Birmingham Village Players’ ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ Packs an Emotional Punch
I struggled with where to begin with this review. Not because of anything that Birmingham Village Players did with their production of The Diary of Anne Frank, but because of the weight of this story, given where our world is currently. Anne Frank is a symbol, a beacon of light and hope amid one of the world’s darkest times in modern history. Her life was cut short, serving as a promise that we’d never forget the atrocities that happened during World War II. The Frank family’s story is one of a sea of thousands, with each one just as important as the other, but there’s a poignancy to the words that Anne wrote in her diary that still speaks volumes even today. Especially today.
There’s wisdom beyond her years in what Anne Frank shares with the world, which playwrights Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, with a new adaptation by Wendy Kessleman, capture brilliantly. There’s a sense of urgency in Birmingham Village Players’ production of The Diary of Anne Frank, reminding audiences of what we stand to lose if we allow power to flow into the wrong hands. A message that is incredibly important and desperately needed. Director Michael A. Gravame infused this story with a softness as well, as the story of the Franks is brimming with hope, that for a better world through the eyes of a young girl who could see nothing less.
[Warning: Spoilers from The Diary of Anne Frank are below!]
The Diary of Anne Frank: when hope is stronger than fear
Life should have turned out differently for Anne (Josephine O’Reilly), as she should have been able to grow up carefree in a world that wasn’t so grim. However, when we meet the Franks at the beginning of the play, the world has taken a sinister turn. It’s July 1942 in Amsterdam, and Hitler and his regime have made life a fate worse than hell for Jewish people. Being Jewish was a crime under his rule, which forced the Franks to go into hiding.
Otto Frank (Joshua Harney) is a good man who wants nothing more than to protect his family at any cost. And as a father and husband, who can blame him in the slightest? He seems less worried about what happens to him, as long as his daughters, Anne and Margot (Stella Fenton), along with his wife Edith (Caryn Gach Leonard), make it out of this alive. So, he whisks them off to a secret annex above his office building, along with another family, the Van Daan’s, in hopes of waiting out the war.
However, life in the Annex is far from easy, especially for so many young children. The Franks and Van Daans cannot be discovered, as doing so would result in their deaths at the hands of the Nazi’s, which means that both families must operate their lives incredibly differently. No shoes on during the day, as little movement as possible while workers are present downstairs, and no flushing the toilet until everyone is gone. It seems like an almost impossible task where every movement seems dangerous.
And yet, these two families manage to carry on business as usual. Between school work, cooking, and cleaning the household, there’s always something to do. However, with the looming danger of what’s just outside their window, or in this case, just below their feet, their mind is never truly at ease.
As so many of us know, the story of Anne Frank isn’t one that ends happily, as she doesn’t survive WWII, even though she and her family lived for just over two years in that Secret Annex. However, while the show is heavy, there’s a light because of the energy that Anne has, which shines in the words she’s written down, chronicling their life in that attic. The ending will hit you hard emotionally, but over the course of The Diary of Anne Frank, you witness the love that these people have for one another and the joy they find even in the darkest of times.
The beauty of this Birmingham Village Players’ production
I want to be frank with all of you readers, this is a heavy show, and rightfully so. There’s no way to sugarcoat the events that Anne Frank went through while she was in the annex, as well as what transpired after. And, truthfully, doing so would be an incredible injustice to the events themselves. In times like these, and with stories like this one, the only way to tell them is to take the good along with the bad, as such is the duality of life.
What happened to this family and all families whisked to concentration camps was horrible, and as a society, we cannot erase those actions. People died, groups of people were eradicated because of one person’s beliefs, and that message isn’t lost on me. If anything, The Diary of Anne Frank serves as a reminder of why we have to keep pushing forward towards equality for all. We have to fight for minorities to have a voice so that someone can’t erase them for whatever reason.
I did leave the show feeling unbearably sad, which again is by design. I should have felt weighed down after seeing a family ripped from their makeshift home and marched to their deaths. I should have a heavy heart burdened by the tragedy that befell the Frank family. I had to sit for days with my thoughts and process my emotions to fully understand the complexity of what I was feeling, which is exactly what I hope each and every person who comes to see this show does.
However, I also felt that I saw Anne Frank in a new light. Throughout my education, we discussed Anne Frank’s death, but we didn’t always talk about the life she lived. Anne was full of life; she was sunshine incarnate. Sure, she was sassy at times and had just a bit of a temper, but who wouldn’t in her situation? As a psychologist, I could appreciate the delicacy of the situation in which she was raised and understand that having big emotions during that time would be expected. But more so than not, Anne wanted to spread happiness to those in her household at a time when joy was difficult to find.
That’s where the true beauty of this show shines, as The Diary of Anne Frank reminds people that while her ending might have been tragic, Anne had a lot to give, and still gives. She would have wanted people to remember her as happy, as energetic, as someone capable of kindness, because that was what she wanted the world to be. Her message lives on in the words she wrote, and the shows still being told about her life, which is the bit of sugar to this story that people are looking for.
Standouts from The Diary of Anne Frank at BVP
The cast of Birmingham Village Players’ production of The Diary of Anne Frank is the definition of small but mighty. There aren’t many players on the stage, but each one is integral to the story and brings their own personality to the role.
Josephine O’Reilly is incredibly charming as our narrator. Anne is strong-willed, often coming across as stubborn, but so filled with joy that she shares it with everyone she can. This character experiences such highs and lows, sometimes within the same scene, which requires a certain level of talent to pull off, which O’Reilly does. She embodies Anne with such precision that it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role.
Equally as engaging is Stella Fenton, who plays Anne’s sister Margot. Where Anne is fully formed in her own words, Margot is a bit of a blank slate on which this actress is able to paint a portrait. Margot’s one of the main catalysts for the Franks going into hiding, which puts a lot of responsibility on her shoulders. She’s quiet, although she has a voice when she needs it. Fear rules part of her life, but doesn’t stop her from pushing forward. That quiet strength is beautifully apparent in Fenton’s performance, and one of the main reasons to see this show.
Much like Margot, Edith Frank also has a quiet strength that is apparent even when she doesn’t say a word. She’s the quiet partner to Otto, although she makes her opinion known when it counts. Caryn Gach Leonard’s performance perfectly captures that strength, painting Edith as someone holding it together even when her world is falling apart. You can see her heart breaking in real time, as the months turn into years, but Leonard remains firm in Edith’s need to provide a sense of normalcy for her children.
There’s something magnetic about Joshua Harney’s Otto, which at first I couldn’t put my finger on. Perhaps it was the role of the protective, caring father, or just the patient, kind soul he is. But I think what made Harney’s portrayal intoxicating was the moments where Otto isn’t in control anymore.
Otto remains even-keeled throughout most of the show, as would be expected by his role as father. He’s not to show fear or worry. He’s supposed to remain calm so everyone else does. But there are moments, flashes, where the intensity of the situation hits him and the mask slips. It’s in these moments that you realize just how powerful an actor Harney is. His performance sent shivers down my spine.
Alex Pergjoni was also a standout as Peter Van Daan, the love interest of the young Anne. At first, the two seem vastly opposed to each other, but as the world becomes tighter and it feels like all hope is lost, they manage to find each other again. Peter is a bundle of raw nerves, which leaves him on edge for most of the time in the secret annex. Pergjoni manages to display that raw anxiety perfectly; however also infuses Peter with a level of humanity that I’ve yet to see from another in this role.
Final Thoughts on The Diary of Anne Frank
Shows such as this one from Birmingham Village Players aren’t designed to be comfortable. They serve as a chronicle to the dark side of our world’s history and a testament to the strength and resilience of humankind. There is a weight that you’re supposed to take with you into the world from seeing the life of Anne Frank and her family, and the crimes done to them and others like them. However, The Diary of Anne Frank isn’t all gloom, as there’s as much light as the audience sees the world through Anne’s eyes. Despite all the negativity, she refused to let the world get her down. She was scared, and rightfully so, but she never allowed that to stop her from finding the joy in life, which is perhaps the most inspirational message audiences should take away from this production.
The Diary of Anne Frank runs at Birmingham Village Players through March 22, so get your tickets now! Did you see this play on opening weekend? Plan on checking it out before it closes? Share your thoughts on social media and tag @bsb.insider to continue the conversation!
