by Bea Peterson
The audience will have much to admire when they attend this weekend’s production of The Diary of Anne Frank at Hoosick Falls Central School. The auditorium has a refinished floor and refurbished seats. The stage has new lighting, new curtains and rigging. For this production air and floor microphones will be used. The set is top notch, and the cast is outstanding. Rehearsals have been going on for eight weeks.
Laura Stevenson plays Anne Frank. Her understudy is Molly Fleming. Mr. Otto Frank is played by Peter Donohue, Mrs. Edith Frank is played by Maeghan DiMaggio and Anna Youngmann plays Margot Frank.
The “Frank family” took a break from rehearsal on Tuesday to discuss the production.
They are all excited by their roles and agree this play is very different from anything the Drama Club has taken on. “It’s much more serious and very heavy,” said Laura. Peter said it’s the first serious play the school has done. They agreed it is different but enjoyable. They had all read the book or play. Laura said she had seen one version of it and she knows most people are vaguely familiar with the story. Peter and Laura have appeared in productions at Hubbard Hall and the Village Theater. Anna was in the chorus of Hello Dolly. “This is interesting,” she said. “We had to do some stretching.”
“Musicals are challenging,” said Laura. “When there is a lot of dance numbers you have to watch out for the crowd on stage. This is emotionally draining and challenges the intellect.”
“As you begin to understand your character, you better begin to understand yourself,” said Maeghan. All of them had read up on the characters they portray. These are real people, they said. Anna added they understood these people had no where to go and they grasped the awkwardness of being close together. “The whole second act,” she said, “is strong. In ten minutes we experience every emotion – joy, hope, love, acceptance, humiliation, pain. It’s a roller coaster!”
In order to keep the play’s illusion and facade intact, the cast will not come out to visit with the audience during intermission as is the custom. “We don’t break that fourth wall,” said Anna.
Maeghan said the production has changed her perspective on the Holocaust. “I knew it was bad, but they were hiding because of the realty.” This is a true story, they said. This was real! Laura said there is a love interest of sorts for Anne. “She was so young but an old soul at the same time.”
Laura concluded, “It’s not about how they died. It’s about how they lived.”
“If we’ve learned anything,” said Anna, “it’s to cut prejudice off at the beginning.” Peter agreed. He said coming from a Catholic school to HFCS has been isolating. “There are often stereotypes of kids from other schools.” They noted the problems in Africa as another instance of prejudice. “We have to be hopeful,” said Maeghan. We can’t despair of the sad ending [of this play]. We have to let it be a lesson. To challenge us to do something about prejudice.”
Fantastic Set
The set for the production is impressive. There are sloped ceilings, walls that can be reused for other productions, sturdy doors and windows that pop out. The set covers the entire stage. On the floor in front of the stage is the hidden door to the attic which hid Anne and the others.
Charles Krawczyk said he has done some set design in the past. This is his first full set, and it is fantastic. HF senior Justin Carter has great carpentry skills and was a big help on the wall sections, said Krawczyk, as was Dwain Wilwol. All the cast helped with the set and parents helped with the painting. The detail painting was done by Aaron Buzzinski and Tammy Bird. “They’re a good group,” he said. “They are fun to work with, and they know what they are doing.” It took four weeks to build.
Besides being Stage Designer, Krawczyk is Assistant Director of Diary. His first directing job was for HFCS’s production of Titus. He was assistant director for Sussical and Hello Dolly. He has been a volunteer at Old Castle for five seasons and is currently director of the Mad Hatters at Southern Vermont College.
The remainder of the cast and crew include:
Sara Smith as Mrs. Petranella Van Daan, Simeon Youngmann as Mr. Hermann Van Daan and Nick Montfort as Peter Van Daan. Brett Hanselman is Mr. Dussel, Mary Donohue is Miep Gies, Ben Taylor is Mr. Kraler. Katherine Danforth is a BBC Radio Broadcaster. Josh Harrison is Rauter, Chief of the SS. Anna Orel is Dutch Minister Bolkestein, Lauren Conte and Justin Carter are German Soldiers.
Stage Manager and Director is Rob Allen, Costume Design is Melissa Reynolds, Lighting Design is Tom Revane, Sound Design is Paul Donohue.
The show goes on Friday and Saturday, November 21 and 22, at 7 pm and Sunday, November 23, at 2 pm. Admission is free.