POEM ALERT: Why Is The New Yorker’s Editor Playing Al Franken?

Senator Franken’s departure from public life post-#MeToo has divided many in the Democratic party Image by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Editor’s Note: A report that New Yorker David Remnick will be playing the role of Al Franken in a one-night-only Public Theater has moved our correspondent to verse, for better or worse.
One is a hero of the liberal bastion
The other’s prose stylings are always in fashion
When the latter acts the former, on Thursday next
The alt-right will take to 4chan, and kvetch.
One is an editor, the other a Senator —
What combination could more anger the redditors?
It takes chutzpah to step into Al Franken’s shoes
David Remnick, we’re sure, will pay adequate dues.
Why will Remnick play Franken? You’ll find out when
He steps into the role in “All The President’s Men?”
It’s an import from London, an immigrant show
We’re not at war with the Brits yet, so on it will go.
For one brilliant night, Remnick and Co. will perform
Scenes from confirmations that trespassed the norm
Of Pruitt and Price, Sessions and Tillerson
Played by Remnick, Ron Rifkin, and Staceyanne Chin —
— to name just a few. When these luminaries gather,
Will they lampoon the government, like Facebook hero Dan Rather?
Or will their deft recitations of authorities’s preaching
Come out urgent and earnest, perhaps even beseeching?
What is America? Where will Trump’s cabinet lead it?
Will corruption proliferate? What can we do to beat it?
Will they let the sea rise, the bears enter our schools?
Will they use their own agency, or be merely tools?
When Remnick plays Franken, will he reassure?
Will his storming provoke? Will his reason inure?
There are ways to imagine, only one way to know —
Just a commitment of time: Go see the show.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Gaza and Trump have left the Jewish community at war with itself — and me with a bad case of alienation
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Fast Forward 5 Jewish senators accuse Trump of using antisemitism as ‘guise’ to attack universities
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.