Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Three immersive Off-Broadway musicals with unique reasons to sing: SLAM FRANK at the Orpheum, SOON at St. Luke’s, and BEYOND THE STARDUST at The Flea

• By drediman
• October 7, 2026
• No Comments

Thus far this fall, you’ll be able be able to experience three new Off-Broadway musicals that have compelling — albeit very different — reasons to burst into song. Together, they represent the expansive stylistic reach of the musical theater form. Here are my thoughts on these three immersively-staged productions, each bold enough, in their own way, to think outside of the formulaic box.

SLAM FRANK
Orpheum Theatre
Open run

Returning to Off-Broadway, this time at the historic Orpheum Theatre in the East Village, is a souped-up production of Andrew Fox and Joel Sinensky’s ruthlessly truth saying musical parody Slam Frank (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). In this seemingly unassuming show, its creative masterminds have set the story of The Diary of Anne Frank within the play-within-a-play framework of a theatrical adaptation staged by a scrappy, progressive theater company. In this version, the title character has been re-envisioned as a young Latinx woman, and her family as a motley, eccentrically diverse group with representation across race, gender, and sexuality. Fox’s score is a delicious riff on various musical theater styles, smartly sending them up with lyrics that are incisively spot on. Sinensky’s book is razor sharp and hilariously insidious. But most importantly, the material isn’t afraid to push buttons and stir the pot. And boy, does it (no spoilers here!). No one is spared in Fox and Sinensky’s attempt to expose the ridiculousness of the current societal fun house we’ve created. As such, this pointed little musical holds a mirror to the largely absurd world we live in. Indeed, things are repeatedly turned on their head so that you eventually don’t know which way is up, leaving your head spinning. Slam Frank has a delirious ball sending up contemporary theater via sight gags big and small — e.g., the excessive use of Jamie Lloyd-like video camera work — which are brilliantly spun off by a game cast that’s exuberantly led by Olivia Bernábe as Anne Frank. Director Sam Lafrage’s upgraded staging remains as tight as it was at the Asylum, frequently breaking the fourth wall as if to further implicate the audience in the proceedings. It’s hard to tell whether the cast is in on the joke, but by the time we all reach the sobering punch line, it’s too late — Slam Frank has the final say by having already subversively burnt down the house, but not without a deceptively winning smile and a wink. Make no mistake, this stealthy show ultimately has more on its mind than merely a good time.

SOON
Out of the Box Theatrics at The Loft at St. Luke’s Theatre
Through November 8

Inaugurating the new loft performance space at St. Luke’s Theatre in the Theater District is the Off-Broadway premiere of Nick Blaemire’s musical Soon (RECOMMENDED). Given the musical’s pervading concerns regarding anxiety, loneliness, and the perils faced by the environment, it’s funny to learn that the play was actually penned in 2015, before the global pandemic altered things irrevocably (the work premiered at Signature Theatre in Virginia). Set entirely within an East Village apartment, the musical centers on Charlie, a young woman whose fear about the state of the world forces her to self-isolate with her pet goldfish. That is, until she’s intruded upon by Jonah, a grocery deliveryman whose sweetness, patience, and relentlessness finally starts to sway Charlie’s worldview. But will Charlie — played with complexity and palpable anxiousness by the sweet-voiced Ava Delaney — budge from her staunch stance? Blaemire’s score is an introspective concoction that shifts with the character’s meandering, evolving thoughts. Although much of the songs have an improvised, off-the-cuff quality, they effectively evoke mood and the psyches of the characters singing. Sans actor amplification, it takes leaning into a few songs to get accustomed to the volume level, and it’s eventually refreshing — especially given the trend towards assaultive sound design — to hear the voice travel through space via natural acoustics, as sensitively accompanied by an expert band of just three musicians. Although its investigations unto mental health, climate change, and romantic relationships are writ large upon the musical, it does so in dramatically unexpected and ultimately emotionally affecting ways. Those of you expecting a sweeping plot will be left disappointed. Soon is much more of a deep dive character study of Charlie, and even the play’s other characters — her potential love interest Jonah (an endearing Oliver Richman), carefree roommate Steven (the exuberant Mike Millan), and erratic mother Adrienne (quirkily played by Mylinda Hull) — don’t quite have the depth that the show’s disturbed heroine does. I also applaud Will Blum’s exceedingly intimate and immersive production, which places you right into Charlie’s apartment — as if a fly on the wall — although at times, depending where you’re seated, sightlines can occasionally be an issue.

BEYOND THE STARDUST
The Flea
Through October 28

Last but not least is Beyond the Stardust (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) at The Flea. Conceived by Niegel Smith (The Flea’s artistic director) and nightlife duo The Illustrious Blacks (i.e., Monstah Black and Black!), the piece in essence is a blend circus arts, The Rocky Horror Show, a good dose of subculture, and dance club outing. In short, the experience is 70 minutes of pure adrenaline, complete with 12 high octane original songs, spectacular aerial performances, in-your-face go-go performances, burlesque, and even some line dancing (the well-drilled “Stardust Shimmy”!). The closest comparisons I can think of are immersive musical experiences like Here Lies Love on Broadway and, more recently, the unlikely hybrid Off-Broadway production of North Star at Irish Arts Center. The premise is pretty simple — sensing the threat to our civilization’s freedom and joy, fabulous aliens — mythically costumed and indomitably led by The Illustrious Blacks — arrive our solar system from outer space to liberate us through the power of the dance floor and uninhibited queer Black joy. As directed by Smith, the production unfolds organically and surprisingly smoothly, making for a convincing nightclub experience, including a full bar with fun themed drinks. For the experience, The Flea’s largest space has been morphed into an intergalactic, Afro-futuristic dance club known as the Stardust Club, a safe haven for Blacks and Queers. Although The Illustrious Blacks are the evening’s indisputable ringleaders, each performer has a turn (or two) in the spotlight. While they’re not, they are either dancing up a storm as part of the ensemble or engaging directly with the audience. To be fair, a real standout is MC Amazonian Rockstar, a boldly regal presence who is invaluably in helping shepherd the whole thing along (kudos to the rest of the committed alien cast, which includes Courtney J. Cook, DeShawn Marshall, Blaine Petrovia, and Queen Ravenden, each of whom exude their own brand of fierceness and vitality).