The Diary of Anne Frank
By Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett
Directed By Pamela Berlin
Scenic Design By Michael Schweikardt
Lighting Design By John Lasiter
Pittsburgh Public Theatre
Pittsburgh, PA
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, published in the United States in 1952, contained the authentic journal entries of a Jewish teenager who lived in hiding during the Holocaust. The public was instantly enthralled with Anne’s writing. She was funny, and thoughtful, and most of all brave. Her vivid descriptions evoked what life was like during this monstrous time. The book was adapted for the stage and opened on Broadway in 1955, where it became an immediate hit. The Public’s new production is a revival of this Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winner.
Unfolding throughout the play are the daily lives of this group in their closed quarters. There are moments of great tension, and also periods of almost normalcy. Anne has her school work and the pictures of movie stars she’s cut out of magazines. She argues with her mother, but also creates a joyous Hanukkah for her extended family. Although food is in short supply, as time goes by she outgrows her clothes and notices changes in her body. She confides her thoughts to her best friend, her diary, and its survival has allowed the world to know the spirit and courage of this remarkable girl.
