Teen Thespians Tell Anne Frank’s Story
April 26, 2017 at 6:17 p.m.
Teen Thespians Tell Anne Frank’s Story
By David [email protected]
From Auschwitz, Anne and her sister Margot were transferred to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp two or three months later.
In February or March 1945, Anne died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen. She was only 15 years old.
Her father, Otto, was the only survivor from their family. After the war, he returned to Amsterdam to find that Anne’s diary had been saved by one of the helpers, Miep Gies. Otto had Anne’s diary published in 1947.
This weekend, Warsaw Community High School students, who are barely older than Frank was when she died, will present the play “The Diary of Anne Frank,” which is based on the diary.
Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the WCHS Performing Arts Center black box theater. Tickets are $8.
The play chronicles Anne’s life in hiding from 1942 to 1944 during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. She was born in Frankfurt, Germany, and lived most of her life in or near Amsterdam, Netherlands, after her family moved there when she was 4-1/2. Anne received a diary as a birthday present and wrote in it almost daily.
“The plot of ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ is a true story of the Franks, family friends of the Van Daans; and a dentist, Mr. Dussel, is hiding as well. There are eight people total hiding in the attic for two full years. Imagine being in that close proximity for two years. Each person brings their unique personality to the situation,” Samuel Engle said. Engle plays Otto in the WCHS production.
Otto never admits to being uncomfortable in the attic, Engle said, while others like the Van Daans remind the others of just how uncomfortable they are.
“Anne brings her childlike faith to the whole situation, which keeps a lot of the characters sane with her faith, hope and optimism,” Engle said.
In the opening scene of the play, Engle said the audience learns that Otto was the only survivor of the concentration camps.
“This is the second annual thespian show. To audition, you have to be a senior or inducted as a thespian. Last year the show was ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.’ The shows rotate every year between a musical and a play,” explained Engle.
Along with Engle as Otto, the cast includes Katie Yocum as Anne; Lydia DeBoest as Edith Frank; Brooke Neubaum as Miep Gies; Bailey Berelsman as Mr. Kraler; Aaron Wainscott as Mr. Van Daan; Gabi Bradley as Mrs. Van Daan; Caleb Childers as Peter Van Daan; Emma Tomasik as Margot Frank; and Cole Hoskins as Mr. Dussel.
The play is directed by WCHS drama teacher Dana McAfee. Crew and tech members are Rachael Kuhn, Eleanor Williamson, Wakelyn Hudson and Kendall Cox.
From Auschwitz, Anne and her sister Margot were transferred to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp two or three months later.
In February or March 1945, Anne died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen. She was only 15 years old.
Her father, Otto, was the only survivor from their family. After the war, he returned to Amsterdam to find that Anne’s diary had been saved by one of the helpers, Miep Gies. Otto had Anne’s diary published in 1947.
This weekend, Warsaw Community High School students, who are barely older than Frank was when she died, will present the play “The Diary of Anne Frank,” which is based on the diary.
Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the WCHS Performing Arts Center black box theater. Tickets are $8.
The play chronicles Anne’s life in hiding from 1942 to 1944 during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. She was born in Frankfurt, Germany, and lived most of her life in or near Amsterdam, Netherlands, after her family moved there when she was 4-1/2. Anne received a diary as a birthday present and wrote in it almost daily.
“The plot of ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ is a true story of the Franks, family friends of the Van Daans; and a dentist, Mr. Dussel, is hiding as well. There are eight people total hiding in the attic for two full years. Imagine being in that close proximity for two years. Each person brings their unique personality to the situation,” Samuel Engle said. Engle plays Otto in the WCHS production.
Otto never admits to being uncomfortable in the attic, Engle said, while others like the Van Daans remind the others of just how uncomfortable they are.
“Anne brings her childlike faith to the whole situation, which keeps a lot of the characters sane with her faith, hope and optimism,” Engle said.
In the opening scene of the play, Engle said the audience learns that Otto was the only survivor of the concentration camps.
“This is the second annual thespian show. To audition, you have to be a senior or inducted as a thespian. Last year the show was ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.’ The shows rotate every year between a musical and a play,” explained Engle.
Along with Engle as Otto, the cast includes Katie Yocum as Anne; Lydia DeBoest as Edith Frank; Brooke Neubaum as Miep Gies; Bailey Berelsman as Mr. Kraler; Aaron Wainscott as Mr. Van Daan; Gabi Bradley as Mrs. Van Daan; Caleb Childers as Peter Van Daan; Emma Tomasik as Margot Frank; and Cole Hoskins as Mr. Dussel.
The play is directed by WCHS drama teacher Dana McAfee. Crew and tech members are Rachael Kuhn, Eleanor Williamson, Wakelyn Hudson and Kendall Cox.
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