'Anne Frank' a solid, moving production

"THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK," Pioneer Theatre Company, through April 2, Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, 801-581-6961, running time: 2 hours, 50 minutes (one intermission)

"The Diary of Anne Frank" has long been a staple in English and history classes. Numerous adaptations of her story — one of eight people hiding from the Nazis in an annex in Amsterdam — have made her not just an example of what happened, but a symbol of one of the world's ugliest scars.

First published in English in 1952, the version most of us read in school had been edited. Upon her father's passing, a full version of the diary became public.

Wendy Kesselman's adaptation of the stage play is based on the most recent publication, which includes Anne talking about her hatred of her mother, discovering her sexuality and struggling with her religion.

Pioneer Theater Company, in partnership with Indiana Repertory Theatre, opens a very solid and moving production.

The play begins as the family moves upstairs, saying goodbye to friends, coworkers and fresh air for what they thought would be a few months, at most.

Over two years later, the Franks, the van Daans, and Mr. Dussel, a dentist also needing refuge, were still living on beans, leeks and getting thinner all the time.

In talking to director Janet Allen before Friday's opening, she noted that capturing the very human side of these characters was a priority; the cast lived up to the challenge.

How striking, to sit in the house, watching Anne lilt about the stage and be struck with the thought 'I was just like Anne!' A loud, too-talkative, mildly annoying pre-teen, whose family often grew short of patience with her stories and dramatic ways. What Rebecca Buller's portrayal does so brilliantly is capture a youthful exuberance of a 13 year old, while not 'acting like a kid.' Buller is charming and warm, outgoing but unsure, and most importantly… utterly likable.

The rest of the ensemble is equally solid, and the characters could easily be in today's television dramas: The strong, resolved but not completely fearless leader and father (Craig Wroe); the slightly frazzled mother (Denise Cormier), the 'neighbors' – the playfully flirty yet devoted wife (Constance Macy) and the slightly short-tempered and always hungry husband (local, Paul Kiernan). Throw into the mix, a painfully quiet sister, an anxious dentist, a teenage boy and a cat and you've got a wonderful back and forth amongst the characters.

But, fill the backdrop with silence punctuated by the sounds of sirens of passing Nazis, chatter on the radio about what's happening to the Jews and the constant waiting for Miep (Kathleen Wise) to deliver more goods and there is a constant urgency to the piece. An urgency that became evident on opening night when the Nazis finally entered the annex, there was an audible gasp from the audience.

Bill Clarke's set (which is very similar to the actual annex) and Linda Pisano's costumes further help set the scene.

"The Diary of Anne Frank," is not only a moving piece of theater, but a stark reminder that these were just everyday people waiting and hoping to go home.