[NEohioPAL]Berko review: DIARY OF ANNE FRANK (Beck)

[Roy Berko]

MESMERIZING ‘Diary of Anne Frank’ AT BECK

Roy Berko
(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--
Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	


Otto Frank (George Roth) stood downstage right with a
pin spot isolating him.  He was within the attic in
which he, his family and four others hid from the
Nazis during World War II.  He turned to the audience
and related how, after the Germans found them, the
attic’s occupants were taken to various concentration
camps.  All but he died, some within days of the end
of the war.   He glanced down, saw something, picked
it up, looked at it, and quietly said, “And this is
all that is left.”  Frank was speaking of a diary.  A
small red and white plaid book that was given to Anne
for her thirteenth birthday on June 12, 1942.   His
eyes glistened with tears as the lights faded to
black. 

The audience sat, stunned.  After a short pause the
lights came up and the cast came on stage.  The
audience sat immobile, many crying, others fighting
back tears.  One person started to applaud, others
followed, but this was not the applause of pleasure,
it was applause of respect.  This audience had just
experienced the closest thing many will ever see of a
perfect theatrical production.  A production  that was
finely honed by director Sara May and impressively
interpreted by a well-informed, well-molded and
talented cast.

The tragic story of Anne Frank and her family has
become one of  the best known chapters in the history
of the Holocaust.  For over two years they lived their
lives in an annex above Mr. Frank’s factory.  They
could move around only at night after the plant
closed.  They spent each day in complete silence lest
a noise alert the workers below.  It is the story of
the simple events of daily living suddenly made
remarkable and precious by the  constant threat of
discovery. 

More than fifty years later, the diary has become one
of the most widely read personal journals of all time.
 It has been  translated into 67 different languages
and has sold more than 31 million copies.  It has been
made into an award winning play and film.

In 1955, when the play, which was loosely based on the
diary opened in New York, a critic said that “nothing
momentously dramatic happens. It is a story of
stealth, boredom, bickering, searching for comfort in
other people, dreams, fears, hunger, anger, and joy." 
Audiences came to not only show tribute to Anne Frank,
but to see a real slice of the Holocaust.  Many
thought the play did not, however, really tell the
whole story.  The family’s Jewish roots were not
highlighted, the intense stress was not illustrated,
the ending was sugary...leaving the message that Anne
still thought people were good.
 
The new version, now on stage at Beck Center,  is more
muted and less sentimental.  Working from Frances
Goodrich & Albert Hackett's script,  Wendy Kesselman,
who did the rewrite, sticks closer to the diary then
the original interpretation.  She added scenes,
religious ceremonies and wrote a startling new ending.
 The play has also been shortened and the language is
more lyric, less theatrical.  But most of all,
Kessleman makes the message emotionally poignant.

Beck’s production is perfectly paced by May.  She has
worked for not only the right tone, but her cast
understands the story, how to build the emotional
intensity and set the right tone for each scene.  She
has paid attention to every detail.  To show her
microscopic eye for detail, the Hebrew pronunciation
used for the prayers was that of the Jews of Europe
before the Holocaust, not that of present day
pronunciation.

George Roth, who dedicated his performance to his
mother who is a Holocaust survivor, textured his
performance perfectly.   He didn’t portray Otto Frank,
he was Otto Frank.   Young Heather Farr is impressive
as Anne.  She grows from awkward child to young adult
before our very eyes.  She is totally believable. 
Anne McEvoy underplays the role of Edith Frank, Anne’s
mother, for full effect.  The scene where she
expresses to Miep, the gentile who feeds and provides
news of the outside world to the annex members, her
stress over the close quarters and lack of privacy is
masterful.

Magdalyn Donnelly (Margot), Anne’s sister is totally
believable.  Peter Van Daan, who develops an emotional
relationship with Anne, grows from shy boy to charming
young man.  He does so with charm and competence.  The
role of Mrs. Van Daan (Peter’s mother) is normally
played as a nagging shrew.  The role in the hands of
talented Paula Duesing becomes a woman who is
egocentric but also shows signs of love and caring. 
Brian Bartels (Mr. Van Daan) and Mark Cipra (Mr.
Duessel, the dentist) also develop clear
characterizations, as does Dawn Youngs as Miep Gies.

Richard Gould’s set, Jeff Lockshine’s lighting,
Richard Ingraham’s sound design and Alison Garrigan’s
costumes all enhance the production.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   Beck’s ‘THE DIARY OR ANNE FRANK,’
under the meticulous direction of Sara May, is a
mesmerizing experience.  It is not to be missed!  If
you only see one play this year...this should be it!

‘THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK’ runs through February 26 at
The Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood.  For ticket
information call 216-521-2540.


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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