitar), Jared Decker (percussion), and Joseph Wallace (bass).

Website: https://www.diaryofslamfrank.com/
​@SlamFrankMusical on Instagram

Media Kit with Photos

Please note: This is a developmental production. We are not currently seeking reviews, but welcome members of the press interested in covering the broader conversation around the show. We ask that no spoilers—especially the final twenty minutes—be included in any early coverage.

BIOGRAPHIES

STEVEN BRANDON (PRODUCER) Hailing from Australia, Steven was a successful theatre producer before moving to LA where he sold a comedy pilot to ABC Family and was staffed on the CBS sitcom “Friend Me.” Steven co-wrote and directed Lost: The Musical in 2014 and its remount in 2019. He also co-wrote and produced the LA, San Diego, and Off-Broadway runs of Shame of Thrones: The Musical. Steven produced the successful Los Angeles and Off-Broadway runs of Lewberger and The Wizard of Friendship, and most recently produced and directed the world premiere of The Jewish Priest, The Gangster, & The Magician at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

ANDREW FOX (CONCEPT, MUSIC & LYRICS) In 2020, Andrew co-wrote The Last Magic Negro with Jamil Ellis, which was as successful as you’d expect a show with that title to be. Orchestrations include Starkid: Homecoming and Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier. Andrew produced the SONDHEIM IN THE STYLE OF... visual album and the viral video “A Thousand Giant Steps”, which has more views than it deserves.

SAM LAFRAGE (Director) ​ is an award-winning director and writer, and the founder and Artistic Director of Ragtag Theatre Company. Winner of the Best Performing Arts Company (KidsPass Parent’s Choice Award), Ragtag Theatre Company is a group of diverse artists dedicated to creating fresh and inclusive theatre for families. His productions of Rapunzel and Cinderella have toured the East Coast, and after a sold-out limited engagement run, Cinderella received the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Family Show. His work has been called “New York’s most over-the-top take on Cinderella!” (Time Out New York) and “A Must-See” (Out Magazine).

Both Rapunzel (OBA nominee for Best Family Show) and Cinderella (OBA winner) ran Off-Broadway at the SoHo Playhouse, McGinn/Cazale Theater, and Theatre Row, and have been produced by 11 companies and universities in 5 states. His newest play, Snow White, had its first workshop at Playwrights Horizons, and in 2019, Barrington Stage Company presented the World Premiere of his Hansel and Gretel, with music and lyrics by Lewis Flinn (Lysistrata Jones).

Sam served as the Assistant Director and Drag Consultant on the musical adaptation of Douglas Carter Beane’s To Wong Foo slated for Broadway, and currently directs at Pace University. In 2023, he co-founded the Devised Theatre Ensemble at Barrington Stage Company, which produces brand-new original musicals every year. 

ALEX LEWIS (Actor/Producer) portrays Peter Van Daan in Slam Frank. He’s best known for his viral comedy band Lewberger which tours comedy clubs and theaters around the world, and ran a sold-out off-Broadway show in 2023 titled The Wizard of Friendship. Alex has produced and starred in several musical comedies, including Dear Jerry Seinfeld and Stranger Things The Musical, and can be seen in films and television shows, including Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix, Dexter, Valley Girl, and more. 

JOEL SINENSKY (BOOK) was the recipient of a Humanitas “New Voices” Grant, a Nicholl Fellowship, and was a 2024 fellow with the Almanack Screenwriters Colony. Over more than a decade in Hollywood, he has worked on numerous high-profile productions, including “Roadies” for Showtime, “Daisy Jones & The Six” for Amazon, and the “Wicked” films for Universal Pictures, as well as selling and developing some great shows that never aired. He is a co-writer on "Year Zero", the upcoming comic book anthology series produced by Chapo Trap House. He is represented by CAA and Artists First.

STAGE TIME LLC is a nightlife production company redefining what live entertainment means in New York City. Founded by Broadway actor PJ Adzima and entrepreneur Yuriy Pavlish, STAGE TIME blends the glamour of Broadway with the grit of downtown artistry. Anchored by its hit variety show Stage Time with PJ Adzima, which has its season three premiere on September 8 at the Slipper Room, the company curates one-of-a-kind events that spotlight the most exciting and diverse performers across genres, uniting siloed scenes to create new-age vaudeville entertainment.

STAGE TIME seeks to discover the best in live entertainment, creating original shows and events that unite audiences, foster community, and awaken the city that never sleeps. 

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Photos from June 2025 Reading_Photo credit: Noah Eberhart