After a decade of ideological conformity, is American theater ready to laugh at itself again?
This week I’m joined by Broadway star, comedian, and producer PJ Adzima, founder of Stage Time NYC and producer of Slam Frank—a mind-melting new musical that reimagines The Diary of Anne Frank through “an intersectional, multi-ethnic, genderqueer, Afro-Latin hip-hop lens.” (You read that right.)
Slam Frank was conceived by composer and lyricist Andrew Fox, who was stunned and inspired by a Twitter thread in which someone asked, “Did Anne Frank ever examine her white privilege?” (You also read that right.) A play within a play about a progressive theater company twisting itself into knots trying to stay on the right side of history, the show has provoked both walkouts and rave reviews—including in The New York Times. (Again, you read that right.)
PJ and I discuss the transformation of the theater world over the past decade, the legacy of The Book of Mormon (in which he starred for many years), the “Dear White American Theater” manifesto, and why he believes great art cannot be created by checking ideological boxes. We also talk about what happens when artists prioritize pleasing everyone over having a point of view—and why live performance still matters in an era dominated by algorithms and social media.
We’ve recently added PJ as a guest at our Small Gathering for Big Ideas retreat, Oct 19-21 in Kingston, NY. He joins fellow speakers John McWhorter and Lisa Marchiano. Spaces are filling fast. Info here.
Slam Frank opens off-Broadway at New York’s Orpheum Theater in September. Check out its Instagram page here.
Guest Bio
PJ Adzima starred on Broadway in The Book of Mormon and is the founder of Stage Time, an underground-style variety theater company and artist collective in New York City. He is also producer of Slam Frank, a satirical hip-hop musical that tells the story of Anne Frank "through an intersectional, multi-ethnic, genderqueer, Afro-Latin-hiphop lens.”
Housekeeping
🎬 I just released some short videos talking about The Unspeakeasy and what our retreats are like. X/Twitter seems to be throttling them, so please click on over to nudge the algorithm, or check them out on YouTube.
🎏 New format (slightly new, anyway): For the next several months at least, the “official” podcast will publish every other week. (This is one of those.) On the weeks in between, I will do a Substack livestream — exact date and time TBD. The livestream itself is open to all, but the recording will be posted for paying subscribers only. So it’s never been a better time to upgrade your subscription! My most recent livestream was July 21 with Paul Garcia Ryan. Recording here.
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