If you go
› What: Lee University Theatre’s “The Diary of Anne Frank.”› When: 8 p.m. Friday, April 8; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, and Thursday-Saturday, April 14-16.› Where: Dixon Center, 1053 Church St. NE, Cleveland, Tenn.› Admission: $10 adults, $7 children, seniors and students.› Phone: 423-614-8360.› Email: theatre@leeuniversity.edu.› Website: www.leeuniversity.edu/theatre.
Lee University Theatre will conclude the 2015-16 season with a contemporary production of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” a new adaptation by Wendy Kesselman. The play opens Friday, April 8, and four additional shows are scheduled next weekend.
An impassioned drama about the lives of eight people hiding from the Nazis in a concealed storage attic, “The Diary of Anne Frank” captures the claustrophobic realities of their daily existence, including their fear, hope, laughter and grief.
Each day of those two dark years, the voice of teenager Anne shines through in her diary: “When I write I shake off all my cares, but I want to achieve more than that. I want to be useful and bring enjoyment to all people, even those I’ve never met. I want to go on living even after my death!”
In Kesselman’s adaptation, Anne emerges from history, changing life and the increasing horror of her time with astonishing honesty, wit and determination. The play is historically grounded but makes use of projections to aid the storytelling aspects and includes the addition of a live fiddle player to transition between scenes.