THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK Comes to Rise Above Performing Arts

Rise Above Performing Arts will present The Diary of Anne Frank. This powerful and riveting drama hits Sarasota February 20-23 & February 27-March 2. Tayla Wright is portrays Anne Frank, a young girl whose diary entries have been a hallmark of one of the greatest historical moments of all-time.

The Diary of Anne Frank is one of the most famous and haunting stories to emerge from the 20th Century. The memoirs of this young Jewish girl, forced to hide for nearly two years to escape Nazi persecution, are an essential part of how we remember one of the darkest periods of our human history. The Pulitzer Prize award-winning script by Goodrich and Hackett draws from parts of Anne Frank’s real-life diary, allowing the audience to experience Anne in a way that breathes life into this passionate, complex young woman. For nearly two years, Anne, her father, mother, and sister, joined with the Van Daan family to hide in a secret annex space above her father’s former office in Amsterdam, as the Nazis deported Dutch Jews to their deaths. In her secret attic, Anne comes of age: she laughs, plays, fights with her mother, and falls in love for the first time. In spite of her oppressive circumstances and the horrors that surround her, Anne’s spirit transcends, as she voices her belief, “in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.”

Wright shares the stage with Jackson Mitchell and Rue Brown (Mr. & Mrs. Frank) along with Addison Ruscoe (Mr. Van Daan). The combination of these actors and their supporting cast present an emotional journey that will elicit an array of nearly every emotion from those who know the history as well as those who experience the story for the first time. It is a story that needs to be told and live in the hearts of all who experience it.

Directors Toni Dentico and Jacob Ruscoe have created a true work of art, instilling  a deep sense of hope in its audience. The Diary of Anne Frank is a remarkable play that should not be missed.  

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