Westport Country Playhouse Closes THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK 10/30

Westport Country Playhouse will stage the newly revised adaptation of the timeless classic, "The Diary of Anne Frank," helmed by award-winning director Gerald Freedman, September 28 through October 30, as part of its 80th Anniversary Season.

This new adaptation by Wendy Kesselman, from the original stage play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, tells the story of two years in one girl's remarkable life. During the Second World War, Anne Frank and her family go into hiding to escape the Nazis. Her account of the time spent in a small Amsterdam attic remains among the greatest personal stories from the darkest moment in history, and one of the most compelling coming of age tales ever told.

"Ever since I was a teenager, I have found the story of this teenager one of the most profound and powerful imaginable," said Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director. "The history of the diary, how it came to be written, and how it was re-written by its brilliant, budding young author before her tragic, meaningless death is one that never ceases to move me and all who encounter its simple, direct humanity.

"The incalculable tragedy of the loss of millions of people through the Holocaust is, with this play, encapsulated and made real for us by its focus on a single family, their acquaintances and the talented, rambunctious teenager who kept a diary of their days in ‘the secret annex' hiding from the Nazis," Lamos noted.

Lamos added that "Wendy Kesselman's critically-praised revision of the original play brings new dramatic power to this quiet, timeless story, and Gerald Freedman has assembled a superlative cast of important actors to bring this story to life in Westport this fall."

The cast includes Ari Brand (Broadway's "The Neil Simon Plays") as Peter Van Daan; Lauren Culpepper ("The Dinner Party" at Lincoln Center Institute) as Margot Frank; Molly Ephraim (Broadway's "Into the Woods," Drama League Award nomination) as Anne Frank; Mitch Greenberg (Broadway's "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" and "Threepenny Opera") as Otto Frank; FeliciTy Jones (Circle in the Square's "Metamorphoses") as Edith Frank; Lou Liberatore (Westport Country Playhouse's "That Championship Season," Broadway's "Burn This" and "As Is") as Mr. Dussel; Mimi Lieber (Broadway's "Brooklyn Boy" and "I'm Not Rappaport") as Mrs. Van Daan; Allen McCullough (national tour of "Twelve Angry Men") as Mr. Kraler; Stephen Vinovich (Broadway's "Lost in Yonkers," "The Robber Bridegroom" and "The Grand Tour") as Mr. Van Daan; and Monica West (New York Stage & Film's "A Short History of Women," directed by Judith Ivey) as Meip.

Gerald Freedman, director, is dean of the School of Drama at University of North Carolina School of the Arts. An Obie Award winner and the first American invited to direct at The Globe Theatre in London, he is regarded internationally for his direction of productions of classic drama, musicals, operas, new plays and television. He served as leading director of Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival from 1960 to 1971, the last four years as artistic director. He was co-artistic director of John Houseman's The Acting Company from 1974 to 1977, artistic director of the American Shakespeare Theatre from 1978 to 1979 and artistic director of the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1985 to 1997. Freedman has staged 29 of Shakespeare's plays, along with dozens of other world classics. He made theater history with his off-Broadway premiere of the landmark rock musical "Hair," which opened The Public Theater in 1967. Broadway direction includes "The Robber Bridegroom," "The Grand Tour," the revival of "West Side Story," co-directed with Jerome Robbins, the premiere of Arthur Miller's "The Creation of the World and Other Business" and Shaw's "Mrs. Warren's Profession."

Playwrights Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett began their 34 year collaboration in 1928. The two were married while collaborating on their first Broadway hit, "Up Pops the Devil." Their success on Broadway eventually led to the pair being signed as a writing team by MGM, where they launched the popular "Thin Man" series, and for the most part the couple devoted their time to screen writing with adaptations of "The Virginian, "Father of the Bride," and the musical "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." The original Broadway production of "The Diary of Anne Frank" received the 1956 Tony Award for Best Play, and the script received the 1956 Pulitzer Prize for DramA. Goodrich and Hackett also adapted the play for the screen in 1959.

Wendy Kesselman's new adaptation of "The Diary of Anne Frank" received a Tony Award nomination and was produced on Broadway. Kesselman is the recipient of the New England Theatre Conference Major Award for outstanding creative achievement in the American theater, the first annual Playbill Award, the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, and a Guggenheim, McKnight and two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships. Her screen adaptation of John Knowles' "A Separate Peace" aired on Showtime, won a Writers Guild of America Award and was nominated for an Emmy Award.

The production and design team includes John Ezell (designs on and off-Broadway), scenic design; Willa Kim (Tony Award for "The Will Rogers Follies" and "Sophisticated Ladies"), costume design; Travis McHale (founding member of New York's Ground UP Productions), lighting design; Rusty Wandell (resident sound designer for Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), sound design; Bill Collins, props master; Matthew Melchoirre, stage manager; Alison M. Roberts, assistant stage manager; and Janet Foster, C.S.A., casting.
Corporate production partners for "The Diary of Anne Frank" are Cohen and Wolf, P.C., and Fidelity Investments. Board of trustees production partners are Kim and Niv Harizman, Marjorie Peterson and Robert Cenci and Cherie Flom Quain.

Single tickets range from $35 to $55; opening night tickets, including post-performance reception, are $65. Subscriptions to all five plays are available for preferred seating and pricing. Students and educators are eligible for 50% discounts. Groups of 10 or more save up to 30%. For group sales information call (203) 227-5137, x120.

About The Playhouse

Westport Country Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater, serves as a treasured home for the performing arts and is a cultural landmark for Connecticut. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos and management direction of Michael Ross, The Playhouse creates quality productions of new and classic plays that enlighten, enrich and engage a diverse community of theater lovers, artists and students. The Playhouse's rich history dates back to 1931, when New York theater producer Lawrence Langner created a Broadway-quality stage within an 1830s tannery. The Playhouse quickly became an established stop on the New England "straw hat circuit" of summer stock theaters. Now celebrating its 80th season, Westport Country Playhouse has produced more than 700 plays, 36 of which later transferred to Broadway, most recently the world premiere of "Thurgood" and a revival of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" with Paul Newman, and in earlier years "Come Back, Little Sheba" with Shirley Booth, "The Trip to Bountiful" with Lillian Gish, and "Butterflies Are Free" with Keir Dullea and Blythe Danner. For its artistic excellence, The Playhouse received a 2005 Governor's Arts Award and a 2000 "Connecticut Treasure" recognition. It was also designated as an Official Project of Save America's Treasures by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is entered on the Connecticut State Register of Historic Places. Following a multi-million dollar renovation completed in 2005, The Playhouse transformed into a year-round, state-of-the-art producing theater, which has preserved its original charm and character. In addition to a full season of theatrical productions, The Playhouse serves as a community resource, presenting educational programming and workshops; a children's theater series; symposiums; music; films; and readings.

Westport Country Playhouse's five-play 2010 season: "She Loves Me," a romantic musical comedy, with book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, directed by Mark Lamos, April 20 - May 15; "Dinner with Friends," a comic drama by Donald Margulies, directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, June 1 through 19; "Happy Days" by Samuel Beckett, a play of luminous beauty and rare power, directed by Mark Lamos, July 6 through July 24; "I Do! I Do," an endearing musical, with book and lyrics are by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt, directed by Susan H. Schulman, August 10 through September 4; and "The Diary of Anne Frank," a timeless and powerful classic, by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, adapted by Wendy Kesselman, directed by Gerald Freedman, September 28 through October 30.

For more information or ticket purchases, call the box office (M-F, 12 to 6 p.m.) at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Tickets may be purchased online at www.westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse) and/or follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse).

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