Published more than 70 years ago, “The Diary of Anne Frank” teaches crucial lessons about hatred, authoritarianism, perseverance, the human spirit and hope.
A subsequent theatrical production brought the Dutch teenager’s story to the stage, dramatizing visually for audiences the horrors and toll that two years of hiding takes on a family.
In that sense, “The Diary of Anne Frank” is timeless.
But theater is never static. When Staples Players presents their production later this month, it will look different from the one they staged 19 years ago.
David Roth and Kerry Long directed that version too. This one is shorter — 80 minutes — and includes new text, in an adaptation by the playwright.
Sara Stanley, as Anne Frank, writes in her diary. (Photo/Kerry Long)
It is at least as relevant now as it was 2 decades ago, the directors say. And not just because so many Holocaust survivors have died since then.
“With the rise of hatred around the world, this is a good time to tell the story of what happens when it goes unchecked,” Long says.
“The Franks were an educated, well-to-do family. And if this could happen to them …”
“This is not a play about evil, though,” Roth notes. “It’s about surviving in the face of evil. We’ve emphasized with the actors that this is a story of resilience, of people coming together in adversity. There is something in these characters that everyone can relate to.”
“Anne Frank” actors, in the annex. (Photo/Kerry Long)
Despite being one of the most powerful stories in modern history, many students today are only vaguely familiar with Anne Frank, Roth says.
Eighth graders in Westport study the Holocaust. They read “Night,” by Elie Wiesel. But not Frank’s diary.
(Thanks to a collaboration between Players and Bedford and Coleytown Middle School, all 8th graders will attend special in-school performances of the show.)
Roth and Long’s actors have been surprised to find that a teenager not so different from them could live in an attic for more than two years.
And do more than just survive. Anne Frank also fell in love.
As part of their preparation, the directors took the cast to an Anne Frank exhibit at New York’s Center for Jewish History. It includes a full-scale replica of the annex.
“It was so powerful for the kids to walk through,” Long says. “They got a much better understanding of Holland during the war, and what the Franks went through.
“A lot of them bought the exhibit book. One of them said it was the best museum they’d ever been to.”
Staples Players, at the Center for Jewish History. David Roth and Kerry Long are standing, 3rd and 4th from left.
Though being quarantined for long periods of time with their family during COVID was nowhere near the scale of horror the Franks endured, the young actors do bring that perspective to their characters.
But they also realize that the show will have special resonance for older audience members.
Players’ previous performance of “Anne Frank,” in 2006, drew more people with direct knowledge of the Holocaust — as survivors, or their relatives — than this one will.
However, at least one survivor will see this show. Now 89 years old, they’ll do a talkback after the May 22 perfromance.
When he published his daughter’s diary, Anne Frank’s father Otto said he wanted her story to be read by as many people as possible all over the world.
Anne Frank’s dream was to be a famous writer. In death, she is.
Roth, Long, and the talented teenagers of Staples Players, are keeping her dream, and her father’s wishes, alive and strong.
(“The Diary of Anne Frank” is recommended for ages 10 and up. It will be performed on May 21, 22, 23 and 24 at 7 p.m., and May 24 at 3 p.m., in the Staples High School Black Box. Tickets, double cast lists and more information is avaiable here.)
