“In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart,” wrote Annelies Marie Frank as she hid with her family under Nazi rule. The Raven Performing Arts Theater’s production of “The Diary of Anne Frank” brings the story of this profoundly tragic, yet hopeful, tale to life with a new adaptation for contemporary audiences.
Directed by Diane Bailey, this adaptation by Wendy Kesselman incorporates previously censored entries from Anne’s childhood diary and accounts from survivors for a richer, incredibly touching narrative experience. New York’s Newsday said of the new script, “Wendy Kesselman’s finely textured new DIARY tells a deeper story. A sensitive, stirring and thoroughly engaging new adaptation.”
Frank, who lived in hiding from the Nazis from 1942-1944, penned her heartfelt and wise diary entries about her confinement, growing older, and the state of the world, before ultimately being discovered and dying in a concentration camp in 1945 at the tender age of 15.
This production of “The Diary of Anne Frank” seems perfectly timed to capture the mounting concerns around personhood, statehood, and human rights in our current political climate. The Raven Players production brings this moving tale to life while many of us are pondering the same questions Anne Frank must have been asking herself so many years ago.
Through this theatrical piece, Frank’s young voice reaches out to us from the past and still resonates today, offering contemporary audiences lessons in hope, resilience, perseverance and humanity. It is a dynamic, engaging, heartbreaking historical drama that is not to be missed.
“The Diary of Anne Frank” will play at the Raven Performing Arts Theater from April 7 to April 23, with a complimentary champagne meet-and-greet with the cast after opening night. On Sunday matinées, the cast will also return to the stage following the production to discuss Anne’s story, the production and answer questions from the audience.
Youth under 18 will be admitted free of charge so every young person in our community can have access to this unique educational experience. Due to the serious content of the play, the Raven’s recommended age for this show is 12 years and up.
Tickets can be purchased online at raventheater.org or at Copperfield’s Books in Healdsburg and Santa Rosa (cash/check only).
