For 20 years, Open Stage produced The Diary of Anne Frank for schools in the Harrisburg area, and was seen by over 35,000 students across Pennsylvania. Like countless shows across the country, the 21st production was shut down the week before opening in March of 2020.
On the final night that the cast and crew were able to gather back in mid-March, and as Governor Tom Wolf was expected to make an imminent announcement regarding a statewide shutdown, staff members made the decision to capture the last dress rehearsal with three HD cameras they had available, and archive the show. The cast and crew, of course, never saw an audience as the upcoming performances, which had over 2500 tickets booked, were cancelled.The staff set to work to work to contact the licensing company to get permission to stream performances of the edited video, be shared with the city that had supported the show for two decades. Now, as the pandemic continues, and theatres are share online content across the country, the importance of this final performance where the artists of Open Stage were able to gather has not been lost on any of the people who worked on the production.
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