Michigan Based Theatre Artist

 “Just because someone is young doesn’t mean they don’t have anything to say.”

This line, said by Margot Frank in Act One of Wendy Kesselman’s brilliant adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank, has been my driving force behind this production. This adaptation is based on the completed definitive edition of her diary, and as such, I see this play as a gift to Anne. A chance to give her words back to her, to tell her story on her own terms. To not shy away from the scary, the gruesome, and the heartbreaking reality of history as she tells it. Anne’s words provide an illustrative image of the impacts of prejudice and fascism. Truly, the perspective of younger generations often provides the most insight into the state of our world.

This play follows Anne through her formative teenage years trapped in the annex at Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam. We see the moments of joy, fear, grief, and growth that define the families kept in the annex walls. Perhaps most importantly, we see that Anne is a normal teenage girl. She gets angry at her mom, defies authority, gets a crush on a boy, and grows up. Anne is one of millions of young Jewish girls in the 1940s who were just trying to survive.

The tragedy that befalls Anne and the rest of the annex residents is the result of corrupt governments and people who sit idly by for the sake of so-called national pride. It is a story that is more important now than ever to remember. As we face a genocide in Palestine and an American government that continues to creep closer to fascism daily, we must remember that those who forget or deny the past are doomed to repeat it. We must see the warning signs and do everything to stop the worst from happening again.

This play is important to engage with now because it is a call to action to recognize the signs of fascism in our own governments. It forces us to remember that every day people, people who could have had lovely full lives, were robbed of that due to prejudice and the passive attitude of "that could never happen to me." It could, and it did to Anne and the other annex members. 

Anne Frank’s diary has multiple different versions that offer varying perspectives on her experience in the annex. Version A was her original diary. Her thoughts as she wrote them, organically. Version B is the version of the diary that Anne edited herself. After hearing a radio broadcast about the possibilities of publishing first person accounts of World War Two and the Holocaust, Anne began to edit her own diary. She omitted parts she found embarrassing. She used the opportunity to add more artistic language to how she wrote in the diary, to make it a good book for publication. Version C is the original published version of the diary, with Anne’s above edits as well as edits from Otto after the war. This version was made to sanitize some of Anne’s writing. Otto edited her diary to protect the memory of Anne and the others; the Holocaust so fresh in the collective memory of the world that Otto made sure Anne would not be attacked or criticized posthumously for behavior that might not have been typical in societies at the time. Once Otto died, Version D of the diary was edited and released: The Definitive Edition. This included aspects from all three previous versions, including never-before read content from versions A and B. For the first time, all of Anne’s words were shared with the world.

Everything about this show, from design to direction to marketing, should be based on returning Anne’s words to her. After so many edits and editions of the story that sanitize the experience the annex members went through, we want to make the words hers again. This production should show the power that the words of a young person can have. It is through the youth that we rebel, that we fight, that we gain new perspectives about our past and present. In moments of political stress and strife, the thoughts of the youth should not go unnoticed, and Anne’s story proves this true. Young people have something to say. Anne had something to say. And in this production, we are doing everything to uplift her voice and words. 

This shines in all aspects. A set that is designed to look as if Anne's diary itself is building the stage. Her words all over the set. The cover of her diary motif on the front of the set. Each costume from the characters has a hidden fabric that is covered in Anne's diary entries. 

Thematically, this production explored reclamation of words, confrontation of fascism (with the Nazi songs in the show being the furthest down stage, directed to the audience), and the complicated natures of growing up.