James Clements' BEAUTY FREAK to be Presented at The Cell Theatre

What Will the Neighbors Say? and Nancy Manocherian's the cell theatre will present the world premiere of “Beauty Freak,” a new play by James Clements, directed by Danilo Gambini, that explores the meteoric rise of filmmaker and Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl. This strictly limited engagement runs April 24 – May 17, 2026 at the cell theatre with an opening set for Thursday, April 30.

“Beauty Freak” centers on Riefenstahl during the creation and promotion of her magnum opus “Olympia,” a film about the 1936 Berlin Olympics commissioned by the Third Reich. Act I is set during the preparations for the Olympics, and Act II during her U.S. publicity tour in 1938, during which the events of Kristallnacht unfolded. As the regime that supports her artistic vision escalates their campaign of terror and commits increasingly flagrant atrocities, Riefenstahl and her colleagues are forced to reckon with their own complicity and responsibilities as artists.

“Beauty Freak” is a provocative, potent and prescient new work, aiming to make audiences think critically about their own choices in our current moment, and the fragility of democracy across the world.

The cast for “Beauty Freak” features Baize Buzan as Leni Riefenstahl along with Sam Hood Adrain as Werner Klingenberg, James Clements as Walt Disney, Peter Coleman as Joseph Goebbels, Luca Fontaine as Max Borgman, Slate Holmgren as Ambassador Hans-Heinrich Dieckhoff, and Keith Rubin as Ernst Jäger.

The creative team for “Beauty Freak” includes Suzu Sakai (scenic design), Stephanie Bahniuk (costume design), Yung-Hung Sung (lighting design), Liam Bellman-Sharpe (sound design), and Isabel Criado (production stage manager). 

Kira Simring, artistic director of the cell theatre, said, “James' play struck us in two distinct ways: first, as a blistering reflection on the persuasive power of aesthetics; and second, as a harrowing allegory for the choices we all make as artists. What are we willing to overlook in order to create, and why? It's a sticky question, but James, What Will the Neighbors Say?, and our entire creative team are determined to crack it open.”

“Beauty Freak,” which has been in development since 2016, has been researched in archives in Berlin, Babelsberg, London, Glasgow and Los Angeles, and informed by interviews with people who knew Riefenstahl. 

Sixteen performances of “Beauty Freak” will take place April 24 – May 17, 2026, at the cell theatre, located at 338 W. 23rd St in Manhattan. Critics are welcome as of Friday, April 24 for an opening on Thursday, April 30. The performance schedule is Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 3:00 PM with an additional performance on Monday, April 27 at 7:30 PM and Saturday, May 16 at 3:00 PM.