'Diary of Anne Frank' to be Musicalized in Madrid

The world-famous and striking real events detailed in the novel "The Diary of Anne Frank" will be made into a Spanish musical, reports BBC Entertainment.

"The show, to be performed by a 22-strong cast including a 13-year-old girl in the lead role, will open at Madrid's Calderon Theatre in February…The show's director, Rafael Alvero, said the 'emotional' staging was comparable to a tragic opera," states the article.

"The Diary of Anne Frank" chronicles the touching and frightening events of her life from June 12, 1942 until August 1, 1944, while she and her family hid from the Nazis in an attic in Amsterdam.  Frank and her family were later discovered and arrested in 1944 – and nearly everyone later perished in concentration camps.

Anne Frank's diary, preserved by her surviving father, was later published and has been read by millions.

Director Alvero says the musical was initially met with mixed reaction, but the Anne Frank Museum endorses the project.  Cast members and thirteen-year-old Isabella Castillo (who will star as Anne Frank), were given a tour of the crowded Amsterdam annex last week, and sang some of the musical's numbers to the museum staff.