Center Rep stages provocative ‘Diary of Anne Frank’

Born in Germany, Anne Frank moved to Amsterdam with her family to escape the Nazis when she was 4, but the Germans took over Holland in 1940.

When Anne’s older sister was ordered to a Nazi work camp in July 1942, the family hid in the upstairs annex of the factory where Anne’s father worked.

They and four others remained there until August 1944 when they were betrayed, arrested by the Gestapo and later sent to prison camps, where everyone except Anne’s father died.

In this production, Anne (Monique Hafen Adams) is 13 when she, Margot (Maya Michal Sherer) and their parents, Otto (Victor Talmadge) and Edith (Marcia Pizzo), flee to the annex.

They are joined by Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan (Michael Butler and Domenique Lozano), their 18-year-old son, Peter (Kevin Singer), and a dentist, Mr. Dussel (Michael Patrick Gaffney).

In her optimistic way, Anne is exuberant at first and quite the pest, but everyone soon gets a dose of reality.

Mr. Kraler (Paul Plain), a trusted friend who works in the factory, says they must remain absolutely silent between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. when workers were downstairs. That means removing their shoes, not talking and not using the only bathroom.

Besides Mr. Kraler, their only other connection to the outside world is Miep Gies (Alison Quin), who brings them what little she had.

Thus eight people lived in cramped quarters with meager food and almost constant fear of being discovered for more than two years.

Although they tried to make the best of their situation, frustration and tempers inevitably erupted.

Through it all, Anne wrote in her diary, revealing a hopeful, maturing girl with dreams and ambitions as her friendship with Peter blossomed.

Everyone’s hopes soared with the Allied invasion of Europe in June 1944. They envisioned being free soon.

Thus it was a terrible irony that they were rousted two months later and died before the camps were liberated in April 1945.

Timothy Near directs this excellent ensemble cast with sensitivity and an eye toward helping the audience understand how these people lived.

During intermission, for example, they remain on stage, going about their ways of passing the time.

Still, it’s difficult to imagine how one might endure such hardships and impossible to fathom the evil of the Nazis and their attempt to annihilate Jews and others they deemed undesirable.

Hence when the cast takes its bows, the applause is warm but subdued. Afterward, the house manager remarked that it was unusual to see people so quiet as they left.

That’s a tribute to the power of the play and this thought-provoking production.

Running about two hours with intermission, “The Diary of Anne Frank” will continue through April 28 in the Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. For tickets and information call (925) 943-7469 or visit centerREP.org.