ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) – “The Diary of Anne Frank” is playing at the Arvada Center through May 17. In the intimate setting of the Arvada Center’s Black Box theater, Anne Frank comes to life.
“I’ve never gotten to play someone so real, and so true to themselves,” said Darrow Klein, who plays Anne Frank. ”Doing this made the Holocaust more real to me.”
The play is based on the diaries of a Jewish teen in hiding during Nazi-occupation of Holland. Anne Frank chronicled the two years she spent in a 700-square-foot annex with her family and four other people.
“I would go crazy because I like to move, and that was not an option,” said the 16-year-old Klein.
While the circumstances are extraordinary, the people and their relationships are very real.
“Edith, the character I play, loses it because it’s just, in addition to the horrors going on outside, it’s just so maddening. You’re cooped up with all of these people,” said Emily Payton Davies, who plays Anne’s mother.
The cast is connected to the humanity of their characters, but they’re also committed to the historical importance of the material.
“I have placed upon myself a huge responsibility to honor the memory of everybody in that annex, not just Otto Frank,” said Larry Cahn, who plays Anne’s father.
“The Diary of Anne Frank” is a serious story about a hard time, but it is also meant to entertain.
“There’s a good deal of laughter,” Cahn said.
“It’s a good balance,” Davies interjected.
“There’s heart, there’s warmth, there’s love,” Cahn continued.
“We have to get this right because it’s so important that we do, because she’s such an important person, and her story is so important,” Klein told CBS4.
