''The Diary of Anne Frank'' is a stage adaptation of the posthumously published 1947 book ''
The Diary of a Young Girl
''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Neth ...
'' by
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...
. It premiered on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
at the
Cort Theatre
The James Earl Jones Theatre, originally the Cort Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 138 West 48th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. It was built in ...
in 1955. Its script also primarily formed the basis of the
1959 film adaptation.
Original Broadway production
The play is a dramatization by
Frances Goodrich
Frances Goodrich (December 21, 1890 – January 29, 1984) was an American actress, dramatist, and screenwriter, best known for her collaborations with her partner and husband Albert Hackett. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with her h ...
and
Albert Hackett
Albert Maurice Hackett (February 16, 1900 – March 16, 1995) was an American actor, dramatist and screenwriter most noted for his collaborations with his partner and wife Frances Goodrich.
Early years
Hackett was born in New York City, the s ...
, and opened at the Cort Theatre on Broadway on October 5, 1955. The play was produced by
Kermit Bloomgarden
Kermit Bloomgarden (December 15, 1904 – September 20, 1976) was an American theatrical producer. He was an accountant before he began producing plays on Broadway including ''Death of a Salesman'' (1949), '' The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1955), ...
and directed by
Garson Kanin
Garson Kanin (November 24, 1912 – March 13, 1999) was an American writer and director of plays and films.
Early life
Garson Kanin was born in Rochester, New York; his family later relocated to Detroit then to New York City. He attended ...
, with scenic design by
Boris Aronson
Boris Aronson (October 15, 1898 – November 16, 1980) was an American scenic designer for Broadway and Yiddish theatre. He won the Tony Award for Scenic Design six times in his career.
Biography
The son of a Rabbi, Aronson was born in Kiev, ...
and lighting design by
Lee Watson
Leland H. "Lee" Watson (1926 – December 8, 1989)7 was a Broadway and television lighting designer and theatre educator.5 His 1990 bio states that he worked "extensively in nearly all fields of lighting design."6
Early life and education
Wa ...
. The cast was led by
Joseph Schildkraut
Joseph Schildkraut (22 March 1896 – 21 January 1964) was an Austrian-American actor. He won an Oscar for his performance as Captain Alfred Dreyfus in the film ''The Life of Emile Zola'' (1937); later, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for h ...
as Otto Frank,
Susan Strasberg
Susan Elizabeth Strasberg (May 22, 1938 – January 21, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Imagined to be the next Hepburn-type ingenue, she was nominated for a Tony Award at age 18, playing the title role in ''The Diary ...
as Anne Frank, David Levin as Peter van Daan,
Gusti Huber
Auguste "Gusti" Huber (July 27, 1914 – July 12, 1993) was an Austrian-American actress. She had a successful career on Broadway and was critically acclaimed as Edith Frank in the 1956 production of ''The Diary of Anne Frank''.
Early life an ...
as Edith Frank,
Jack Gilford as Mr. Dussel,
Dennie Moore
Dennie Moore (born Florence Moore; December 30, 1902 – February 22, 1978) was an American film and stage actress.
Early life
Moore was born in New York City on December 30, 1902, to immigrant parents of Scottish and Irish descent. She was ...
as Mrs. van Daan, and
Lou Jacobi
Lou Jacobi (born Louis Harold Jacobovitch; December 28, 1913October 23, 2009) was a Canadian character actor.
Life and early career
Jacobi was born Louis Harold Jacobovitch in Toronto, Canada, to Joseph and Fay Jacobovitch.
Jacobi began acting ...
as Mr. van Daan. The play transferred to fellow Broadway theatre, the
Ambassador Theatre in February 1957, and closed there on June 22 after 717 performances. The play then traveled the United States with the original cast, save for
Millie Perkins
Millie Perkins (born May 12, 1938) is an American film and television actress known for her debut film role as Anne Frank in ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959), and for her supporting actress roles in two 1966 Westerns, '' The Shooting'' and '' ...
playing Anne Frank.
Awards
The play received the
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
for
Best Play and was nominated for
Best Actress
Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...
(Susan Strasberg),
Best Scenic Design (Boris Aronson), Best Costume Design (Helene Pons), Best Director (Garson Kanin). The play received the
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...
for Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich. Susan Strasberg won the 1956
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway theatre, Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945â ...
. The play received the 1956
New York Drama Critics Circle
The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jone ...
award for best play.
1997 version
''The Diary of Anne Frank'' was presented in June 1997, in a revision of the Goodrich and Hackett adaptation by
Wendy Kesselman
Wendy Kesselman is an American playwright.
Life
Wendy Kesselman came to the Actors Theater of Louisville in 1980. She lives in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.
Awards
She won the 1981 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, for ''My Sister in this House''.
...
, directed by
James Lapine
James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', ''Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ha ...
. Otto Frank was played by
George Hearn
George Hearn (born June 18, 1934) is an American actor and singer, primarily in Broadway theatre, Broadway musical theatre.
Early years
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hearn studied philosophy at Southwestern at Memphis, now Rhodes College before ...
, Anne by
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, × ×˜×¢-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...
, Mrs. Van Daan by
Linda Lavin
Linda Lavin (born October 15, 1937) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing the title character in the sitcom '' Alice'' and for her stage performances, both on and off-Broadway.
After acting as a child, Lavin joined the Co ...
, Mr. Van Daan by
Harris Yulin
Harris Yulin (born November 5, 1937) is an American actor who has appeared in over a hundred film and television series roles, such as '' Scarface'' (1983), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), '' Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), '' Looking for Richard' ...
and Edith Frank by
Sophie Hayden
Sophie Hayden (born February 23, 1954, as Sophie Ann Schwab) is an American actress. She received a Tony Award nomination for Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, Best Actress in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Drama Desk Awa ...
. The play previewed in Boston in the
Colonial Theatre before opening at Manhattan's
Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, the Music Box Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane in a Palladian-inspir ...
in December 1997.
The production received two nominations for 1998
Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play
The Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play has only been awarded since 1994. Prior to that, plays and musicals were considered together for the Tony Award for Best Revival. The award is given to the best non-musical play that has appeared on Broadw ...
and for
Best Featured Actress (Linda Lavin). It received two
Drama Desk
The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fol ...
nominations: for Outstanding Featured Actor (Harris Yulin) and Outstanding Featured Actress (Linda Lavin).
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diary of Anne Frank, The (Play)
Broadway plays
Pulitzer Prize for Drama-winning works
Tony Award-winning plays
Cultural depictions of Anne Frank
1955 plays
Plays based on books
American plays adapted into films
Works based on diaries
Plays about the Holocaust