Fall Play Preview

Posted on by Zelda Perkins
Playbill for the Ehrer Theater
By Zelda Perkins
The Diary of Anne Frank
Play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett based upon
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl,
Newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman
Showtimes:
Thursday, Nov 3 | 7:30pm (Opening), $5 for students, $10 for adults
Friday, Nov 4 / 7:30pm (Gala), $5 for students, $12 for adults
Sat. Nov 5 / 3 pm (Matinee), $5 for students, $10 for adults
The remarkable play The Diary of Anne Frank opens this Thursday night in Lick’s Ehrer Theater, a production of the Lick-Wilmerding Theater Department.
Anne Frank is a masterpiece.
The script for this production is Wendy Kesselman’s adaptation of the original award winning play The Diary of Anne Frank by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich.The story is based on the diary of Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl who went into hiding with her family from the Nazis at age thirteen.
The set for the play. Photo by Zelda Perkins
The set for the play. Photo by Zelda Perkins

Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany. The Franks fled Nazi Germany when Anne was four and a half and took refuge in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to evade arrest by the Nazis. In July 1942 the family hid in secret rooms concealed behind a bookcase in the building where Anne’s father worked. In August 1944 the family was betrayed, arrested by the Gestapo and sent to concentration camps. Anne and her sister Margot were transferred from Bergen-Belsen to Auschwitz, where they died in February 1944.

During the period in hiding in Amsterdam, Anne kept a diary, “her best friend,” in which she wrote intimately and honestly about her family, her adolescence and sexuality, and about the horrid events of World War II, the Nazi occupation and the Holocaust through which she was living.
Only Otto Frank, Anne’s father, survived the Holocaust. When he was freed from Auschwitz at the end of the war and he returned to Amsterdam, Anne’s diary was given to him by a family friend who had found it and kept it safe. He published the diary in 1947.
Two cast members eating pizza outside the theater during a rehearsal. Photo by Zelda Perkins
Two cast members eating pizza outside the theater during a rehearsal. Photo by Zelda Perkins

The cast has been working feverishly on the play for nine weeks. Julia Moser ‘19, who plays Edith Frank, Anne’s mother, comments on the challenge of playing a historical figure, “This is the first historical play I have ever done, so exploring my character is a lot more real for me than it has been in other shows. I want to keep my emotions as true to the character’s as possible.” Koji Taylor ’19, who plays Peter Van Daan, says that people should see Anne Frank because, “It’s a great learning experience and something we all should be fully aware of.”

To help the cast prepare for their roles, director Miguel Zavala, the head of Lick-Wilmerding’s Theater Department, invited 88 year old Holocaust survivor Hans Angress, who also was hidden in Amsterdam from the Nazis, to speak at Lick. His audience included all those involved in the production of Anne Frank, the students of some history classes, and other interested members of Lick’s community. Zavala adds,“It’s not about the history of the holocaust. You’ll get some history. But it’s really about a girl under these circumstances and having the same kind of relatable experiences that any girl goes through during her teenage years”
Miguel Zavala deems The Diary of Anne Frank suitable for children 10 years or older.
Cast:

 Margot Frank…….Aleigha Beavan-Szabo

Dutch Collaborator…..Liam Coen

Mrs. Van Daan…..Leila Kashani-Sabet

Anne Frank…….Julianne Kelleher

Miep Gies…..Christie Lum

Soldier…..Liam McDonnell  

Edith Frank…..Julia Moser

Mr. Van Daan..Jackson Penfield

Officer….Luke Rajkovic

Otto Frank……Riley Soto

Peter Van Daan….Koji Taylor

Mr. Dussel…Toby Taylor-Cohen

Stagecraft:

-Lucy Barnum

-Maya Dobson

-Roma Edwards

-Saskia Fisher

-Olivia Jacob

-Christian Lazo

-Diego Loeb

-Jocelyn Murphy

-Charley Ostrow

-Sulmi Rubenstein-Markiewicz

-Shiven Sankalia

-Mikey Soledad

-Tiffany Tang

-Koji Taylor

-Isabelle Watson

Production Team

Stage Managers…..Lucy Barnum, Bobby, Gonzalez, Landau-Picnus, Lois Shaw, and Noah Wong

Dramaturge …..Ruby Landau-Picnus

Costume Designers……Aisha Genn, Julia Hatfield, Tiffany Tang, Sidney Hirschman, Caroline Ruppert, and Mari Kuri

Lighting team……Mikey Soledad and Noah Wong

Sound Team….Roma Edwards, Ruby Landau-Picnus, and Lois Shaw

Prop Managers… Abraham Corea Diaz, Anna de Hostos, and Tiffany Tang

Costume Coordinator…Alice Ruiz

Stage Combat Director…Kyle McReddie

Zelda Perkins
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