The Diary of Anne Frank (at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)
So as you can see from the title, we (my mom and C and I) went to The Rep last night to see their production of Anne Frank. All in all, it was very good and I strongly recommend it to my St. Louis area friends.
I can't remember ever seeing a production of the play (or the movie for that matter) before, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I know I've heard the story before... the basics, at least, so I knew in general terms what the war entailed and what the Frank family went through. C, however, did not. She says that they haven't covered any of this in school yet (5th grade) and the extent of her knowledge about World War II was that "it was a war". She hadn't even heard the term Holocaust before, and looked at us blankly when we asked about Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party. Oy. So over dinner last night, mustard76 and I gave her a very nutshell version of the events so she'd know (even a little bit) what was in store at the show.
At the theater itself, Mom and I showed her the pictures depicting the annex and tried to explain in more detail what life was reported to be like. We also skimmed through the program and had her read key parts, all the while pointing at the stage and trying (somewhat successfully) to explain why we wouldn't be seeing the bookcase that hid the annex from the office building even though it was a very important part of the story.
Once the show started, the audience (including C) fell completely silent. The actors are phenomenal. There were bits of humor scattered throughout the show so it wasn't a complete downer. Even a few of the people on stage looked as though they wanted to cry by the time all was said and done (during the curtain call).
Anyway... afterward, we went backstage to visit with lolahere (my sister who works at The Rep for those of you who don't have a working knowledge of my family). We were able to meet a few of the cast members, but since it was opening night most of them ran off to the party before we could catch them. We also quizzed C a little bit to see if she had really understood what had happened (she seems to). She loved the show and says she'd be willing to watch it again. Considering the only singing in it was in Hebrew (three short songs total), this makes me happy. She usually isn't a fan of the really talky shows. I doubt we'll see this particular production again, but I'm going to look into getting the book for when she's ready to tackle such a big reading project. I may even grab the movie for her.
I can't remember ever seeing a production of the play (or the movie for that matter) before, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I know I've heard the story before... the basics, at least, so I knew in general terms what the war entailed and what the Frank family went through. C, however, did not. She says that they haven't covered any of this in school yet (5th grade) and the extent of her knowledge about World War II was that "it was a war". She hadn't even heard the term Holocaust before, and looked at us blankly when we asked about Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party. Oy. So over dinner last night, mustard76 and I gave her a very nutshell version of the events so she'd know (even a little bit) what was in store at the show.
At the theater itself, Mom and I showed her the pictures depicting the annex and tried to explain in more detail what life was reported to be like. We also skimmed through the program and had her read key parts, all the while pointing at the stage and trying (somewhat successfully) to explain why we wouldn't be seeing the bookcase that hid the annex from the office building even though it was a very important part of the story.
Once the show started, the audience (including C) fell completely silent. The actors are phenomenal. There were bits of humor scattered throughout the show so it wasn't a complete downer. Even a few of the people on stage looked as though they wanted to cry by the time all was said and done (during the curtain call).
Anyway... afterward, we went backstage to visit with lolahere (my sister who works at The Rep for those of you who don't have a working knowledge of my family). We were able to meet a few of the cast members, but since it was opening night most of them ran off to the party before we could catch them. We also quizzed C a little bit to see if she had really understood what had happened (she seems to). She loved the show and says she'd be willing to watch it again. Considering the only singing in it was in Hebrew (three short songs total), this makes me happy. She usually isn't a fan of the really talky shows. I doubt we'll see this particular production again, but I'm going to look into getting the book for when she's ready to tackle such a big reading project. I may even grab the movie for her.