. . . . . . .  About  . . . . . .

   . . . .  Notes  . . .
Production credits

Photos on   Page 2

Dramaturg's Diary

Director's Corner

Photo by Peter Bosy
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Cast (in order of appearance)
Anne Frank           Mary Clarke
Otto Frank             Charles Berglund
Edith Frank           Linda Roberts
Margot Frank        Christie Valentine
Miep Gies             Eileen Crow* 
Peter Van Daan   Anders Swanson     
Mr. Kraler               Mark Favoino        
Mrs. Van Daan     Ginny  Richardson
Mr. Van Daan        Tom Viskocil*
Mr. Dussel            Marion J. Reis

* new to our stage

Dramaturg's Diary

By Mary Dempsey

In the early nineteen fifties the script version of The Diary of Anne Frank began its journey from the written page to the theatre stage.  Frances Goodrich (1890 – 1984) and Albert Hackett (1900 –1995), co-authors of the original play, began their theatre careers as actors.  In the nineteen twenties they began writing screenplays together and were married.  They worked at desks facing opposite each other in the same room, each writing a version of a scene.  Next they read and commented on each other’s work before creating a final version.   Among the film scripts they composed using this method were numerous hit movies, including Easter Parade, Father of the Bride, and It’s a Wonderful Life.  The Diary of Anne Frank is generally considered their masterpiece for the stage, winning the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1956.  Before beginning work on the script, Frances and Albert met with Otto Frank, who traveled from his postwar residence in Switzerland to join them in Amsterdam. There they toured the Secret Annex with Otto, discovered information about the neighborhood, and gathered material from Otto’s memories of the years in hiding. The authors spent two years completing eight drafts of the script before their final version opened on Broadway in 1955 and enjoyed acclaim in performances worldwide.  The script presented in our performances is a recent revision of the original, adapted by Wendy Kesselman and first performed on Broadway in 1997.  The revised script retains much of the same material as the original version, adding some of the adolescent thoughts and feelings that Otto Frank had preferred not be included during his lifetime — particularly some Anne’s conflicts with her mother.  The other major difference is the omission of the flashback technique used by the original authors, presenting the opening scene of the first act as a postwar visit to the Annex by Otto Frank and Miep Gies during which they “discover” the diary lying on the dust-covered Annex floor.  Wendy Kesselman’s more extensive use of Anne’s voice-overs integrates the action closely with her thoughts and feelings.  The final scene in which Anne states her creed:  “I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are really good at heart,” provides a strong conclusion to a vibrant theatrical event.

Audience members who are interested in discovering more about Anne Frank’s background will enjoy the exhibit, Anne Frank – A History for Today, at the Spertus Museum, 618 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago.  This special program opens January 29^th and runs until May 28^th.  It was developed at the Anne Frank House in the Netherlands and is sponsored in North America by the Anne Frank Center, U.S.A.  For further information contact the Spertus Museum at (312) 322-1700 or visit the web site, www.spertus.edu.  The presentation includes eyewitness accounts by individuals who share their personal experiences, providing and excellent accompaniment to Anne’s poignant account of her family’s experiences during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.

Production Credits