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The Diary of Anne Frank
by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett
Newly Adapted by Wendy Kesselman
Directed by Josh Costello

Back Stage West Critic's Pick
Roar of the Crowd Winner - Los Angeles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THEATER ARTICLE

Remembering Anne Frank
by Mira Tweti, Orange County Jewish Life

March 3, 2005

Anne Frank would be a lovely old lady now if she had lived through the war. She would probably have celebrated her 75th birthday this past June with children, grandchildren, friends, and admirers there to usher in her auspicious day. But as it is, we must keep her memories alive and celebrate without her physical presence. Instead, we celebrate her life with the spirit and the wisdom of her words. It is through her diary writings, such as this one, that we know her best:

"It’s difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals; they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart. It's utterly impossible for me to build my life on a foundation of chaos, suffering and death. I see the world as slowly being transformed into a wilderness, I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too, I hear the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better..."

To complement the occasion of her 75th birthday, is the 50th anniversary of the play, The Diary of Anne Frank, which had its premiere on Broadway in 1955. The Diary of Anne Frank ran for more than 18 months and was honored with the Pulitzer Prize, five Tony Awards, including Best Play, the Critics’ Circle Award, and a Theatre World Award. This month the Chance Theater Repertory Company in Anaheim is staging a production of the The Diary of Anne Frank to commemorate both occasions.

The story of Anne Frank’s short life is a tragic but poignant one. She was born in Germany on June 12, 1929. Her parents, Otto and Edith, came from respected German families. Otto had served as an officer in the German army during WWI, a rank reserved for the upper class.

In 1933, when Anne was just 4 years old, Hitler's party came to power. Fearing for their future in Germany, Anne’s parents decided to move north to the Netherlands where they believed they would be safe.

By the mid-1930s the Franks had settled back into a normal routine in Amsterdam. The girls attended school, the family took vacations at the beach, and their circle of Jewish and non-Jewish friends grew. But in May 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands, and the Franks were once again forced to live under Nazi rule. Anne, who had been attending the local Montessori school, could not return after summer recess of 1941, because by then it was illegal for her to attend school with non-Jews.

In early July 1942, Anne’s older sister, Margot, 16, received a notice to report for deportation to a labor camp. The Franks knew they must hide or flee. As they already had a place in mind – a secret annex of rooms above Otto Frank's office at 263 Prinsengracht -- the family moved in there with four other Jews. Unable to venture outside for fear of capture, they were protected and supported for the next 25 months by Otto’s loyal co-workers. It is here, in this limiting and terrifying environment that Anne writes.

In addition to her diary, she produces a wealth of other work including personal reminiscences, short stories, fables, and an unfinished novel. “She was a serious writer, gifted, even sophisticated, given her circumscribed life situation,” says Mary Geary of the Anne Frank Center in New York City. “She commented on the human condition, expressed her ideas, ideals, hopes, and dreams.”

At approximately 10 a.m. on August 4, 1944, the Frank family's greatest fear materializes: A Nazi policeman and several Dutch collaborators appear at 263 Prinsengracht having received an anonymous phone call informing them that Jews are hiding there. The police head straight for the bookcase that leads to the Secret Annex. Anne and her sister Margot are taken to a transit camp at Westerbork.

On September 3, the girls are transported on the very last Auschwitz-bound transport to leave Westerbork. A month later, Anne and Margot are moved from Auschwitz to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. Thousands die from planned starvation and epidemics at Bergen-Belsen, which is without food, heat, medicine, or elementary sanitary conditions. The two sisters die within days of each other. Even more tragic, Anne succumbs from typhus just one month before the Allies liberate the camp. She was fifteen years old.

Near the end of her confinement in the annex was this diary entry, "How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment, we can start now, start slowly changing the world!” The diary pages were left scattered behind when the Nazis took the family away. They were collected and preserved by one of Otto’s confidants who gave them to her father, the only family survivor, after the war. Two years later Otto had them published into a book called, The Diary of a Young Girl. It has now been translated into 67 languages and is one of the most widely read books in the world.

Many people aren’t aware that Otto held back about a third of Anne’s writings from the original book. Published just two years after so much trauma and loss, he omitted the pages which show Anne as a struggling teenager who, like most teenage girls her age, had issues with her mother and her burgeoning sexuality.

When Otto died, he willed the missing pages to the Anne Frank Center in New York City. This non-profit organization facilitates exhibits, educational programs, workshops, and special events. Its mission is to “inspire the next generation to build a world based on compassion, mutual respect, and social justice.” Interestingly, today the center is staffed entirely by non-Jews. “We all connected to this cause,” says Geary, “as meaningful and important work.” Their commitment is a testament to the transcendental quality of Anne’s legacy.

In 1995 the center published The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition with the missing pages included. Two years later, playwright Wendy Kesselman revised the original play incorporating the omitted writings. This new adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank premiered at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway in December 1997 and went on to win two Tony Awards, including Best Play Revival. The New York Times review said it was “Undeniably moving. It shatters the heart. The evening never lets us forget the inhuman darkness waiting to claim its incandescently human heroine.” And it was named one of the year’s ten best plays by Time Magazine.

It is this later version that the Chance Theater Repertory Company is producing this month. The theater is also finalizing arrangements with the Anne Frank Center to display “Anne Frank Story Exhibit,” a traveling exhibit that shows through photos and documents, the progression of events in the life of this remarkable young girl.

The Chance Theater Repertory Company’s The Diary of Anne Frank opens on Friday, March 11, and runs for a total of twenty-three performances through April 17.

A Thursday night preview performance and post-show discussion with cast and crew is scheduled for March 10 at 8 p.m. for $15.

Friday, March 11, $25 opening night gala tickets include champagne and refreshments following the performance.

For all other performances, tickets are $20 general admission and $17 for seniors and students with I.D. Show times are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. There is also a $35 dinner and show package. For more information, visit www.chancetheater.com or call (714) 777-3033.

The Chance Theater is located at 5552 E. La Palma Avenue, in Anaheim.

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THEATER ARTICLE

'Diary of Anne Frank’ on stage at The Chance Theater
Exhibit from Anne Frank Center in New York salutes the show’s 50th Anniversary.
by Diane Reed, Anaheim Hills News

March 11, 2005

"July 6, 1942: A few days ago, father began to talk about going into hiding. He said it would be very hard for us to live cut off from the world."

That entry in the private journal of 12-year-old Anne Frank, sets the stage for the local performance of a Pulitzer Prize-winning show that is being celebrated for its 50 years on the stage.

The Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills is commemorating The Diary of Anne Frank anniversary by presenting the 1997 adaptation of the show by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett.

It was adapted by Wendy Kesselman.

The new version of this time-honored play was honored with two Tony Awards - including Best Revival of a Play.

Director Josh Costello says the adaptation is, "Shorter, more specific and more engaging."

"We have a wonderful actress, Kristin Norris, who plays Anne," Costello added. "She’s a little older but looks younger and that really works for us."

A unique set design that makes the multi-level stages seem to float in air, is aimed at bringing a fresh new look to the show, as well.

Costello said the set is reminiscent of, "an Escher painting."

The staging helps to update the timeless play about a young Jewish girl and her family who must spend a year and a half in hiding from the Nazis during World War II.

The curtain goes up on a preview performance tonight at 8 p.m. A champagne opening gala will be held on March 11. Tickets to the gala are $25 each. General admission is $20 for other performances. Group rates and student and senior discounts are available.

"Diary" runs through April 17 with performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.

As part of the anniversary, which also marks Anne Frank’s 75 birthday, the local theater is offering a 17-panel exhibit from the Anne Frank Center in New York. It will be on display in the theater lobby, at 5552 E. La Palma Ave. in Anaheim Hills.

The cast includes: Richard Comeau and Michael Irish, Jeff Hellebrand, Annie Mezzacappa, Karen Webster, Bob Campbell, Melanie Gable, Don Walters and Elise St. Clair.

The original play debuted on Broadway Oct. 5, 1955.

"Anne’s writing helps people see the humanity behind the incomprehensible statistics of the holocaust," Costello said.

For reservation information call (714) 777-3033 or go to www.chancetheater.com

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THEATER ARTICLE

'Important Story’ gets a fresh retelling
by Pat O'Brien, Press Enterprise

March 11, 2005


It's been 60 years since 15-year-old Anne Frank died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and 50 years since "The Diary of Anne Frank" made its Broadway debut.

The Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills is commemorating Anne's short life with the 1997 Wendy Kesselman adaptation of the original play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, which runs through April 17.

Many people may have seen the movie version or read Anne's published diary, but director Josh Costello has some surprises for audiences.

"It's such an important story to be telling," Costello said.

For him the challenge is to make the story come so alive that people will forget they know what is going to happen. Although set during World War II, the story is a personal one.

"She is trying to assert herself as an individual. It is her attempt to be seen as the person she wants to be," Costello said.

Most significantly, Costello believes her story helps people put a face on the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust.

The 1955 play was three hours.

"The new adaptation, what it does is cut to the point much more quickly. It's just over two hours. It keeps moving, keeps you guessing," Costello said. "It's also more theatrical in the way scenes work in transition."

The set should also pull the audience in. Anne's family and two others hid on three levels of a tiny annex to a building trying to evade capture by Nazis, and the set has been built on a platform that creates the illusion of different levels.

"It's an Escher-like design," Costello said with a laugh, referring to the graphic artist known for interlocking figures and spatial illusion.

"The way the script works, you have people trying to get away from each other by going to different parts of the annex," Costello said.

In her diary, Anne described it as being on an island that kept them separate from the war but also trapped them.

"That was powerful for me," Costello said.

He thinks the lessons of the Holocaust are particularly relevant in this post 9-11 world.

"We are facing all kinds of new challenges. It's so important that we learn from our history. We need to be aware of the historical context in which we make decisions," he said. "This is a play that really forces people to be more aware of what's going on and that's important for theater to do."

During the run of the play, The Chance Theater will display "The Anne Frank Story," a series of photographs from the Anne Frank Center in New York. It includes pictures from the family album, historic images and entries from Anne's diary. This Sunday's matinee will be followed by speaker Jack Polak, a Holocaust survivor and chairman emeritus of the center.

The play runs at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. $25 opening gala today; $20; $17 seniors, students. 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills. (714) 777-3033.

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THEATER REVIEW

Spunky and fresh as ever, Anne Frank's poignant story continues to reach out to modern audiences across the grave
by Anne-Margret Bellavoine, Northern Lights

March 14, 2005

The Diary of Anne Frank needs no introduction. Few books have touched so many people at an impressionable age. The spunky Jewish-German teen living in hiding in a Dutch annex left a larger than life legacy than that she dreamt of while pouring her soul in scribbled pages. She died, yes, along with six million others during that harrowing time, but her spirit lives on for us all to share and reflect on why the snuffed out light shines on forever.

Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett's original Broadway play opened fifty years ago and garnered numerous awards. Wendy Kesselman's revival received critical acclaim, capturing the intensely claustrophobic isolation in which eight people shared a tiny space in utter fear for a couple of years. Josh Costello's crisp direction plays the gamut from Anne's indomitable, life-affirming spirit as her body awakens to young love, to despair as her mind confronts the unspeakable horrors facing her fellow Jewish people at the hands of the Nazis.

Most haunting are the strident sound design by Costello and Jeremy Golden, and Jon Langrell's stark lighting. Katherine Futterrer's multi-level set floats like a ghost ship on stormy waters as brutal sound bites of screeching steel rails and Gestapo propaganda snippets tear the blood-red night in Anne's nightmares.

Yet, the surreal reality of the Holocaust cannot daunt Anne's impetuous, quicksilver personality and wit as she deals with the monotony and pettiness of daily life amid her familiars in that cramped space. Kristin Norris imbues her portrayal of Anne Frank with boundless vitality, against Michael Irish's lanky and awkward Peter Van Daan. Richard Comeau reprises a role he was born to play as the gentle Otto Frank, Anne's father. Melanie Gable is Margot, Anne's serious sister who sublimates her inner longings for the sake of peace in this forced cohabitation. Annie Mezzacappa is Edith Frank, Anne's mother, rejected by her daughter in a difficult time of their lives, even under the best of modern circumstances, magnanimous in the face of adversity. The Van Daan couple is cold and calculating opposite the Franks, with Don Walters as Mr. Van Daan, not above pilfering scant food resources to selfishly satisfy his gnawing hunger at the others' expense, and Karen Webster as Mrs. Van Daan, hanging on to remains of a more glamorous past symbolized by her fur coat, a gift from her father. Bob Campbell is Mr. Dussel, the dentist who joins the two families as he reluctantly separates from his gentile wife. Elise St. Clair is Miep Gies, the generous Dutch woman who serves as liaison with the outside world, aided by Jeff Hellebrand as Mr. Kraler. Additional voices are owed to Michael Buss.

Amid apocalyptic turmoil in the outside world, the two households live in self-imposed exile to avoid the finality of Hitler's maniacal persecution. Days of utterly quiet hours are spent in stultifying silence while the office below is filled with normal life, preventing even the use of the single toilet. Once the clock strikes six, the tight-knit group is free to chat, bicker, sing, dance, or celebrate Jewish holidays. Cattiness and acts of incredible kindness alternate as these eight individuals while the time away until liberation through allied forces victory or capture and death at the hands of the enemy. The end is ineluctable and is the more difficult to accept as the inhabitants of the annex were betrayed after the Americans' Normandy invasion. The three Frank women perished weeks or even days before the liberation. Yet, regardless of date and time, their fate is as unique and individual as each one of these six million martyr souls sacrificed on the altar of ethnic cleansing and sheer madness embodied in collective guilt.

Even more tragic is the knowledge that this young girl's fate continues to be suffered today and will tomorrow, as long as humans choose to hate.

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THEATER REVIEW

The Diary of Anne Frank
by Shirle Gottlieb, Back Stage West

March 16, 2005

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of Anne Frank's birth, the Chance Theater Company presents Wendy Kesselman's new adaptation of the Frances Goodrich/Albert Hackett play that walked away with the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award 50 years ago. Working with Frank's original unexpurgated diary, the Kesselman script adds insight and wrenching realism to the harrowing experience shared by eight Jewish people during World War II. Hiding from the Nazis in a claustrophobic Amsterdam attic, aided by non-Jewish friends who brought them provisions, the group meagerly survived for almost two years before someone turned them in and they were shipped to Auschwitz. There everyone perished except Otto Frank, who went back after the war and found his daughter's diary in the rubble. Had it not been for the bright articulate 13-year-old who dreamed of becoming an important writer, this revealing account of indomitable human spirit would be lost to the world.

Everything begins in shadows when Otto (brilliantly portrayed by Richard Comeau) finds the diary on the raked stage of Katherine Futterer's astounding set under Jon Langrell's ominous light design. The tragedy unfolds as action from the 10-member cast embodies selected excerpts that Anne reads from her diary. Performing the demanding role of this irrepressible adolescent is Kristin Norris. Her infectious interpretation of the energetic young heroine is absolutely convincing. Also outstanding is Michael Irish as Peter, the awkward young boy who awakens Anne's sensuality. Everyone in the cast deserves credit, especially Don Walters and Karen Webster as the difficult, self-important Van Daans, and Annie Mezzacappa as Edith Frank. Although Josh Costello's slow-paced direction drags at times, he has captured the exact poetic tone, mood, and ambiance needed to underscore the drama. It's almost incomprehensible that these true-life characters died just three days before fellow prisoners were liberated.

"The Diary of Anne Frank," presented by Chance Theater Repertory Company at the Chance Theater, 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim. Thu.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. Mar. 10-Apr. 17. $17-35. (714) 777-3033.

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THEATER REVIEW

'Diary' dictates frank innocence
Chance Theater staging proves that, even 50 years later, Anne Frank's hopeful view still packs a punch.
by Eric Marchese, Special to the Register

March 20, 2005

It's only through a twist of fate that we have the diary of Anne Frank, which gave us the perspective of a Jewish family in hiding from the Nazis during World War II.

Anne kept her diary hidden in her father's briefcase, away from prying eyes. After the Franks were discovered and captured, the Germans emptied the briefcase onto the floor, hoping to discover valuables. Considering them worthless, they left Anne's writings behind, which saved them for posterity.

It wasn't long before Anne's writings were translated into English and published, as "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl," then adapted for the stage by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Their play opened in 1955 and won a Pulitzer Prize for its unblinking look at a family fighting staggering odds to survive, and the observations, hopes and dreams of a preteen girl on the verge of becoming a young woman.

The play's raw honesty, and the heart-tugging contrast between Anne's innocence and the stench of the Holocaust, has always made "The Diary of Anne Frank" an obvious choice for theater companies. In Anaheim, the Chance Theater's staging commemorates the play's 50th anniversary by performing Wendy Kesselman's Tony-winning 1997 adaptation, which returned to the definitive original, unexpurgated edition of "The Diary of a Young Girl" as its source.

If you find yourself weeping, and maybe just a little bit ashamed, while watching this staging, you're not alone. Near the play's end, Otto Frank, the only member of the group to survive the death camps, reads a line out of Anne's diary: "In spite of everything that has happened, I still believe people are really good at heart." A bitter Frank later said those words put him to shame.

Backed by an outstanding production team, director Josh Costello has wrought an organic production whose every facet fits the larger mosaic, forming a harsh, wrenching, bittersweet tale. His staging captures Anne's perspective - of evil as viewed by someone who had only ever known goodness - and he understands Anne as a sensitive observer of humanity, one who loved writing enough to consider it as a probable career. More critically, Costello gets at the heart of the indescribable tedium the group experiences, relating the incredible tension generated by eight refugees living in close confinement for two years, in constant fear of discovery.

For those used to seeing Anne portrayed as a naïve youngster subdued by those around her, Kristin Norris is likely to be a shock. Her Anne is bright, bubbly and excited from the get-go, an impetuous sprite with a dazzling smile and an irrepressible joie de vivre. In private, writing in her diary, she confesses that her buoyancy is only an attempt to suppress her terror at being caught. Norris delivers a luminous performance with a definite arc from the playful girl who at first sees going into hiding as an adventure to an honest 13-year-old glowing about her budding sexuality.

As Otto, the father who has always had a special connection with Anne, Richard Comeau is the group's quiet bedrock, a patient, tactful soul with streaks of defiant resolve. At his return to the hiding place, he relates the group's eventual fate witha tone of disgust and undisguised outrage. Melanie Gable depicts Margot, Anne's studious older sister, as a frumpy, subdued version of Anne. She has the same glowing smile as Norris' Anne, yet doesn't flash it as often. As Otto's wife Edith, Annie Mezzacappa expresses the utter hopelessness of the group's situation and her own despair over Anne's coldness toward her.

As the dysfunctional Van Daan family, Karen Webster, Don Walters and Michael Irish offer a more volatile dynamic than the Franks. Webster and Walters' mild squabbling eventually erupts into nasty acrimony, from which Irish, as gentle, introverted son Peter, retreats. Webster is haughty, Walters is choleric and ill-tempered, and Irish is as ultrasensitive as any teen from any era.

Bob Campbell depicts Mr. Dussel, the dentist who joins the group in hiding in late 1942, as a mild-mannered jokester with wellsprings of deep gratitude and deeper anguish.

Set designer Katherine Futterer's raked, angled stage depicts the various levels and corridors of a musty and cramped attic. Erika C. Miller clothes the cast in joyless grays, tans and washed-out greens and blues, while Jon Langrell's lighting design helps form a tight, effective lens for us to view the drama.

Most evocative, though, is Costello and Jeremy Golden's innovative sound design, which frames the story with vivid noises: Wailing voices and horns suggesting ancient Israel, Hitler ranting before throngs, glass shattering, trains roaring and piano music - Chopin etudes that preserve the delicate melancholy pervading this staging.

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WINNER:

Roar of the Crowd - Los Angeles
by Jim McCarthy, Goldstar Events

March 30, 2005

Chances are, you read the "Roar" by switching on the old desktop, firing up email, wading through all the mortgage and Canadian drugs spam and finally getting to the good stuff. Some readers are too hip for their own computers and read the "Roar" on a PDA. Then, of course, there's the group that still thinks of "PDA" as something you and your boyfriend/girlfriend get in trouble for at school.

It's easy to forget how quickly the Internet has gone from the domain of the basement-dwelling Star Wars fan to something easy and universal enough for children and CEO's to use. It wasn't long ago that "google" was just one variant of the kind of PDA that got you detention hall. Yet here we are just a few years later and the Internet is so unavoidable that even my new toaster has an email address. He's on Friendster if you're interested.

It's natural that with the importance of all things web in our lives that great entertainment should follow, just like one of the two winners on 845 reviews this week:

Googlewhack by Dave Gorman, part of the British Comedy Invasion at UCLA Live in Westwood. Comedian Dave Gorman gets obsessed with the online word game where you try to make Google give you one and only one result. Globetrotting hilarity ensues. Rebecca Hammett calls it "intense, moving, stirring...gripping...on the edge of the seat." Did I mention it's funny? Lee Wochner goes one further, calling it "hugely funny." Debra Carr points out that the show "appealed tremendously to the teens and adults in our family alike!" Salena Chiang says that "Dave is very engaging and you find yourself just rooting for him as he unfolds his tale." Thomas Laverty sums it up by insisting that you "don't waste any more time reading reviews, just go and buy your ticket. Goldstar Events members rated Googlewhack 3.9 out of 4.

The Diary of Anne Frank, at The Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills. Less comical, but just as powerful, the famous story of Nazi-era Germany gets high marks. Autumn Brown calls it "an excellent production [with] great acting!" Priscilla Olivas says "the cast was phenomenal." Toni Merlo brought her young daughter who "absolutely loved the play." Yvonne Luda liked it so much she "would watch it again." Goldstar Events members rated The Diary of Anne Frank 3.7 out of 4.

Isn't it great to live in a world where you can invite my small appliances to see a great show with only the click of a mouse? This week, the Roar says new material for comedy is just one of the many blessings brought to you by the Internet.

Jim McCarthy, Co-Founder of Goldstar Events, read 845 comments about 179 shows this week submitted by Goldstar members.

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