'Anne Frank' is a moving history lesson

By Tony Wade | DAILY REPUBLIC CORRESPONDENT | October 13, 2010 00:04
Cast members of The Diary of Anne Frank on stage at the Mira Theatre Guild in Vallejo. Photo by Mike Greener
VALLEJO - Mira Theatre Guild has done a remarkable job restoring the historic Bay Terrace Theatre. It was nice to see it had been painted and now has heating.

Still, I love how the old ornate wood decoration frames the stage, creating the feeling you are watching a huge 3-D, high-definition television.

The company's latest production, 'The Diary of Anne Frank,' is based on the diary entries of a Jewish teenager who, with her family and a few guests, hid in a loft in Amsterdam for two years during World War II.

Eventually they were betrayed, captured by the Nazis and sent to concentration camps where all of them died save the family patriarch, Otto Frank.

Frank had his daughter's diary published and it became a play, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1959.

The first thing that hits you walking into the auditorium is the wonderfully elaborate set created by designer extraordinaire Chuck Waters, who was responsible for the ornate ones used in Mira's 'Brighton Beach Memoirs' and 'I Am My Own Wife' earlier this year.

The wooden structure included staircases, doors, numerous rooms including the 'W.C.' (water closet), workable lights and a skylight, among other features.

Director Harry Diavatis led by example because in addition to squeezing honesty and believability out of his cast, he also played the role of Otto Frank.

That is not accurate. Diavatis actually became Otto Frank for the duration of the play.

Diavatis as Frank was the loving husband and father to his family, the generous host to his friends and the calming influence to all.

The play opened with Frank returning to the loft after discovering his family had been killed. They appear briefly as ghosts in concentration camp uniforms and the effect was chilling.

Anne Frank was played by 15-year-old Suisun City resident Amber Mitchell. She captured the intelligent, artistic, bratty, evolving nature of the title character quite well.

Whether spewing invective about her annoying roommate Mr. Dussel, punctuating a nightmare with a bloodcurdling scream or evaluating her relationships via voice over in her diary, Mitchell brought the goods.

The aforementioned Mr. Dussel was played by David Schuster. He, too, immersed himself into the character whose idiosyncrasies so irked young Anne.

The Franks' guests, Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan, were played respectively by Nathan Day and Jennifer Mizell.

Both reflected the essence of their characters and the audience was sucked into their world of a marriage strained by unimaginable stressors.

Kiernan Morgan portrayed the Van Daans' son, Peter, who Anne initially couldn't stand but eventually had a romance with. Morgan's interaction with all was great.

The only distracting thing in the play was the use of a fake cat for Peter's pet. I realize that a trained cat is an oxymoron, but having the stuffed one looked kind of creepy and/or comic and seemed out of place.

The cast was rounded out nicely by Kirsten Dwyer as Anne's older and quieter sister, Margot; Karyn Knowles as Mrs. Frank; and Natalie Rapp as Miep, the Christian woman who delivers food and news to the families. All were outstanding.

The sound design (Don Dungan) deserves a special mention because the time-marching-on sound of foghorns, Nazi soldiers marching and children playing outside all added realism.

Having Anne's voice-over comments fade out with the spotlight dimming was also a nice touch.

Jon Gourdine, the lighting designer, created atmosphere and reflected appropriate temperament with his skilled hand.

The costumes (by aptly-named John Hemm) and props (Janice Bibeau) were well done and blended together to help sustain the illusion of actually peering into the past.

It is traditional to acknowledge the work of actors in a play by having a curtain call where the cast comes out, usually in a line holding hands, and takes a bow.

At Mira's 'Anne Frank' it was done, as the entire play was, with understated style and class. After a brief blackout, the actors assembled on the stage posed as if in a family portrait.

Though I was appropriately in tears at the end of the show, grief is not what this play leaves with theatergoers. Instead it reinforces the warm glow of hope that the human spirit can persevere in even the most unthinkable of circumstances.

Reach Fairfield freelance writer Tony Wade at getthelowdown@sbcglobal.net.



'The Diary of Anne Frank'

8 p.m. Friday and Saturday

2 p.m. Sunday

Bay Terrace Theatre, 51 Daniels Avenue, Vallejo

Tickets are $17 in advance or online and $10 for children 12 and under. At the door, tickets are $20.

http://www.miratheatreguild.org

3.5 stars out of four