The Fredericksburg Theater Company’s production of The Diary of Anne Frank holds special meaning for the Voorhees family. Julie Voorhees (top) is managing director, and her daughters Rebecca (center), and Madelyne (front) share the role of Anne at different ages during the two-year captivity. Photo by Phil Houseal
Details:
The Diary of Anne Frank runs from September 10 - 26, 2010. Tickets are $20 for adults, $5.50 for age 18 and under. For tickets and information:
Online: www.fredericksburgtheater.org
Box Office: 306 E. Austin Street
Phone: 830-997-3588
The Exhibit
Anne Frank: A History for Today will be on display in the lobby of the Steve W. Shepherd Theater September 3 - 26, 2010.
Hours:
Monday - Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday - Saturday 9am - 3pm
Closed Sunday (except during performance)
Exhibit Entrance Fees: Adults $5, Youth 18 and Under $1. Exhibit fee included in ticket to performance. Special rates for school groups. Please contact the FTC office for details.
Talk Abouts
The theater will offer two pre-show “talk abouts” - one on Thursday, Sept. 16, and one Sunday, Sept. 19. Pricing is $25 for adults and $5.50 for youth 18 and under with special educational group pricing available.
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Hardship and Hope
by Phil Houseal
Sept 8, 2010
Why should you see The Diary of Anne Frank?
Julie Voorhees has an answer: “To be charged with never being a bystander.”
The story and play - produced by the Fredericksburg Theater Company and starting this week - have inspired generations around the world. It tells the saga of Jewish families hiding in Amsterdam during the reign of Nazism. Anne was one of eight residents that spent two years living in a secret annex, with the teenage Anne chronicling the experience in her diary.
The drama holds special meaning for the Voorhees family, and not just because Voorhees is managing director of FTC, and her daughters, Rebecca, 14, and Madelyne, 12, share the lead role of Anne Frank.
The Voorhees are Jewish.
“Growing up on the subject matter, and going to Hebrew school, the Holocaust was a very serious subject,” Voorhees explained. “We studied it every year. We were charged with the responsibility of making sure of it never happening again.”
To reinforce that message of not letting history repeat itself, Voorhees brought in an exhibit from the Anne Frank Center in New York, developed by the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. It includes photographs and more background on the families involved in the story.
“This show and exhibit is one way of doing that,” Voorhees said. “We are bringing in the exhibit to complement the play. Most people know the story, but even I learned things I didn’t know.”
Another innovation of this show is having dual actresses - who happen to be Voorhees’ daughters - play the part of Anne Frank. No one is aware if this casting has been tried before.
“It was assistant director Matt Ward’s idea, and he told John Phelps (the director),” Voorhees said. “During auditions, JP pulled me aside and asked, ‘What would you think of two Anne Franks?’ He told me his idea of transforming them on stage, and I thought it was brilliant.”
That was before she even realized he was talking about her two daughters.
“I never grasped as a kid that it was two whole years in hiding, two years of never going outside,” she said. “When I look at my girls, and think what happens in their lives in two years at that age, it really brings it to reality.”
But don’t get the misconception that the Diary of Anne Frank is only a play about Jews, for Jews. There are two other important characters.
“It is also a play about the Christians who risked their lives to save these two families. They were the Frank family’s lifeline to the world.”
In addition to the exhibit, the theater staff added material to make this show more of an experience. They will offer a 30-min “talk about” before select shows to share background and history, and discuss set design and symbolism. Cast and crew will stay after each show to answer questions.
Voorhees acknowledges that the production may nudge theater-goers out of their comfort zones.
“The story is sad, yes. Yes, you will cry, because it is very emotionally moving. But there is hope. And I hope people come away saying I can make a difference. Even though she perished, through her writing Anne made a difference and is still making a difference.”
So why should you go see The Diary of Anne Frank?
“It is beautiful and it needs to be seen. It’s just a good story.” Voorhees thought for a moment, then added, “Maybe we have to be sad for a little while, so we can be sure of never letting it happen again.”