From The City Paper 02/26/2004:

Onstage additions revitalize 'The Diary of Anne Frank'
By LEO SOCHOCKI, Lifestyle correspondent

In today's world of electronic Web logs, The Diary of Anne Frank is still the most widely read personal journal of all time. Partnering with the National Conference for Community Justice, Tennessee Repertory Theater is presenting this familiar work with added material that illuminates the heart and mind of its author.

Offering a glimpse into the life and eventual death of a young woman victimized by the atrocities of the Holocaust, the play is a stark reminder that the world once was and can often still be a horrific place. The play also offers hope and examples of human kindness.

On June 12 1942, Anne Frank's parents gave her a a small red and white diary for her thirteenth birthday. A typical, romantic, adolescent, she named the book "Kitty." When the girl and her family were forced into hiding she wrote, "The first thing I stuck in a school bag was this diary." And we are fortunate by her decision; the diary eventually sold 31 million copies in 67 languages.

Beyond its life as a published journal, the writings were successfully adapted into a stage play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. The team had built a successful career with MGM, having created the scripts for such film adaptations as It's a Wonderful Life, Father of the Bride and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. After the end of the studio era, the couple returned to their original profession, adaptations for the stage. In 1955, their treatment of The Diary of Anne Frank won both a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony for best play.

In 1997 the play was reworked by Wendy Kesselman to include text to add realism and historical accuracy. Kesselman's desire was to emphasize the Jewish ethnicity of the original diary. Kesselman added material that Anne's father, Otto, had omitted. The additions speak of adolescent musings about puberty and the girl's tempestuous relationship with her mother.

The show originally closed with the girl saying, "I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart." In the updated version, Otto Frank graphically describes what eventually happened to each of the family members while the original quote becomes a distant voiceover as she and the others from the Secret Annex are taken into custody.

The new adaption reveals previously unknown truths about the young writer, said Tennessee Rep producing artistic director David Grapes.

"While the story of Anne Frank has been familiar to us since our school days, most did not realize that Anne was a gifted writer, an aspiring author and had hoped to become a published professional," he said. "Nor was the public generally aware of Otto Frank's deletion of nearly 30 percent of the original writings. This work incorporates what was missing from both the diary and the original stage version.
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Grapes hopes that the new version of the play will bring greater understanding of not only the girl but also of the time and its contemporary relevance.

"When you see the new version of the play, you will be touched by her hope, optimism and and a heart so full of love in a time of so much hate. The play examines issues that are are still a part of our world today."