Upstage Magazine - Central New Jersey's Guide to the arts Page 1 of 3
From: UpstageMagazine.com Rutgers Theater Company presents 'The Diary of Anne Frank'
(New Brunswick, NJ) -- Sixty years after Anne Frank's diary was first published, there is still much to learn from the young girl's deeply personal account of a desperate struggle to find courage in a place surrounded by unspeakable horror.
"After the Holocaust, no one thought the world would see genocide again," says Amy Saltz, director of the Rutgers Theater Company production of "The Diary of Anne Frank," which opens November 2. "Since then, there have been multiple occurrences all over the world, and we have to ask ourselves, what is our responsibility?"
With this production, Saltz hopes to provide a window into the history of the Holocaust. Documentary images will surround the production to offer a sobering reminder of just what was at stake for the eight people hiding from the Nazis above an office building in Amsterdam.
"Part of what I've considered to be my responsibility is to bring what was happening outside of the annex onto the stage," says Saltz. "When audiences are moved by the strength of those eight people, I hope they will remember that there were millions of others and that genocide continues today."
Dramatized by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, and based upon the book "Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl," "The Diary of Anne Frank" is an extraordinary testament of courage and love for humanity. In Nazi-occupied Holland, Otto Frank and his family go into hiding because of increasing Jewish persecution. For years, they live in a secret annex above the business of Mr. Kraler, along with the Van Daan family and later on, a dentist named Mr. Dussel. Crammed in close quarters, the group is not immune to quarrels--and in their efforts to avoid detection, even minor incidents can present a grave risk.
"The Diary of Anne Frank" runs Friday, November 2 through Saturday, November 17. Performances are November 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. and November 4 and 11 at 2 p.m. Two additional matinees will be offered primarily for school audiences on November 13 and 15 at 10 a.m. Tickets are $25 for the general public, $20 for Rutgers alumni and employees and seniors and only $15 for students with valid ID. New Theater is in the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center, 85 George Street (between Route 18 and Ryders Lane), on the Douglass Campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
For more information on any Mason Gross event, visit www.masongross.rutgers.edu or call the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center ticket office at 732-932-7511.
About Rutgers Theater Company
Dennis Baker (Mr. Kraler - MFA II) is from Los Angeles and earned his BA in communication and theater from Azusa Pacific University. His credits include: Dorlant in
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The Country Wife (Rutgers Theater Company), Marcellus in Hamlet (Gorilla Repertory, NYC) and in regional theaters Babbybobby in The Cripple of Insihmaan and Peter in The Diary of Anne Frank.
Blythe Coons (Mrs. Edith Frank - MFA II) is from Columbus, Ohio. She received her BA in English from Haverford College, and her MA in English Literature from Middlebury College's Bread Loaf School of English. She was last seen in the Jameson Project's Haiku.
Philip Ettinger (Peter Van Daan - BFA IV) hails from Fair Lawn New Jersey. His Mason Gross School of the Arts credits include Leontes/Florizel in The Winters Tale, Warren in This Is Our Youth, Victor Peabody in Lost And..., and Mr. Blue in Reservoir Dogs.
Nick Farco (Mr. Otto Frank - MFA III) is from Brooklyn, New York. He received his BFA in acting from Ithaca College. His Rutgers Theater Company credits include: Our Lady of 121st Street, Peace Prize, Cloud Nine, The Country Wife, and Derby Day. He recently finished work on the independent film Touch Me in New York City.
Kristen Anne Hansen (Mrs. Van Daan - MFA III) is from Los Angeles where she attended California State University, Northridge and earned her bachelors degree in acting. Rutgers roles include My Sister in This House, The House of Bernarda Alba and Rosemary with Ginger. At the Guthrie Theater she appeared in Postcards from Earth.
Nathan Robinson (Mr. Dussel - MFA III) played Richard in The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket at the Jameson Theater. His Rutgers Theater Company credits include; Hal in Proof and Gale in Our Lady of 121st Street. Nathan is from Canyon Texas, and got his BA at West Texas A&M University.
Maria-Itzel Siegrist (Margot Frank - MFA II) is from EL Monte, California. She received her BA in history and political science from the University of Southern California. Her Rutgers credits in the Jameson Project include Christine in Mrs. Henderson's Cat and Lulu in Haiku.
Joesph Tisa (Mr. Van Daan - MFA II) is from Seattle, Washington. He received his BA in philosophy and English from the University of Washington. Rutgers Theater Company credits: Quack in The Country Wife and Ned in Derby Day. Previous credits include Stanley in The Birthday Party.
Jane Austen York (Anne Frank - BFA IV) was born and raised in Long Island, New York. Mason Gross School of the Arts credits include Hermione in A Winter's Tale, Zillah Katz in A Bright Room Called Day, and Tess Orinthia in Lost and... .
Amy Saltz (Director) has directed both classic and new plays throughout the U.S. and abroad, working with many of the country's major contemporary playwrights including Lee Blessing, Marsha Norman, Adam Rapp, John Patrick Shanley, Robert Shenkkhan, and August Wilson. Ms. Saltz's productions have been nominated for numerous awards including the Grammy, Helen Hayes, Drama Critics' and Joseph Jefferson Awards. For television she directed Another World and Search For Tomorrow. She served on the Executive Board of the Society of Stage Directors' and Choreographers, is listed in Who's Who of American Women, and is Head of the Graduate Program in Directing at Mason Gross. Last year, she directed the Rutgers Theater Company production of Cloud 9.
David P. Gordon (Scenic Designer) is Assistant Professor of Set Design at Mason Gross. He has designed over 250 productions and has worked extensively on and Off-
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Broadway and for regional theatres and opera companies in this country and abroad. NY credits include designs for The Public Theater, Theatre for a New Audience, Classic Stage Co., and Lincoln Center, as well as regionally for Long Wharf, Williamstown, Goodspeed, Huntington, McCarter, Kennedy Center, Wilma, Arden, Walnut Street, Arizona, St. Louis, Berkshire, and Sarasota Operas and many others. He has received three Barrymore Awards and 10 nominations for Outstanding Scenic Design, as well as IRNE, Carbonell and Connecticut Critics Circle Award nominations, and the 2003 Elliot Norton Award.
Elizabeth Kochanik (Costume Designer - BFA IV) is from Marlton, New Jersey. Mason Gross School of the Arts costume design credits include: My Sister in this House, and Derby Day in addition to assisting on Peace Prize. She also designed Cinderella for The Villagers Theater. Elizabeth was the wardrobe supervisor for the Berkshire Theater Festival 2007.
Victoria Miller (Lighting Designer - MFA III) is from Fremont, New Hampshire. This past summer she interned at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. In 2005 she received a BA in theater design & technology from Plymouth State University. Her Rutgers credits include: The Country Wife, Cloud 9, Siren Song, & Venus.
Brian Whitmore (Sound Designer - BFA IV) is a technical director at Mason Gross. Brian graduated from Camden Catholic. Credits include Our Lady of 121st Street, assistant designer for Audrey, and he was part of the first high school production of Les Misrables. Brian was awarded Susan Black Fitzpatrick Scholarship for theater.
Marjorie A. Wood (Stage Manager - MFA III) hails from Nashville, Tennessee. She received her BFA from Abilene Christian University. Mason Gross credits include Jesus Hopped the A Train, Proof and assistant stage manager for As You Like It. Other credits include Scrooge and the Spirits, Into the Woods, Jr., Kiss Me, Kate!, Guys and Dolls, and Two Rooms .
http://www.upstagemagazine.com/articles/getarticle-printversion.php?ID=6372&wherefr... 10/16/2007