“The Diary of Anne Frank” an Absolute Success

Onstage cast of "The Diary of Anne Frank." Photo Credit / Prof. Yoshinori Tanokura
Onstage cast of “The Diary of Anne Frank.” Photo Credit / Prof. Yoshinori Tanokura

By Jacquline Hanna
SC Staff Writer

East Stroudsburg University’s production of “The Diary of Anne Frank” was an absolute success. Director Dr. Ball took a beautiful, well-known story and added her own taste to this production.

To start off, the set looked professionally done. The crew got together every week to work hard on the set and it really showed. There were three main levels on the stage: The front part of the stage was the kitchen with two beds, the second section was behind the kitchen  with two more beds, and the last section was accessible with a ladder, showing the Annex with the food storage area. The crew tried to match the set as closely as possible from Anne’s diary.

As for the cast, they were fantastic. I would like to give an extra congratulations to the whole cast for a job well done in this beautiful production.

Each cast member captured their character really well. At times, I forgot I was watching a play because the actors so accurately embodied the people that once lived, the ones who experienced this sad piece of history.

At the end of the play, the actors reported that they put in a lot of time and research to find out more about their characters.

The story of Anne Frank captures the true history of what it was like to be a Jew during World War II, and seeing the story come to life shows the audience the difficulties that Anne, her family and friends experienced.

The actors captured the horror that these innocent people went through and how strong individuals like Miep Gies and Mr. Dussel went through all those troubles just to keep others safe—all the innocent people who did not have a place to go. Each character took a risk at another’s life, but they all had the desire to live, and Anne showed her longing to live by making plans after the war was over.

The cast was carefully handpicked, and each cast member suited their roles well. The production of this play was a success, and they had quite a turn out on each performance

At the end of the play, their question and answer session helped the audience become more enlightened on the events of Anne Frank and the rest of the characters.

With the help of the crew members, the play was a direct hit with the university and public. They took a World War II story and created magic with it by showing that hope will always live, despite how horrible a predicament can be. The production captured the images of real people in a way that is unimaginable.

When I saw the production, I almost cried because of how great the acting was. You were captured in the moment while feeling what the characters were experiencing.

I related to the characters because of their everyday problems, and it was absolutely beautiful.

To be honest, the play was better than I expected, especially for a college production, and I was glad to see how great the story of Anne Frank was told.

Email Jacquline at:
jsh7093@live.esu.edu