Diary of Anne Frank Opens at Grosse Pointe South

Theater is a wonderful medium in which to share a closer experience with the characters on stage. It is certainly more impactful than a movie and offers indelible visuals that a book does not.

This is the sort of experience in store for those who will attend this weekend’s performances of The Diary of Anne Frank, produced by the Pointe Players of . A total of 13 actors will take to the stage in the Frank family’s “hiding space,” as they live in fear of being captured by the Nazis.

“The Diary of Anne Frank is required reading in our school system in the eighth grade,” said the show’s director, Lois Bendler, who held auditions for this touching play back in June. “We had rehearsals over the summer. It’s a challenging play to put on because the nature of the action is that everyone is on stage, holed up in this attic, for two years.”

This version of the classic play opens with a prologue by Otto Frank, father to Anne, who was the only survivor among those in the hiding space. That meant Bendler and her cast had to figure a way to go from an empty stage to one filled with all of the characters’ possessions all in a matter of 10 seconds. The play then becomes a flashback of Otto’s life.

Grosse Pointe South junior Maggie Bickerstaff portrays Anne. Bendler also cast Bickerstaff as Scout two years ago in the Players’ production of To Kill a Mockingbird.

“She is just spot-on for this role,” said Bendler, who has directed plays for a number of companies over the past 30-plus years. “She’s a tiny slip-of-a-thing, and she is absolutely perfect in this role.”

Nearly two dozen students auditioned for roles in this production. And while only half were cast, others accepted roles behind the scenes. Sophomore Connor Reinman is working the play as the Lighting Designer. While it is always important to light the stage and actors properly, it is even more imperative in this play, as the actors are in close proximity on the smaller stage. Lighting is a way to allow the audience to focus on what the director wants.

“The lighting was designed by a professional person, but Connor is in the light booth and follows the script exactly,” Bendler said. “It’s a demanding job. There’s no downtime on that job. Connor came directly to me and asked to do this job. He also came recommended.”

The experience has been nothing short of enlightening for Reinman, whose objective is to learn as many of the behind-the-scenes jobs as he can.

"I’d like to try everything I possibly can while with the Pointe Players," said Reinman, who has also worked as a stagehand and a stage manager. "I love it. The Pointe Players is a great program and Lois is great director."

For Bendler, the challenges of the small set forced her to bend the usual unbendable theater rules, such as never having an actor’s back to the audience. As the characters spend much of the time sitting around a table, she had to find a way to make that work.

“Our stage is small and we have to manage actors in order to direct the audience focus, to be seen when they need to be seen,” Bendler said. “There are classic things you just don’t’ do in theater, like seat them with their back to the audience. Since I had to do this, I made it obvious.”

This play will be held at the Grosse Point South auditorium, located at 11 Grosse Pointe Boulevard. Show times are Nov. 18-19 at 7:30 p.m. and a matinee Sunday, Nov. 20, at 2 p.m. For ticket information, please call the school at 313-432-3500.