Young Critics

Delaware Theatre Company’s The Diary of Anne Frank
Immerses Audiences in the World of a Dramatic Classic

The dramatic classic The Diary of Anne Frank is one of those plays that uniquely instill many different emotions and feelings in an audience: hope, love, fear, grief, but most of all an opportunity to remember the experiences of those in the Holocaust of WWII. For many theatres, meeting this piece’s reputation can be looked upon as a daunting task. Often the fear of getting The Diary of Anne Frank wrong can be even more persuasive than the reward of executing it to its’ full potential. Delaware Theatre Company, however, was not one of those theaters. Its’ production team and director Meredith McDonough have succeeded in depicting The Diary of Anne Frank in a way that totally immerses the audience in the lives of the characters providing a wholly unique experience for the theatre go-er.

As the audience tries to locate their seats, they are greeted not by the customary dusty red curtain but by a striking set of large platforms with bare, mismatched furniture, interconnecting in a multi level, fort-like atmosphere that is the annex. In the foreground, the kitchen/living room where the Franks, the Van Daan’s and Mr. Dussel interacted for most of the play, a few steps higher Anne’s small bedroom which she shared with her sister and then Mr. Dussel and behind it Mr. and Mrs. Frank’s bedroom. Looming over most of the scenes on the upper-most platform would be the attic. Each level hovers over the other, creating the feeling of a very small space on a very large stage, no easy task for scenic designer Kevin Judge but he executes it wonderfully. This concept of close quarters was one carried throughout the play. The stage lighting, designed by Thom Weaver, reiterated the theme of the enclosed space by keeping the stage dimly lit but for the area in which the action was taking place. This was particularly important because all the characters that lived in the annex stay on stage the whole time, not even leaving for intermission and the audience could be distracted by the other actors during a scene if it were not for this choice. Each aspect of the stage and character’s behavior contributes to the predominant feelings of life in the annex: that there is no privacy, no period where the characters aren’t on top of each other, that there is no escape.

The performance of The Diary of Anne Frank was a showcase of diverse and talented actors. Actors like Geraldine Librandi playing Mrs. Van Dann. One specific monologue to her husband given after many months in the attic when the isolation turns some to desperate acts made me truly feel the love she and her husband shared, despite Mrs. Van Dann’s seemingly flighty and flirtatious nature. Joel Leffert’s portrayal of Otto Frank was also notable. He executed Mr. Frank’s steadfast character without fail throughout the production, a pillar of support for the other actors. He closes with the burden of informing the audience what happened to his friends and family after the war. He enters the stage with such a sense of deep anguish in his voice that still shakes me as I write.

Amongst this company of talented thespians, one week link comes to mind. Sara Kapner as Anne Frank, arguably the most important part of all unfortunately could not hold up to her fellow players. Although her sub-par performance was not so terrible that it distracted one from enjoying the entire production Kapner’s sing-songy voice “life is beautiful” delivery pulled me out of the atmosphere of the play time and time again. This method of delivery was most likely intended to enforce the hopeful, care-free attitude of Anne but the but it ended up coming off more like clichéd adolescent optimism. Kapner's performance was not with out its bright moments though. A scene with the VanDann’s son, Peter, in the attic, was particularly endearing. Strong dialogue, a talented supporting cast and the guaranteed likeability of Anne’s character saved Kapner from what could have been a major low point of the performance but turned out to be only a slight annoyance.