The Black and White

by Sarah Burnham with photo by Sadie Johnson

On Friday, February 14, Dr. Xiahros’ Genocide and Holocaust Studies and Introduction to Philosophy Honors classes went to Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket to see the stage production of The Diary Of Anne Frank.

Dr. Xiarhos chose this play because in his words, “Anne Frank’s story is an important one and teaching [Genocide and Holocaust Studies] I have realized that lots of kids don’t read the Diary of Anne Frank anymore so this is a way to introduce them to her story.” The trip was funded by the “Big Yellow School Bus Grant” through the Rhode Island Council on the Arts. Grants are available for field trips throughout Rhode Island for activities focused on Arts.

Stadium Theatre was built in 1926 and can hold about 1,100 people and they put on shows such as plays, musicals, and band performances. This play opened with Anne’s father, Otto Frank, walking around the attic where the family spent 25 months. In finding his daughter’s diary and reading through it, Anne’s words are brought to life. We were shown the two families first moving into the attic, including the Franks, Otto, Edith, Margot, and Anne, and the Van Daans, Hermann, Auguste, and Peter, as well as a man named Mr. Dussell a few months later. The rest of the play shows the families lives and struggles as they try to find a way to cope with the struggle of either being locked in an attic in extremely close quarters with very little food or being persecuted on the street.

The play ends with the families celebrating what they believe to be the end of the war, shortly before realizing they had been betrayed and ultimately taken away. It is revealed that everyone went to concentration camps and Otto was put to work, being the only one to survive the Holocaust. He comes back to find his youngest daughter’s diary, rereading and reliving all his experiences. Anne is killed just two weeks before the camp is liberated. On stage Otto describes the days, weeks, and months after being betrayed, and says that despite everything, she still believes that people are good.

The story of Anne Frank is just one of many from the Holocaust, and it is important that not a single one of them are forgotten. Stadium Theater did a great job truly showcasing the tragic story, with heartbreaking and powerful performances, notably by Brain Wolfe-Leonard as Otto and Adeline DeFeo as Anne. It is hard to bring such heavy stories to life sometimes, but the Stadium Theater did a beautiful job and the two classes are honored to have this experience.