I went to the opening night of this marvelous production on Friday October 25, 2024. The stage was set to be like the Annex above where Anne’s father, Otto Frank, worked, which was a small living space in real life as well as in the play. Their hiding place was hidden behind a bookcase to prevent discovery by the Green Police.
The actors in the play performed outstandingly. Makenna Kercher’s portrayal of Anne Frank was funny, and bubbly. Her portrayal of Anne lashing out at her mother, played by Melanie Bridges, was chillingly brilliant. When Anne yells at her mother, Kenna sent chills up my spine. Meanwhile, Melanie brought out the subtle charm, kindness, and nurturing nature of Edith Frank.
I found the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Van Dann, played by Luke Howard and Maria Zartman, as comic relief in some parts of the production. For example, when Mrs. Van Daan explained her youth and countless interactions with young suitors to Anne, Mr. Van Dann looked like he wanted to say, “What did I get myself into?” I was also fascinated by how Mr. Van Daan (Luke) was able to make it look like he was truly smoking a cigarette. During the Meet and Greet after the performance, he told me that it was made of cigarette paper and paper bags, so the fumes weren’t harmful. One of my favorite lines from Mrs. Van Dann was, “Remember Mr. So-and-so, remember I’m a lady.” I may need to use that in the future when men try to hit on me. I also found it hilarious when Mrs. Van Daan tried to flirt with Otto, played by Jacob Livingston.
I felt Jacob did well with portraying a wide variety of emotions throughout the production. He conveys both hope and fear while leading the inhabitants of the Annex as they hide. I specifically enjoyed the interactions between him and Miep Gies, played by Lillian Rogers, and Mr. Kraler, played by Coen Jaques. They made me believe in their friendship and reliance on one another to survive the hardships of the Nazi regimes. Additionally, Jacob flawlessly employed a sense of melancholy and sorrow while lamenting the death of his family and friends in the final scene.
I believe Jadon Nelson, who played Peter Van Daan, a shy, lonely 16-year-old boy, did a splendid job in his interactions with each of the characters. He started out as this teenage boy who loved his cat more than anything and preferred to be in his room most of the time, to being able to talk to Anne and be honest with her. I thought their relationship (whatever it may have been to both of them) was growing into more than mere friendship by the end of the show, evidenced by Jadon and Kenna’s deep chemistry.
There are also some characters who were quiet for a bit of time who I feel did a great job in their roles, one of them using sarcastic humor and another being one of the peacekeepers amongst the chaos. Abigail Spencer, Understudy for Margot Frank, wonderfully portrayed Anne’s older, sweet, and wise sister. She did well in her interactions with the rest of the cast from comforting her mother (Melanie) after Anne (Kenna) refused her mother’s compassion, to speaking up that food shouldn’t be divided in anger but shared in kindness. As for Mr. Dussel, played by Noah Hallam, he was a somewhat timid yet sarcastic kind of character that balanced out the chaos.
I deeply enjoyed how the cast looked in their costumes, how much effort the designers put into making the dresses and suits period-accurate for the 1940’s. The hair and makeup were well done, too. As for lights and sound, I jumped at the final sequence of Act 2 Scene 4, which marked the end of the inhabitants’ stay in the Annex. When all the actors froze from the sound of the Nazis knocking on the door and the lights went out, I got so scared that I almost jumped completely out of my seat.
Overall, I found the performance highly enjoyable. This performance retold the story of discrimination of a young girl and her family based on their faith and culture in a tragic yet beautiful light. I want to say thank you to all the actors who performed marvelously in this production.