Playhouse Jr. Presents New Adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank

Playhouse Jr., Point Park University's professional quality youth theatre company, closes its 62nd season with The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman, and directed by Shirley Tannenbaum. The Diary of Anne Frank runs May 27 - June 12 at The Playhouse in Oakland; local Holocaust survivors will speak after the 2 p.m. performances on June 5 and June 12.

The Diary of Anne Frank is one of the most well-known books in the world. But you've never seen it presented like this before. Performed for the first time in Pittsburgh, this new adaptation by Wendy Kesselman premiered on Broadway in 1997 and received two Tony Nominations in 1999 for Best Revival of a Play and Best Featured Actress (Linda Lavin), and two Drama Desk nominations. It brings history to life in a whole new way. At times both poignant and funny, the play depicts the tragedy of the Holocaust through the story of a young girl forced to hide with her family in an attic for two years during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Anne stayed sane by writing in a diary, recording her impressions as the world fell apart around her. Audiences will experience anew the bleak terror and resolute hopefulness of the girl who wrote, "I don't think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that still remains."

Two post-show discussions with local Holocaust survivors will be held after the June 5 and June 12 performances. Moshe Baran will speak after the 2 p.m. performance on Sunday, June 5. Baran was born in 1920 in Horodok, Poland. During the Holocaust, he was in Horodok Ghetto, Krasny Ghetto/forced labor camp in Bielorussia and the forests and swamps near Wileyka-Ilia, Bielorussia. Baran had one brother and two sisters; he along with his brother and one sister survived. In addition, his mother was the only surviving mother from his hometown; his father and one sister perished.

Fritz Ottenheimer will speak after the 2 p.m. performance on Sunday, June 12. Ottenheimer was born in 1925 in Constance, Germany. He emigrated to the United States in 1939 with his parents and sisters, and served in the U.S. Army in Germany as a liberator in 1945 and 1946. After the war he worked with the U.S. military in the de-Nazification process in Germany.

In addition to the public performances, school groups will attend special fieldtrip performances on May 26, May 31, June 2, June 8 and June 9. Post-show discussions with local Holocaust survivors Moshe Baran, Francine Gelernter and Shulamit Bastacky will be held after the performances.

The Diary of Anne Frank will be performed in the Rauh Theatre at the Pittsburgh Playhouse from May 27 - June 12 on weekends. Shows run Fridays at 7:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Tickets for all shows are $7 and can be purchased by calling the Pittsburgh Playhouse box office at 412-392-8000 or online at www.pittsburghplayhouse.com.

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