| “The Diary of Anne Frank” Production Proves to
Continue to Tug at the Heartstrings of Audiences
A Review by Shyneice Porter
St. Elizabeth High School
The Delaware Theatre Company, located at 200 Water Street, in Wilmington, DE proudly presented “The Diary of Anne Frank” by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett for the first time, beginning with the opening weekend on October 19. With its welcoming and embracing ambiance, the theatre set the perfect mood as the play began, taking the audience back in time to an era in history when fear seemed to be a tangible component of the air.
The synonymous association of life and terror for the people of the Jewish faith is immediately apparent from the very beginning of the play, The Diary of Anne Frank. Set in 1942, it uniquely embraces the demonstrations of fear and suspiciousness exhibited by all members of the Jewish faith of the time through the journal writings of a young girl exuberantly exhilarated by life itself. In a desperate attempt to escape the Nazi police following a call-up notice for both her father’s and sister’s deportation to a concentration camp, the family flees and proceeds to hide in a secluded place called the “Secret Annex”. Another family by the name of Van Daans soon joins the Franks in the Annex, and within the space, the families attempt to ‘make ends meet’ with the limited money they have. Over the course of the play, Anne continues to write in her diary, attempting to discover her unique identity and questioning exactly why the outside world was in the state it was in for the Jewish people, and how she had come to be so lucky as to be safe from harm.
As the stage lights focus in on the setting of the production, clearly very cramped quarters for an initial seven people, the audience is immediately surrounded by the sensation of being taken “back in time” as the stage is uncloaked and the familiarity of the “olden days” through the sets andprops,pervades the room. The placement of lighting is stressed very well in the play as lights are dimmed when necessary, occasionally focus in on specific characters, or completely black out the entire set save for one character as he/she delivers a personal address to the audience. The costumes of the actors, consisting of dresses, suits, shirts and ties, and Mary Jane shoes, add to the sense and style of the ‘40’s as well. In totality, the lighting crew and costume designers manage to enlighten the audience to particular details and styles through carefully thought-out lighting technicalities and clothing that seem to be taken directly from the wardrobes of individuals in the 1940’s.
Actress Sara Kapner plays the part of Anne Frank and does an absolutely superb job of the performance. Grasping the attention of the audience from the start, she refuses to let go over the course of the entire play, capturing the audience with her words and enabling everyone to experience her emotions as they simultaneously coursed through her as well. In total embracement of a young girl cooped up in small quarters during a time in her life when her only wish was to be free, she earns the love and admiration of the audience throughout the entire production. Paying rapt attention to her spirited words and actions, the audience laughed appreciatively at her silliness, shared in her anger when she stomped across the stage, and was brought to tears at the revelation of the outcome of Anne’s very young and potential-filled life. Actors Joel Leffert and Dori Legg, portraying Anne’s parents, also do a superb job of clarifying the difficulty of parenting a child who displays parent favoritism in such a dire time as it was. Demonstrating evident partiality to her father, who she affectionately dubs ‘Pim’, Anne refuses to receive solace and support from her mother, even when awakened in the middle of the night by terrible nightmares. The audience sympathizes greatly with Mrs. Frank as her daughter continues to push her away and her father attempts to understand why she refuses to relate with her mother. The late arrival Mr. Dussel, portrayed by John Morrison, serves to add humor to the play as he copes with living in quarters with mostly women along with a bubbly teenage girl. He experiences slight aggravations as a result of sharing a small bedroom with Anne, and amuses the audience with his exclamations of the difficulty of living with so many people, especially a young and enthusiastic girl.
The make-up, hairstyles, and dress, of the characters clearly illustrate their dispositions. For example, Anne’s curly, bouncy hair, flying frazzled and haphazardly as her mood ceaselessly shifted from excitement to anger, disappointment, or wonder constantly throughout the play, serves as a rationalization to her lively nature. Alternatively, Anne’s sister Margot always manages to maintain her hair in a neat and orderly fashion, precisely combed back and clipped, clearly accentuating her cautious, neat, and orderly approach to life.
Director Meredith McDonough certainly does an outstanding job in conveying the turbulence of the times in conjunction with the attitude of a young girl in the midst of it all. McDonough exquisitely guides her cast over the course of time during which Anne’s entries were first created, though does so with a fresh, heartwarming intake, gathering the seriousness of the time with the comicality of living with such a diverse group of people.The directorallows the audience to leave the production with a new appreciation for life and the wonders of all of its beauty as, at the end of the play, they travel back to reality and a world in which all religious denominations are accepted and the trauma of that time period has long since been over.
As a whole, the entire cast does a marvelous job of capturing the essence of the fear of the time period, relaying to the audience the stress and consciousness of all of the details of life that, today, are so commonly taken for granted, such as spacious living quarters and a surplus of food and all other needed supplies. The authenticity of all aspects of the play was very unique and gratifying in that all of the feelings, emotions, and the general atmosphere of the time had been cleanly extracted and delivered by the time of the play’s closure. The performance of The Diary of Anne Frank by the Delaware Theatre Company was one that completely enthralled the audience, bringing many to tears by the end of the production and allowing them to leave with an enhanced view of the life of a thirteen-year-old girl during one of the most devastating times in history. I applaud the cast and the crew in their success in making it a truly fantastic show.
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