City Rep Hosts All-Star Reading of 'Anne Frank' Dec. 18 & 19

City Repertory Theatre is pleased to announce an all-star reading of Anne Frank, the controversial 1955 theatrical adaptation of the famous story by acclaimed novelist and playwright Meyer Levin (Compulsion) that sparked a flurry of litigation when its author charged the Broadway producers and authors of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Diary Of Anne Frank with plagiarism.

Featuring the talents of Steve Press (one of the only surviving cast members of Garson Kanin's original Broadway production of Diary Of Anne Frank), Shana Dowdeswell (Anne Frank in the recent Paper Mill Playhouse production), Tony Award winner Brian Backer (Fast Times at Ridgemont High), Bruce Sabath (Broadway's Company).  The cast also includes Jade R. Rothman, 2007 Obie Award-winner (The Brig), Katherine Brecka, Derrick Brenner, Lizzie Henney, Jerry Matz, Amanda Sayle, Jamee Vance and Barbara Vann.

Directed by Mark Cannistraro, the readings take place on December 18 & 19 at 7:30 PM at The Medicine Show Theatre (549 West 52nd St., 3rd Floor, between 10th and 11th Ave). The reading is free and reservations can be made by calling 212-262-4216. For more information, please log onto the company's website at members.aol.com/CityRepNYC.

In the early 1950s, novelist Meyer Levin was instrumental in getting 'Anne Frank: Diary Of A Young Girl' published in the U.S. where it became an instant best-seller. In return for his work promoting the book, Anne Frank's father Otto awarded Levin the right to create a stage adaptation of the story. Levin's script was summarily rejected by the powerful Broadway producers attached to the project (among them Kermit Bloomgarden and Lillian Hellman) in favor of a new script penned by Hollywood screenwriters Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett that went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Levin felt that this new Broadway version stole elements from his script and saw the rejection of his play as an extension of the Stalinist attack on Jewish culture. Outraged that even Anne Frank could be censored, he took the producers to court and began an agonizing, prolonged legal struggle that dragged on for many years.

The readings will be followed by an audience discussion led by Steve Press, who is now the chair of Holocaust Studies at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie.   This evening is presented as part of Medicine Show's current "War & Peace" themed season.