Inside Iowa State

February 25, 2005

Holocaust story relevant today

by Dave Gieseke, LAS Public Relations

ISU Theatre's next production is Diary of Anne Frank, the story of a young Jewish girl coming of age during the Holocaust. The drama will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Feb.25-26 and March 4-5. Matinees are 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 27 and March 6. Performances are at Fisher Theater.

Jane Cox, professor of music and the play's director, said the drama still is relevant some 60 years after the end of World War II.

"The story still has a powerful message for all of us," Cox said. "It's a period of time that none of us should forget."

Diary of Anne Frank follows the Franks, a wealthy Jewish family who hid for two years in cramped quarters in Amsterdam, Holland, after Nazi Germany overran Western Europe. Anne Frank begins a diary that describes those days. The play is adapted from Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, edited by Otto Frank.

"In her diary, Anne writes exactly what she thinks about people," Cox said. "When she's angry with her mom, she tells it like it is.

"People can relate to that," Cox continued. "It's a very intimate tale and you get to know her as the young girl that she is. The play also shows how a group of people negotiate and navigate around each other for the two years they were in hiding in a very tight space."

Tickets are $13 and available at the Stephens box office, 4-3347.

ISU Theatre will present Diary of Anne Frank Feb. 25-27 and March 4-6. The cast includes (clockwise from left) Philip Henry (Mr. Frank), Catie Tell (Margot Frank), Rachel Miller (Mrs. Frank) and Laura Williams (Anne Frank). Photo by Patrick Gouran.