Most of us are familiar with the story of Anne Frank. She was the Jewish girl who kept a diary while hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World War II. Anne, her family, and four family friends hid in an 800-sq. ft. annex for more than two years, with help from employees and friends of Otto Frank, before the Nazis discovered them and sent them all to concentration camps. Her diary was turned into a book, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, which for many of us was required reading in high school.
So when Webster Thomas High School brings The Diary of Anne Frank to the stage next weekend, you know it’s going to be a very moving performance. The set pieces, simple and unadorned, reflect the gravity of the subject. There are a few lighthearted spots, but there are no high-stepping dances or sweeping show tunes, and it’s not a happy ending.
But if you should decide to attend one of Webster Thomas’ three performances, director Mark Stoetzel wants you to remember one thing: “This is not a story about death. It is a story about life.”
In the program’s director’s notes, Stoetzel writes,
The people Anne describes in her diary … were much like any of us. They had jobs, and friends, and favorite songs. They laughed – often at themselves … And they fell in love. But they were not saints. They made mistakes. They annoyed each other. They said things they wished they could have taken back. They complained (a lot). They were, in other words, a lot like us.
So rather than wallow in sorrow, The Diary of Anne Frank asks us to celebrate the safe and happy lives that were denied to the Frank and Van Daan families and have another piece of spice cake. Most of all, it reminds us to celebrate those around us – those we love as well as those we just can’t stand.
Webster Thomas Theater’s production of The Diary of Anne Frank will take the stage on Thursday, Friday and Saturday Nov. 21, 22 and 23, at 7 p.m. each night at the school, 800 Five Mile Line Rd. Reserved seats are $10 each and advance tickets can be purchased online here.
Evelyn Fellows plays Anne and Matteo Serventi is her loving father, Otto Frank. Dominick Mangano, Rylie Biroscak, Jeremiah Fischer, Ella Vernacotola, Brook Hoffer, Mia Fellows, Abigail McNett and Robert LoFaso co-star, supported by 17 other back-stage and crew members.
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(posted 11/15/2024)
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