Showtimes are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Hall Center for the Arts on the Howard College campus. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students.

The celebrated story of Anne Frank, a Dutch Jew who, along with her family, hid from Nazi authorities for more than a year during the height of World War II, has been made into a Tony-award winning play as well as a movie, but audiences will see a somewhat streamlined dramatization of the historic events.

Kirk Davidson, head of the HC Theater Department, said the original script has been rewritten and trimmed from its original three-hour length, but lacks none of its emotional punch.

“It’s about family,” Davidson said. “People have asked me, ‘Why do a story that ends badly?’ Well, the story is not about the tragedy of Anne’s death, it is that family is worth saving, if only for a day or two.

“Hitler wanted his Reich to last for a thousand years, but it didn’t,” Davidson added. “Anne wanted her writings to live forever and they have. Basically, she got the last laugh.”

Staging a play based on actual figures and events presents a special challenge, cast members said.

“As an actor, you naturally feel a responsibility to do justice to the actual characters,” Eric Barton said. “These were real people in real situations, but I feel everyone in this cast has stepped up ... and done everyone justice.”

The title character is played by Alesha Yanez, a 14-year-old Big Spring High School freshman who came to Davidson’s attention when HC co-produced “Camelot” with the BSHS Theater Department in 2007.

“Mr. Davidson saw me in that play and he asked if I’d like to try out for Anne Frank,” Yanez said. “I did and here I am.”

Being 14 and the lead in a college production may sound daunting, but Yanez wouldn’t have things any other way.

“Anne Frank was a really strong person. She’s one of my heroes,” she said. “I do feel some pressure ... but it’s been wonderful. I love all the people I’m working with. It really is a once-in-a-lifetime role.”

Frank and her family were finally captured by the Nazis and sent to a concentration camp, where she died shortly before the end of the war.

Despite the tragic ending, Davidson and his cast promise an uplifting and entertaining evening.

“As the story progresses, you forget about what’s going to happen  to that family,” Davidson said. “As you get caught up in their lives, you’ll forget about anything else.”

“At it’s core,” Barton said, “it’s a story about people in a horrible situation making the best of things.”

Yanez agreed.

“Everyone thinks of the Diary of Anne Frank as a tragedy, and it’s not, until the very last scene,” she said. “It’s really a play about hope.”

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331, ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it