Open Stage Announces First Annual The Good At Heart Festival

Open Stage, a theatre company in downtown Harrisburg, will present its first annual The Good at Heart Festival from March 14-19. The six-day festival will feature performances and presentations centered on social and racial justice that ask thought-provoking questions and inspire meaningful community conversations.

The name of the festival is inspired by a famous quote from Anne Frank's diary: "In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart." With Open Stage's 23rd annual production of The Diary of Anne Frank as its centerpiece, the festival will celebrate Frank's ideals and include additional programming that lifts her words and spirit.

The Good at Heart Festival will feature guests including Lillian Rappaport, who will share the story of her parents who were Holocaust Survivors, and Maria James-Thiaw, a founder of Reclaim Artist Collective. Additionally, the festival will include a co-production of a new play with Sankofa African American Theatre Company titled Janet Langhart Cohen's Anne & Emmett.

"The Good at Heart Festival is curated to explore important societal subject matter in a new way, and tell stories of yesterday with the hope that it creates a better tomorrow," said Open Stage Artistic Director Stuart Landon. "Anne Frank wrote that she wanted her writing to live beyond her. And has it! It is a great responsibility, and an honor, to take on this story every year and explore all the stories that need to be told. We are thrilled to host this first annual event series on this important historical retelling and expand on important conversations around social justice."

The Diary of Anne Frank will run for four days with morning matinees on March 14, 15 and 17 and one evening performance on March 15. As many as 4,000 students will see Anne Frank's story at the Scottish Rite Cathedral for the morning matinees, with limited available seating for the public, and post-performance presentations by Holocaust expert Lilian Rappaport. The March 15 evening, ASL-interpreted performance is open to the general public.

Janet Langhart Cohen's Anne & Emmett will be presented March 17-26 on Open Stage's Capital Blue Cross Main Stage and is a production of a new play by Janet Langhart Cohen. This co-production of Open Stage and Sankofa African American Theatre Company will explore what a conversation might be like between Anne Frank and Emmett Till from the beyond, or "in memory." The play joins these two young teenagers who experienced parallel hate and explores the topics of race, the times they lived in and gender perspective.

"There will be moments where the audience will be uncomfortable," says Sharia Benn, artistic director of Sankofa. "But we need to get into spaces where we go beyond just being uncomfortable - which leads us into silence and complacency - to where we can start to have healing, understanding and even acceptance that this happened. This is how it has impacted people, and that is real. Explore that."

Open Stage believes that everyone should be able to participate in these events, regardless of their financial situation. Because of that, select programming will be presented to the public free of charge. This is made possible through sponsorships from M&T Bank, UPMC Health Plan, and the Arts for All and UPstream grants from The Foundation for Enhancing Communities.

The Good at Heart Festival schedule:

• March 14

o 9:45 a.m. The Diary of Anne Frank at the Scottish Rite - The Diary of Anne Frank, which draws on the memoirs of a young Jewish girl who is forced to hide for nearly two years to escape Nazi persecution, is an essential part of how we remember one of the darkest periods of our human history.

o 12:15 p.m. Lillian Rappaport: A Holocaust Presentation at the Scottish Rite - Former education director of Temple Ohev Sholom, Lillian Rappaport will share the story of her parents, who were Holocaust Survivors.

o 7:30 p.m. Theatre for Good: Social Justice & Performance at Open Stage - Maria James-Thiaw, a founder of Reclaim Artist Collective, will presents excerpts of her choreopoem, HairStory. HairStory explores the roots of people of color and their connection to their hair, their ancestry, their community, their society, their government and their world.

• March 15

o 9:45 a.m. The Diary of Anne Frank at the Scottish Rite

o 12:15 p.m. Lillian Rappaport: A Holocaust Presentation at the Scottish Rite

o 7:30 p.m. The Diary of Anne Frank at the Scottish Rite

o 7:30 p.m. Black NewsBeat with Dr. Kimeka Campbell at Open Stage- Dr. Kimeka Campbell explores the life and community of Harrisburg and its expressions in the black and brown community.

• March 16

o 7:30 p.m. screening of the documentary Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America at Midtown Cinema

• March 17

o 9:45 a.m. The Diary of Anne Frank at the Scottish Rite

o 7:30 p.m. Janet Langhart Cohen's Anne & Emmet on Open Stage's Capital Blue Cross Main Stage - This one-act play opens with teenagers Anne Frank and Emmett Till meeting in Memory, a place that isolates them from the cruelty they experienced during their lives.

• March 18

o 6:00 p.m. The Obstructed View: A Conversation with Andrea Grove at Open Stage - Stuart Landon and America's Sweetheart TJ Creedon welcome guest Andrea Grove, owner of Elementary Coffee Co.

o 7:30 p.m. Janet Langhart Cohen's Anne & Emmet on Open Stage's Capital Blue Cross Main Stage

• March 19
  • 3:00 p.m. Janet Langhart Cohen's Anne & Emmet on Open Stage's Capital Blue Cross Main Stage
  • 4:30 p.m. Janet Langhart Cohen's Anne & Emmet Lobby Talk at Open Stage - A conversation with the cast of Anne & Emmet, facilitated by Professor Ellen Stockstill of Penn State Harrisburg
  • 7:00 p.m. At the Heart of Justice: A Conversation with Una Martone and Joe Robinson at Open Stage - Joe Robinson from the Marin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Development Institute and Una Martone from Leadership Harrisburg Area discuss their justice, equity, diversity and inclusion work in the community.

Please note the production of Janet Langhart Cohen's Anne & Emmett continues at Open Stage until Sunday, March 26.

For tickets to The Good at Heart Festival performances or for more information, visit openstagehbg.com.

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