Friday night I helped a friend cross an item off his senior year bucket list: attend this fall’s theatre department production, The Diary of Anne Frank. We arrived almost late (I tend to be almost always late for everything) and ended up sitting in the very first row because the show was almost sold out.The set was sparse, roof beams above, floor boards below, and a few crates that sufficed for furniture. With the exception of a few cherished objects (a fur coat, a music box, the diary itself), there were no props. The actors mimed nearly everything. We watched the eight Jewish characters on the stage eat from empty hands, seek privacy behind invisible doors, and light Menorah candles that gave off no light.
After the show I learned that the tiny dimensions of the set that the eight actors shared actually matched those of the original rooms where Anne and her seven companions remained hidden for two years. When the play ended, director Doug Powers joined the cast on the stage for a brief Q&A with the audience. The actors dangled their feet over the edge of the stage and discussed the challenges of acting in a tight space and bringing to life characters who were described primarily through the eyes of a young girl.
Sometimes people forget that Anne was just a girl, Powers explained during the Q&A. His aim in producing the play was to get his audience to see Anne not as a symbol of the Holocaust, but as a person. He said that by restoring her humanity, we strengthen her message.
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