104 Friday, April 6, 1984 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Actors Alliance Theater stages the 'other' Anne Frank play BY TEDD SCHNEIDER Staff writer Anne Frank. For many Americans the name creates an instant mental image. Maybe its Susan Strasberg's portrayal of the World War II heroine in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Diary of Anne Frank. Or Millie Perkins as the seemingly all-American Dutch girl in the 1959 movie of the same name. But what about the 'other' Anne Frank play? The Holocaust victim, origi- nally depicted for the stage by the late author Meyer Levin, who was considered "too Jewish" for Broadway, was the subject satisfaction with its Jewish tenor. Follow- ing Hellman's advice, Otto Frank rejected Levin's adaptation of the book and asked the author to drop the project. Albert and Frances Hackett, a non-Jewish husband-and-wife screenwriting team, were chosen to replace Meyer Levin and it was their version of the play which became a Broadway hit in 1955. After The Diary of Anne Frank opened, Levin sued the Hacketts and Otto Frank for plagiarism, charging that their version, while omitting most of the refer- ences to Jewish issues, contained whole sections of dialogue from his adaptation. The jury ruled in Levin's favor, awarding him 25 percent of all the royalties from the play. The case was held up in various appe- als so long that Levin eventually settled for one payment of $15,000 to cover his legal expenses. An Israeli production of the Levin play was closed down in 1966 by Otto Frank's lawyers. The death of both men in 1981 has cleared the way for future productions of the play, although the court injunction against it was never officially lifted. Mrs. Fleischer sees the Anne Frank injunction as "morally unjust." "You may or may not like a work of art or literature," she said, "but you don't have the right to say that it cannot be displayed anywhere in this country." Yolanda Fleischer of a drawn out legal battle. The version has been suppressed for three decades. Through the efforts of director Yolanda Fleischer and the Actors Alliance Theater Company, Detroiters have a chance to meet the "other" Anne in the groups's cur- rent production, Levin's Anne Frank. In the early 1950s, Levin helped Otto Frank secure a U.S. publisher for his teen- age daughter's account of the two Dutch Jewish families (the Franks and the Van Daans) who hid from the Nazis in a small Amsterdam attic for more than two years before being captured. In return for his help, Mr. Frank allegedly promised the author first crack at adapting the diary for stage and film. Upon completion, the play was given to Lillian Hellman, who expressed dis- The Detroit staging of Anne Frank, only the second production of Levin's play in the United States according to Mrs. Fleischer, is the result of nearly a year's work on the part of the 37-year-old director and a calculated gamble by Jeff Nahan, the theater's artistic director and general manager. The project was launched early last summer, when Mr. Fleischer learned of the play's successful 1983 run at the Boston Lyric Theater. The Levin play offers an "intriguing challenge for any director," she said. In addition, she felt it was the perfect vehicle for a young actress with whom she had worked previously, Shirleyann Kaladjian. Mrs. Fleischer, who holds an MA in theater from Wayne State University where she also teaches, spent the next several months tracking down the Anne Frank script, The eyes have it Even from the theater's back row, the eyes are the first thing one notices. It's the eyes of the cast that tell the story in Meyer Levin's Anne Frank. The eyes of course, are com- plemented by strong, intelligent per- formances from each member of the cast assembled by director Yolanda Fleischer for the long-suppressed stage play based on Anne Frank's Holocaust diary. The Levin play, which differs from the highly-acclaimed Broadway produc- tion in its approach to the Jewish aspects of the Holocaust, touches nearly every emotional base. Infatuation and paranoia are explored here as well as love and legitimate fear. Shirleyann Kaladjian handles the role of the teenage Anne Frank with an effortlessness that would seem to belie her initial unfamiliarity with the story. Her characterization leaves out the "20- 20 hindsight" often inherent in such a role. Anne Frank did not know she was going to die, so the part should not be played as a martyr. As Otto Frank, David Fox has a less substantial role in the Levin version of the play than the more famous adapta- ass tion, but he still manages to assert him- self as the Patriarch of both families as they hide from the Nazis. Levin gave An- ne's sister, Margot, Zionist ambitions that were totally ignored by Albert and Frances Hackett in the Broadway play. Carol Lempert is articulate, if not eloquent, in voicing Margot's desire to become a nurse in Palestine. The remaining players in the 13- member cast, more than half of whom are _ usually on the stage at the same time, give solid performances. Michael Men- delson as Peter Van Daan is especially notable, as he struggles through adoles- cence in a crowded attic, trying to deal with strangers as well as his own family on a new level. T.S. * * * The Actors Alliance Theater Com- pany will present Meyer Levin's "Anne Frank" through April 15. Performances are 8:30 p.m. Fridays, 4 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays and 6:30 p.m. Sundays. Saturday evening's show is a benefit for the American Jewish Congress. For tic- kets or information, call the theater box office, 642-1326. Michael Mendelson and Shirleyann Kaladjian in a scene from Meyer Levin's "Anne Frank." The long-suppressed play is at the Actors Alliance Theater in Southfield through April 15 . which has never been mass published, and obtaining permission from the Levin fam- ily for another production of the play. Having secured the play and an ac- tress for the lead role, the director ap- proached Nahan with the idea for staging the production. "I chose this place to do it because it's connected with a school (the Lycee International) and this play has the right to be done in an educational environment," she said. The director also cited- the Actors Alliance Theater's inti- mate setting (capacity 125) as the best venue for Anne Frank. Nahan reacted favorably to the idea in spite of the play's controversial history and the fact that the theater was only entering its second season of operation. "I thought about it for a few days longer than I nor- mally would have, but I felt that it was worthwhile and we should take the chance." The key difference between the two adaptations of the play, according to the director, is the Jewish element of the story. "The sense that Jews were unique is elimi- nated from the Hacketts' version; but in Levin's play, we see how the Franks' and the Van Daans' Jewishness is regenerated because of the situation they were in." In The Diary of Anne Frank the lines where Anne questions her Judaism were elimi- nated. The Levin play is also more humaniz- ing, the director said. "He deals with the characters on a more human level, they are made accessible to the audience." Levin's Anne Frank does present some technical problems not found in the Hac- kett play. Mrs. Fleischer cited a number of awkward scene transitions which "could have been corrected by Levin if he had had the opportunity to see his play staged." Mrs. Fleischer found it necessary to change the order of wording in some passages and construct "bridges" for others. Having a non-Jewish actress in the lead role has not been a handicap. Mrs. Fleischer cited the professionalism of Kaladjian and her training as an "ensemble" actress as beneficial. She feels that the Levin play is a better dramatic vehicle for a young actress than The Diary of Anne Frank and that the actress' lack of familiarity with the story may have allowed her to take a fresher approach to the role. With the help of Shirley Benyas, who served as assistant director and music con- sultant for the production, Kaladjian re- searched the part thoroughly. "She read and re-read the original diary and also Meyer Levin's book, Obsession, which deals with the controversy surrounding the play," the director said. The actress also attended religious services at Cong. Shaarey Zedek to prepare for the role. It was there that Kaladjian picked up the proper pronunciation for the blessings she chants during the Chanukah celebration scene in the play's second act. Being Gentile, Kaladjian felt an obligation to get the religious aspects of the role cor- rect, the director said. In fact, the Chanukah celebration in Anne Frank is the one scene which best Lillian Hellman expressed dissatisfaction with its Jewish tenor. illustrates the difference between the two • plays. Not only does Levin include Hebrew blessings and songs, but the specter of as- similation is raised by the Franks and Van Daans as they gather around the menorah. The reemergence of Judaism as a major factor in the lives of the two families dur- ing their forced exile was completely ig- nored by the Hacketts in The Diary of Anne Frank. Had Meyer Levin lived to see his play performed in this country, the director feels he would have noted the "sensitivity and dimension" which the cast has added to his characterizations. Mrs. Fleischer would like to see other directors tackle Anne Frank so that the Levin play will continue to evolve as more productions are staged. "Because the play is just beginning to surface, it's almost in its raw form," she said. Hopefully, Meyer Levin's Anne Frank will have the same opportunity to mature in front of American audiences as its famous predecessor.