MTEA Journal

Addressing Anti-Semitism Inclusive Musical Theatre Pedagogy

Gwen Walker, Max Chernin, Eliana Rubin, Jonah Schwartz, and Becca Suskauer

Source:  MTEA Journal, Volume 5, January 2024, pp. 8-15

Publisher: Musical Theatre Educators' Alliance

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62392/MCQN9899

In February of 2023, neo-Nazi protesters heckled the audience members outside of the musical Parade on Broadway. Parade is a musical about a historical antisemitic lynching. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reports that anti-Semitic incidents in the United States in 2022 added up to a total of 3,697 counts of assault, harassment, and vandalism (Anti-Defamation League, 2023). This represents the largest number of incidents against Jews since tracking began decades ago.

This article is the transcription of a focus group with special guests Max Chernin (Brooklyn-based actor who most recently was the U/S for Leo Frank in Parade on Broadway), Eliana Rubin (queer and trans artist and educator who serves as the Education Manager in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Jewish Education Project), Jonah Schwartz (current fourth-year BFA musical theatre major at Penn State University who serves as an intern with the Kennedy Center Social Media Impact Programming Department), and Becca Suskauer (actor and activist who is the founder of The Jewish Theatre Advocacy Coalition), panelists address what musical theatre educators can do to amend current practices that are harming our Jewish musical theatre family. Focus group hosted by Vice President of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for The Musical Theatre Educators’ Alliance, Gwendolyn Walker.

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