Harper stages the 'Diary of Anne Frank'

Harper College will offer six public stagings of "The Diary of Anne Frank," the impassioned drama about the lives of eight people hiding from the Nazis in an Amsterdam attic during World War II. Two Sunday matinee performances also will include pre-play discussions with associate professor Richard Middleton-Kaplan, a Jewish studies expert, and German instructor Kimberly Jaeger Nichols.

The talks, a regular part of Harper productions, are intended to give the audience a more thorough understanding of "Anne Frank" and its cultural nuances.

"This is one of those plays that many have read and seen several times - but each time, there is something new the audience can take away," director Kevin Long says. "The discussions we hold beforehand are a reflection of the fact that this play is produced by a college: we're all about helping the audience learn, and more thoroughly enjoy the show because of it."

Both Middleton-Kaplan and Nichols helped advise the actors as they prepared for their roles. The cast and production crew also visited the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie, where they spoke with a Holocaust survivor.

"Anne Frank," a true story based on the diary Frank began on her 13th birthday in the 1940s, follows her family's forced hiding, eventual capture and struggle for survival at the hands of the Nazis. Harper's production uses the 1997 adaptation by Wendy Kesselman, which Long says portrays Frank in a more relatable way, and incorporates a state-of-the-art set design. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13; Saturday, Nov. 14; Friday, Nov. 20; and Saturday, Nov. 21; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15 and Sunday, Nov. 22. The pre-performance discussions will precede the Sunday productions, at 1 p.m. All shows are in the Performing Arts Center on Harper's main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. For tickets or information, call (847) 925-6100 or visit harpercollege.edu/boxoffice.