Lyceum review: "The Diary of Anne Frank" a personal, poignant family story with horror of war as backdrop

Anne Frank, played by Heather Schmidt, writes in her diary while her mother, Edith Frank, played by Kat Singleton, looks on. (Contributed photo) [Click to enlarge]

Much has been written and performed about World War II and the Holocaust, and these subjects fit well with the good-versus-evil tropes often employed by Hollywood.

"The Diary of Anne Frank," which is currently showing at Arrow Rock's Lyceum Theater, also depicts the struggle between nations and ideas during the war, but it sheds a very personal, very intimate light on that terrible conflict.

Anne Frank was 13 years old in 1942 when her and one other Jewish family began living in a secret annex above her father's business in Amsterdam. The seven people, later eight, occupying those five rooms expected to remain for a matter of months; instead they lived in hiding for more than two years before being betrayed to the Germans by an unknown source.

The Franks were sent to various concentration camps, and only Anne's father, Otto, survived.

In the Lyceum's production, Heather Schmidt portrays Anne with an appropriate mixture of teenage vivacity and angst.

Like any adolescent girl, Anne feels a bit misunderstood and fights with her mother. But at the same time, she has a way of bringing all the residents of the annex together -- by scrimping and saving and being quite innovative, Anne makes everyone Hanukkah presents. Watching Anne experience her first kiss and her first menstrual cycle to the wail of Gestapo sirens is a poignant reminder that some normalcies of life endure even in the most uncommon circumstances.

But of course, Anne is not the only person hiding in the cramped quarters. Her strong but mild-mannered father, played by David Girolmo, is always there to comfort her. It is his words that end the play, too, in a somber and eloquent soliloquy.

Margot and Edith Frank, Anne's sister and mother, serve as role models and irritants to the less ladylike Anne.

With their often loud and angry arguments, the Van Daans are the antithesis of Anne's parents. Their shy son, Peter, is first a great annoyance to Anne, though later she finds him anything but.

The annex's final resident is the dentist Mr. Dussel, played by Ron Wisniski. He is a bit of a tragic comic character, who sometimes seems like a member of "The Odd Couple" or one of the "Grumpy Old Men."

These eight individuals come alive on the stage transformed into an attic annex at the Lyceum. Together they listen eagerly to news reports, choke down rotten potatoes and walk quietly in their sock feet -- all in the shadow of the war raging without.

They laugh, they cry and they fight, but hope is never fully lost.

They wait for the day when, regardless of race, religion or creed, they can walk down the streets freely and be accepted and embraced, not judged.

Matinee performances of "The Diary of Anne Frank" will be at 2 p.m. on Aug. 12, 13 and 15. Evening performances are scheduled for Aug. 12, 14 and 15.

For tickets, visit the Lyceum website at or call 660-837-3311.

Contact Sydney Stonner at marshallbusiness@socket.net

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Lyceum preview: "The Diary of Anne Frank" opens Saturday

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