Evanston’s fall play, The Diary of Anne Frank, opened last night. The heartbreakingly true production challenges both directors and the 12-person cast to display the emotion and uniqueness to Frank’s narrative. 

The story of Anne Frank is told from the perspective of a present day high school sophomore, Maya Hlava. The Diary of Anne Frank portrays the story of a Jewish family forced into hiding during the Holocaust. The story centers around the thoughts and hopes of Anne Frank while she is hidden away living in fear and ultimately facing unimaginable consequences. 

One member of the cast, junior Brynn Aaronson, states that the direction from assistant director, senior Ronni Lewis, has been beneficial for her as a student identifying as Jewish. 

“I’m Jewish and both my parents are Jewish. I’ve been raised Jewish my whole life,” explains Aaronson. 

 Cast members and directors alike have connected with the history behind the show.    To educate members, directors required the cast to visit the Holocaust museum and participae in a traditonal Shabatt dinner. 

“We did a shabbat dinner which the assistant director hosted. We had traditional jewish food, and talked about the culture and all of the holidays, so there definitely has been education,” says Aaronson. 

 The director of the play, Nancy Godinez, intends to allow actors to connect with their characters, hopefully increasing focus of community, family and humanity. Additionally, Godinez talks about why the show is important to the Evanston community. Godinez feels the story of Anne Frank brings heartache and truth, and she thinks this play will be powerful to all who see it. In the end, Godinez hopes for the audience to see the performance as an inspirational story because Anne Frank was an upstander. 

“Nobody wants to think about the Holocaust, but it’s important to think about because it reminds us all about our humanity,” Godinez explains. 

The Diary of Anne Frank  is selling tickets now on www.ethsfinearts.com, tickets are $6 for students, seniors and $8 for adults. The show will be held in the Upstairs Theatre from Dec. 12 through Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m.