A gripping if tight ‘diary’ at playhouse

Tom Titus

When Anne Frank chronicled the hardships she and her family endured

while hiding from the Nazis in a cramped Amsterdam loft during World

War II, she hardly could have known the effect her observances would

have, and continue to have, on the world through the mediums of

literature, cinema and theater.

This Jewish Dutch girl, by her own admission a bit of a brat and a

chatterbox, cast the horrors of the Holocaust in a personal

perspective as she recorded how her family -- in vain, except for one

member -- bonded with four strangers, living in near starvation to

survive. Her father, the lone survivor, shared Anne’s writings with

the world, which eventually led to the stage drama “The Diary of Anne

Frank” and a subsequent motion picture.

The play, by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, has been

performed all over the world and is one of the theater’s most

familiar stories. Recently, however, an adapted version was produced

on Broadway to high acclaim, and it is this treatment that is being

offered at the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse.

While not exactly in a “blank environment” as advertised --

director Terra Taylor Knudson’s production does involve a setting,

and a cramped one at that -- the claustrophobic atmosphere is indeed

prevalent. Eight share a tiny attic with the predictable abrasion of

emotions, since even the most loving of families would grow testy in

these conditions, which only magnify when boxed in with strangers.

One strong benefit in this production is the fact that the mother

and her two daughters share a strong physical resemblance. Accidental

as this may be, it serves to underscore the reality of the situation

in which they find themselves.

Cast in the title role -- taken just halfway through rehearsals --

is young Alison Axelrad, who turns in a most enchanting performance

as her character matures from rowdy little girl to perceptive young

lady experiencing the initial flushes of sexuality.

Although Axelrad succeeds marvelously in establishing her

character, she would benefit from increased volume and projection,

particularly in her attic scenes at the rear of the stage. She is

especially effective in her narrative moments, stepping outside the

loft to share her innermost thoughts and feelings with the audience.

Charlie Reeves tempers a natural blandness with what seems to be

excessive agonizing at the outset of the play but establishes his

role as a loving father splendidly. More painfully involving is

Sharryl Wynne as his wife and Anne’s mother, somewhat emotionally

estranged from her daughter, who projects her character’s outward

terror most convincingly.

The plum acting roles in any production of this play are the Van

Daans, a greedy and self-centered portly couple who quarrel with

their hosts and each other. At Costa Mesa, an offstage

husband-and-wife team -- Michael Dale Brown and Barbara Brown --

enact these characters with raw, consuming power that illustrates

their overwhelming fear and anxiety. The scenes focusing on her fur

coat and his gluttony are particularly poignant.

Melissa Scott portrays Anne’s saintly older sister with a fine

sense of balance and affection. John Schwendinger is quite effective

as the Van Daans’ teenage son, Peter, whose resentment with Anne soon

turns into a special, though unfulfilled relationship.

A late arrival to the hideaway is Dave Redmond as a jittery

dentist who shares Anne’s room and generally performs like a fish out

of water. Katherine Futterer is engaging as Miep, the fugitives’ link

to the outside world, who in real life would do much to further the

Anne Frank legend.

The Costa Mesa production, at least on opening night, was not

quite as tight as it might be. The most glaring defect came at the

climax, before the capture, as three groups of actors waited

wordlessly on stage for the technical effects signaling the Nazis’

encroachment to kick in. This, presumably, has been remedied for

future audiences.

No matter how familiar an audience is, and conditioned, with “The

Diary of Anne Frank,” this story still draws chills, and tears,

because it actually happened. The Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse is to be

commended for staging this difficult but supremely important history

lesson.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Fridays.