The Diary of Anne Frank at PHS
Nov 21st, 2009 by Alex
Last night I saw The Diary of Anne Frank as performed by The Pikesville Players. It’s a two act play based on “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl” recently re-adapted by Wendy Kesselman. Set in the hidden rooms of an Amsterdam office building between July 1942 and February of 1944, this adaptation depicts excerpts from young Anne’s diary as she, her family, another family, and a token dentist take refuge from Nazi persecution.
I was very impressed with the content, production, and direction of the play. It opened on Thursday with a sneak peak on Wednesday, but it’s clear that rehearsal time was well spent. Everything felt polished, akin to something you might see at Center Stage.
The material was handled in a very mature and respectful manner, with careful use of soliloquy and interior monologue. There’s a lot of inter- and intra-family interactions, all while under a lot of stress and with the fear that they may be discovered. Not that it’s all dark; I managed a few chuckles in response to Anne’s youthful and upbeat energy. I felt somewhat conflicted about laughing since most of the piece is serious, but many aspects of Anne’s interactions with her family and others are merely compounded mirrors of our own.
Technically, the production was flawless. Lighting was low throughout, save a few dramatic sequences involving the bombing of Amsterdam. It’s a play where the vast majority of the players are on stage for the duration, but I found the one scene set to be well utilized and uncluttered. Simple and effective. Lighting assisted drawing my eyes to the primary action and dialogue, despite the other characters still active elsewhere on-stage. Sound was clean and clear, a good mix of natural projection with minor assist by several hanging unipoint microphones. The changes occurred complete darkness, silent and fast.
Best of all, there’s still time to see it tonight (11/21/09) at 7:30 and tomorrow (11/22/09) afternoon at 2:30, both in the Pikesville High School auditorium. Tickets are $8 at the door.
I’m looking forward to the Players next production this spring.