Rosedale to present ‘Anne Frank’

For The Plain City Advocate

ROSEDALE — What’s it like to be a 13-year-old girl who loves life and has to grow up while hiding from the Nazis?

Rosedale Bible College’s production of “The Diary of Anne Frank” Feb. 1-3 will provide a window into the warehouse annex where Anne and seven other people spent over two years together, coping with fear, crowded quarters and human frailty.

They’ll hear what it was like for Anne, in her own words.

And they’ll discover that this play is “very relevant today,” according to director Christa J. Wolf. She hopes the story will “remind us as a society that everyone is affected [by war].”

Wolf is working with Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett’s script, which is based on the book “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl,” the record of a teenage Jewish girl’s experiences during World War II.

Wolf has incorporated parts of a later adaptation by Wendy Kesselman to give a sense of the immediacy of the war and its impact. “We’re taking the idea of broadcasting Hitler’s voice on the BBC,” she said. Wolf also used some scenes that further developed the character of Margot, Anne’s sister.

The set is designed to highlight the difficulty of living in such close quarters. “All eight main characters are onstage at the same time,” said Wolf. The play is “really more about people having to cope and relate in very close quarters. I think it’s a human relationship story, honestly.” Tempers flare, but people find a way to forgive.

Rosedale Bible College student Kandace Miller, from Hutchinson, Kan., enjoys playing Anne.

If you go

Performances will take place in the RBC chapel building at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 1, and Saturday, Feb. 2, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 3. The doors will open half an hour before performance, and tickets will be sold online, by phone, or at the door. Visit rosedale.edu or call (740) 857-1311 for more information.

Posted by Staff Reports on Jan 28 2013. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.