Opinion: Little Theatre excels with powerful 'Anne Frank'

The tales told of those times speak of unimaginable horrors. One knows there are more that have never come to the fore.

In 1947, Miep Gies presented to the world a tome that is as powerful a testament to the indelibility of the human spirit as anything ever committed to paper.

Gies was a friend and confidante of a Jewish family living in Amsterdam.

That family was the Franks, who – because of the political climate of the time – went into hiding in an effort to save themselves from persecution, prosecution and execution.

The memoirs of 13-year-old Anne Frank – published as “Anne Frank, the Diary of a Young Girl” – was the book Gies brought to the world.

The prose and perspective presented in Frank’s diary prove the point: “From the mouths of babes comes great wisdom.”

More than 25 million copies of the book have been sold. The story has been made into a film, countless TV programs and numerous Broadway productions.

Springfield Little Theatre’s presentation of “The Diary of Anne Frank” is based on the most recent Broadway play, which was written/adapted by Wendy Kesselman.

The play was a vehicle for Natalie Portman, who starred as Anne Frank.

According to SLT director Mick Denniston, this version touches a bit more on the sensibilities and sexuality of a 13-year-old girl than previous productions.

It is strikingly more revealing than the film but is taken directly from Anne Frank’s diary.

Denniston says, “(Otto Frank, Anne’s father) originally held these things back because he thought it was too revealing about her coming of age, her awareness of the changes in her body and her attraction to the young man, Peter.”

Nothing ever gets explicit in the production, but anyone who remembers what 13 was like can identify with the urges young Anne is feeling. Her milieu makes it all the more frustrating.

Denniston’s direction, and the acting of Darby Kennerly as Anne, combine to make the play the most powerful production ever presented at Springfield Little Theatre.

Kennerly is working on her Master of Arts at Missouri State University and for her thesis has constructed a one-woman show based on Anne Frank’s story. She has obviously absorbed the character. Her performance in the play is without fault. It’s a role that is nearly impossible to fulfill. But she does it.

Director Mick Denniston is the former executive director of SLT. He left that post in 2000. He still returns to direct a play once a year.

It seems that not having the hassle of RUNNING the theater might make the artistic aspect more workable.

Denniston says, “There’s time now when I have to do a show. I don’t have to think about the past show or the next show. All I have is the show I’m doing now. And I get to choose the ones I want to do … that have some artistic statement I want to make. So that’s always a plus when you get to work on a show you believe in.”

Denniston also credits the cast of “Anne Frank” for not performing their parts as if they already knew the ending.

His point is well taken. Even though the audience knows the tragic finality, the characters do not (or should not). Their daily existence has them believing everything is going to be fine in the end. They have each other, and they hope for the best.

As actors, if the cast even hinted at knowing their fate it would diminish this story’s power.

But everyone here acts as if there WILL be a tomorrow.

The story is a powerful one, and this presentation is worthy of the subject.

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.

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