MANHATTAN (PIX11) — Mayor Eric Adams took the stage of the Jacobs Theater, to address the audience before Thursday night’s preview performance of “Parade.”
The mayor condemned the protests that took place outside the theater during its first preview performance on Tuesday night. Members of the National Socialist Movement, which has ties to the neo-Nazi movement, spewed hateful rhetoric and called the show’s main character, Leo Frank, a pedophile.
“We send a message out there, that this is not a place where hate lives,” said Adams.
“Parade” tells the true story of Jewish factory manager Leo Frank, who was wrongly convicted in 1913 of raping and murdering a 13-year-old girl in Georgia. He was lynched in 1915 by an antisemitic mob.
During his remarks, Adams reminded the audience that the hate that was on display Tuesday is not representative of New York City.
“The ugly act that took place here was just a scar,” said Adams. “It wasn’t our face. These are our faces. This is the beauty of diversity, particularly in a city like New York.”
