Flat Rock Playhouse: The Diary of Anne Frank
Flat Rock Playhouse’s production of The Diary of Anne Frank provides an historic glimpse into one Jewish family’s story of hiding for their lives from the pursuit of Nazis. The enduring story of a 15-year-old girl who chronicled her experience comes to the Mainstage September 8–25.
“There was an Anne Frank script in production for years and years,” says director Angie Flynn McIver. “The one we are using is an adaptation of this script, which was done in the mid- 1990s.”
Anne’s father, who survived her, was invested in controlling how his daughter was perceived in productions and writings, according to Angie. “This script takes the reins off a bit and we see a teenager just being a teen as she awakens to a new chapter in her life.”
The play is based on Anne’s diaries, written during World War II, when her Jewish family was forced to hide for more than two years in an attic in Amsterdam. Anne described the experiences of eight people, confined to the annex, while they experienced life’s ups and downs, all while fearing the Nazis. The family was eventually discovered in August 1944.
Anne died at the Bergen- Belsen concentration camp in Germany. Only her father, Otto, survived the camps and he published her journals in June 1947. Wendy Kesselman, an American playwright, adapted the 1955 script in 1997 to include newly discovered writings released from the diaries.
Danielle Carlucci will star as Anne with Jonas Cohen in the role of Otto. In addition, Raissa Dorff will play Anne’s mother Edith, and Sarah Stevens will be Anne’s sister Margot.
Flat Rock Playhouse Mainstage is located at 2661 Greenville Highway in Flat Rock. Performances will be Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Matinees will be Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets ($15 to $40) can be purchased by calling the box office at 828.693.0731 or toll free at 866.737.8008. Online tickets can be purchased at flatrockplayhouse.org.
