Inspirational 'Anne Frank'

 By ARLINE GREER
 Sun theater critic 

 So much has been written about "The Diary of Anne Frank," it might seem there is nothing more to say. Not so. The Hippodrome State Theatre tells its tale anew with its luminous production. It is that rarity in theater: a production filled with insight, and true to the spirit of the adolescent Jewish girl who wrote of her life in hiding during the Holocaust. 

 This is a production everyone should see, not because it's politically correct, but because it is a deeply affecting story with universal meaning. 

 Otto Frank gave his daughter a diary when she was 13 years old, shortly before she and her family went into hiding in the annex of an Amsterdam office building. From that time until Anne was almost 16, she wrote about her life in hiding, her feelings about her parents, her hopes and fears for the future, all her innermost thoughts.

 The Frank family shared the annex with the Van Daan family and with Mr. Dussel, a quirky dentist. Eight people, all Jews, hid from the Nazis for two years, never leaving the annex, never knowing if they would be discovered and sent to the death camps. All the while, Anne wrote of her life, not dreaming that in years to come her diary would bear witness to the world of what happened during the Holocaust. 

 The Hippodrome's production of the play is remarkable in every way. From the moment audiences enter the theater and hear the names of those murdered, recited much as you might see the names of Vietnam war victims on the wall of the D.C. memorial, and on to the very end of the play, the actors who play the eight Jews never leave the stage. Even during the intermission, they remain in character, hiding in the annex. 

 The story of everyday happenings is told by an irrepressible Anne, who bounds across the stage with childlike energy and enthusiasm. Played by Marguerite Stimpson with an uncanny feeling for the adolescent girl, she imbues the play with humor, sadness, joy, anger and love. She creates a small world on the Hippodrome stage in which each protagonist is brought to vivid life. Stimpson's Anne is incandescent. 

 She is well matched by Scott Kealey, whose portrayal of Otto Frank makes it easy to see how Anne came by her optimism. Dan Jesse and Sara Morsey as Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan give touching performances as a long-married couple who don't always behave in the best interests of the group. Niall McGinty plays Peter, their adolescent son, with the awkward ingenuousness of a boy growing into a man. Dan Leonard's Mr. Dussel, the dentist and Anne's roommate, is funny and touching. 

 Although the play deals with humdrum everyday life, an underlying current of fear and foreboding is maintained by sounds from outside, sounds of Nazis marching and crowds shouting "Heil Hitler." Hebrew and Jewish songs are played affectingly on a cello to underscore the play's emotion. Mihai Ciupe's set for the annex is true to Anne's hiding place. 

 The grim ending of "The Diary of Anne Frank" is known before the play begins, but director Lauren Caldwell never allows the tension to go limp. When the ending comes and each character is illuminated by a spotlight, frozen in time, we are transfixed, held there as Anne's words are heard yet again, exhorting us to be our better selves: "I still believe, in spite of everything, people are really good at heart." 

 "The Diary of Anne Frank" is a rare theater experience, theater that takes you right out of yourself. It's not to be missed. 

       There are very few people in the world who are not familiar with the story of Anne Frank--a young woman who, with her family and another family as well as a Jewish dentist, spent most of World War II in hiding in a secret annex above an office in Amsterdam, Holland.  The young girl's diary was a collection of her experiences as a child and in the secret annex.  She described her world, her experiences, her thoughts, and her fears.  In the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Diary of Anne Frank, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hacker put that story on a stage and captured the raw emotion that before had only been seen in print.  With Wendy Kesselman's adaptation of that same script, we get a new look at the piece, featuring some newly found dialogue from missing diary entries, and a more fluent, tight play
       Lauren Caldwell, the Artistic Director of the Hippodrome State Theatre, has once again worked her magic, taking words from a page and making them explode onstage.  Her remarkable cast is solid, well-prepared, and strangely enough, constantly on the same page.
       Dan Leonard is a wonderful Mr. Dussel, the dentist who is the last person squeezed into the crowded attic with the Van Daan's and the Frank's.  Leonard brings much needed comic relief to the play and emotional intensity to the role where in past productions it was lacking.  Leonard gives a thoughtful, well-executed portrayal of a less than likable person.  As Miep Gies and Mr. Kraler, the people responsible for keeping the families fed and up-to-date on what was going on in the real world, Robin Thomas and Stephen Vendette provide nice performances in their very brief moments onstage.
       As the Van Daan family, Dan Jesse, Sara Morsey, and Niall McGinty are superb.  Jesse's booming, sarcastic patriarch is filled with the "stuff" great performances are made of.  Morsey's Mrs. Van Daan is three-dimensional, perfectly layered, and artisically rewarding for both actress and audience.  And McGinty's innocent Peter is simple and effective--and romantic in those touching scenes he shares with Anne in the second act.
       The Frank family is equal in every respect, headed by the always wonderful Scott Kealey as Otto Frank.  His Mr. Frank is sympathetic, emotional, and sincere--and his work is of particular note in his final monologue in which he shares the tremendous story of life AFTER the secret annex.  Bonnie Harrison, as Mrs. Frank, shows the proper frustrations and fear on her face even when not speaking, and brings ample support to Kealey.  As Margot, Emilee MacDonald plays shy and perfect wonderfully.
       But as expected, this is Anne's show--and Marguerite Stimpson's Anne is youthful, exuberant, afraid, and remarkable.  She is emotional and moody, typical of teenage girls.  Her bitterness toward her mother, her slight resentment towards Margot for being the "perfect child," her humorous jabs at Mr. Dussell, and her flirtations and emotional attachment to Peter are all beautifully acted by Stimpson.  At the end of the play, when all of Anne's fears become reality, Stimpson is emotional and scared, much like you believe the real Anne Frank had to be.
       The performances are amazing, and are solid from beginning to end (and it is literally beginning to end, as Caldwell keeps her actors onstage throughout intermission--remaining in character and carrying on life in the secret annex).  Caldwell has provided us with a powerful production, and with the Hippodrome's thrust stage, the audience is literally sucked right into the secret annex.  With Mihai Ciupe's scenic design combined with Robert P. Robins' haunting lighting and Graham Johnson's sound design, there is the haunting effect of tension when we hear the sound of the gustapo marching beneath us and see the terrifying red lights of police cars that seem to be coming for us.  Through these technical choices, the audience feels like they too are in hiding with the Frank's and the Van Daan's--which only makes their discovery that much more heartbreaking.
       This incredible production of The Diary of Anne Frank plays at the Hippodrome Theatre through March 31st.  The Hipp has developed an educational outlet around the production entitled "One City, One Story" which includes lectures and presentations about the holocaust and Anne Frank.  The exhibit located in the art gallery just off the lobby is particularly moving, and is definitely worth arriving early to see.  For information about the Hippodrome's production and the "One City, One Story" events, visit http://hipp.gator.net.

'Anne Frank' on stage at Hipp

Jack Petro - Theater Review  - The Villages Daily Sun
 

A monotone litany of names greets patrons upon entering the Hippodrome State Theatre in Gainesville.  The prologue is a list of Holocaust victims. 

The stage has been reconstructed to represent the loft above an Amsterdam factory where the Frank family spent more than two years hiding from the German Gestapo. Their only crime was that they were Jews. 

"The Diary of Anne Frank" tells the story of Nazi persecution from the perspective of young girl who had the courage and discipline to keep a daily journal. 

Even more, the diary spells out her thoughts, struggles, and desires. We get to share her anxieties about her adolescent pubescence. 

We learn through her persevering spirit and hope that in spite of her own tragic situation, "people are really good at heart. 

What makes the production at the Hipp different is the recent adaptation by Wendy Kesselman. While the plot and readings from the diary are the same, you will find yourself looking at the play through Anne's eyes. 

She is ebullient and witty, yet she is well aware of her fragile existence. 

Kesselman gives us time to think and consequently the most impressive parts of the play are where there is complete silence. These range from 20 seconds to two minutes, and the theater was so silent you could hear your heart beat. 

I was totally absorbed by these moments. True to the spirit of the play, the actors remained on stage during the intermission busying themselves with their quiet time activities of reading, sewing, and in Anne's case, writing. 

Marguerite Stimpson gives a standout performance as the young Anne. She captures adolescent foot positions, pouts, and ponderings necessary to draw the audience into the plot. Never once does she break the spell. 

The Frank family shares the loft with the Van Daan family, the fathers being long-time friends. They are joined by Mr. Dussel, a dentist. Through Anne's eyes we experience the loss of privacy, the preciousness of a morsel of food, the angst of a precarious future. The interpersonal conflicts such as the struggle over Mrs. Van Daan's fur coat are softened by the compassion in her soul. 

In the end, they are betrayed. All but father Otto, Frank die in the concentration camps. But Anne lives I on forever through her diary. 

The lead actors are professional members and performed suitably. Of the non-professional actors, I have to single out Robin Thomas. who was the Franks' contact with the outside world. Niall McGinty who played Peter, the young man who became Anne's friend and confidant during their confinement, also deserves mention. 

Congratulations are in order for set designer Mihai Ciupe and lighting designer Robert Robins. 

The floor of the stage was raised 18 inches, allowing for trap doors in several places. Each division of the attic I was at a different level. The planking as well as the brick back wall were authentic looking and showed exceptional deta1l. 

Robins orchestrated countless overhead spots for effect which the actors were able to pre-position as if by magic. 

Villager Lenore Smiley of Santo Domingo was in the near capacity matinee audience. "The lighting was particularly effective with the red and white lights accentuating the background sounds,” Lenore said after the performance. 

This production gets a "should see" recommendation, my second highest. Even if you have seen "Ann Frank" before, this is your chance to view a superior version. If you haven't, you should experience this genuinely touching history lesson. A photo exhibit of the Frank family in the downstairs lobby is worth the price of admission alone. 

Jack Petro can be reached on the net at atheatrel@aolcom. 

Back to the secret world of Anne Frank 
 Classic play presented at the Hippodrome. 

 The Gator Times March 25, 2002 

 By Darren Wendroff

 The Gator Times staff

 With all the din of cellular phones, MTV and rampant irony, is the  profoundness of a voice such as Anne Frank's still audible? Lauren  Caldwell, artistic director of "The Diary of Anne Frank," now showing at  the Hippodrome State Theatre, ponders the question.

 "I was sitting on the porch of the theater when I heard a young college  student ask, 'Who is Anne Frank?'" Caldwell said. "My first reaction  was to ask if he had been living under a rock. But then I thought, 'Oh  my God, how proud I am to preserve the memory of this wise and  brave girl on our stage.'"

 As part of Jewish Awareness Month, The Hippodrome is presenting,  "The Diary of Anne Frank."
  
 "The Diary of Anne Frank" is arguably the most important piece of  literature of the 20th century. Adapted by Wendy Kesselman, this play  differs from the sunny Broadway production of the 1950s. The truth is  always a little darker. The 1955 production, which won the Pulitzer  Prize and a Tony, was based on the "Version C" edited diary. It was  adapted by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, the husband and  wife team that created "It's a Wonderful Life." Often criticized for an  inaccurate portrayal and lack of Jewish ethnicity, Hackett and  Goodrich's script never seemed to capture the essence of Anne  Frank's situation. However, it was written for the sensibilities of that  era. The new version, based on an expanded edition of the diary  including the unedited "Version A," portrays a more realistic Anne and  her Jewish ethnicity (a Hanukkah song is sung in Hebrew). There is  also more effort to give dimension to the inner dialogue the diary  inspires in its readers. 

 "The Diary of Anne Frank" presents a delicate subject for any artist to  show because readers often feel such a loyal affinity to Anne as her  words speak directly to, and often for, us. Under Caldwell's direction,  "The Diary of Anne Frank" charts a dignified and sincere course  through Anne's chronicles. The ensemble's respect for this play is  profound. Lighting designer Robert P. Robins' vision creates a surreal  world that constantly shifts from the conscious to the subconscious.  Whether zapping the actors in harsh light or bathing them in an eerie  blue, Robins constantly frames each moment with unspoken emotion.  Equally impressive is the set designed by Mihai Ciupe. Ciupe, a former  Owen Parker Award winner, creates a sparse multilevel world of depth  and metaphor.

 "The concept for the set was to build a space of eggshell fragility,"  Ciupe said. "The threat of the Nazis was always there." 

 Caldwell constantly weaves us in and out of a consciousness until the  play's jolting finale, where we abruptly awaken from not a dream, but,  maybe, a nightmare. The new version of the play was not written for a  world that needs another perfunctory hug but rather a stiff shot of  sincerity. As the play concluded, the actors came to the stage and,  rather than coming together, stood and faced the audience in a  crisscrossed pattern, almost appearing to form a human barbed wire.  Then, never acknowledging the applause, the actors stood facing the  audience in a haunting silence, as if accepting the applause not as  themselves but in honor of the inhabitants of the Secret Annex. 

 In the end, all participants give an inspired performance. Playing  through March 31, "The Diary of Anne Frank" is a must see.

 And what about the clarity of Anne's voice? I think it's best to let  five-year-old Brian Fradette answer that.

 "I liked the play a lot," Brian said, holding his mother's hand. "She  looked like a nice person."

 She was Brian, she was.