Patchogue Theatre Presents THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK

The not-for-profit Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts presents the next production in its Live Edition educational initiative, The Diary of Anne Frank, the award-winning stage adaptation of the book,The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, on Friday, March 13 at 8pm and Saturday, March 14 at 2pm and 8pm. Tickets are $25-$55, plus applicable fees. Purchase online, by phone or at the box office. For more information, visit PatchogueTheatre.org, call the Patchogue Theatre Box Office at 631-207-1313, or stop by 71 East Main Street, Patchogue, NY.

2020 marks the 75th Anniversary of the end of WWII and the liberation of Auschwitz. For many young people the war can seem like just a part of 'schoolbook history'. Which is why the memoirs of Anne Frank are an essential part to remembering one of the darkest periods in history.

This Pulitzer Prize award-winning play, written by married couple Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich Hackett and directed for Patchogue Theatre by Joe Minutillo, portrays Anne in a way that breathes new life into this passionate, complex young woman, allowing the audience to share her relatable experience of adolescence. The play looks deep into Anne as a person and more than just a Jewish girl who hid from the Nazis during World War II.

For nearly two years, Anne, her father, mother, and sister, joined with the Van Daan family, to hide in a secret annex space above her father's former office in Amsterdam, as the Nazis deported the Jews of Holland to their deaths. In her secret attic, Anne comes of age: she laughs, plays, fights with her mother, and falls in love for the first time. In spite of her oppressive circumstances and the horrors that surround her, Anne's spirit transcends, as she voices her belief, "in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart." Anne's dynamism, her luminous spirit, and her story of resilience continue to resonate deeply, making her story as vital today as when her diary first was published.

As the years go by, there are fewer and fewer eyewitnesses who can bring immediacy to the facts and events of that time by sharing their personal experiences. Patchogue Theatre is honored to have Holocaust survivor, Werner Reich, as a guest speaker at the performances. Werner and his family were residents of Berlin, Germany when the Nazis came to power in 1933. His father, an electrical and mechanical engineer lost his job thereafter, prompting the family to move to Zagreb, Yugoslavia. His father died in 1940 and in 1941, the Nazis occupied Yugoslavia. Werner's mother placed him in hiding with several families. The last one worked for the resistance movement and Werner helped them in this work. In 1943 he was arrested by the Gestapo, beaten up and jailed for 7 weeks and then sent to Theresienstadt and then Auschwitz II where he went through, in one day, three selections by Dr. Mengele. He was one of 89 who were chosen out of 60000 - the others did not survive. He was then sent to Auschwitz I. In January 1945, after a 7 day death march, he ended in Mauthausen, Austria. After liberation in May 1945, he returned to Yugoslavia and after two years he escaped to England where he worked as a laborer and later became a tool and die maker. In 1955 he married a girl who had been saved by Sir Nicholas Winton. They immigrated to the USA where he eventually became an engineer. He has two sons and four grandchildren. Werner is a frequent speaker and founding member of the LI Multi-faith Forum.

As part of Patchogue Theatre's Live Edition educational initiative, this program will also be performed for school groups across Long Island on Wednesday, March 11, Thursday, March 12, and Friday, April 12 at 10:00 a.m. Students will be bused in to the theatre to see the live production and are provided with material to be studied in school. The goal for this program is to offer unique and enriching educational experiences for students across grade levels as well as subject areas. To book a school group, contact the Patchogue Theatre Box Office at (631) 207-1313 or email BoxOffice@patchoguetheatre.org. Financial Aide is available.

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