40 | APRIL 2 • 2020
A
total of nearly 4,500
Arizona middle school-
ers of diverse heritages
watched a dramatization of a
Jewish middle schooler con-
fronting the Holocaust, and they
wanted to know more about the
terrifying times.
These students became the
first out-of-state audiences to
see performances of The Diary of
Anne Frank as staged by Michigan’
s
Jewish Ensemble Theatre (JET).
In February, the Detroit troupe of
16 performed the play five times
at the Madison Center for the Arts
in Phoenix. Each performance
included a presentation by two
Holocaust survivors, along with a
question-and-answer period.
Student surveys showed 89 per-
cent of those attending remained
interested in additional facts about
Anne Frank and the Holocaust,
and 87 percent felt they had
changed their minds about feel-
ings toward people of other reli-
gions, races and backgrounds.
“It was so heartening to see all
these young people — Jewish,
Christian, Latino and Native
American — have a shared
emotional experience and seem
to bond together because of it,
”
said Christopher Bremer, JET
executive director. “Our young
audiences watched intently and
asked questions that showed they
thought about what they learned.
”
JET spent three years raising
funds — $75,000 to bring the pro-
duction to Arizona — and arrang-
ing for this student experience
in Phoenix. Instrumental in the
effort was Sally Ginn, a JET board
member who divides her time
between Michigan and Arizona.
Her ideas and efforts became the
driving force for putting every-
thing together, Bremer said. Now
the focus is on future performanc-
es casting actors based in Arizona.
The Walled Lake-based JET
has staged The Diary of Anne Frank
more than any other theater com-
pany in the world, bringing the
play to Michigan schoolchildren
for 25 years and reaching more
than 100,000 students.
Ginn, who had public relations
and cable production jobs, used
her skills to engage organizations
and individuals inside and outside
the Jewish community to raise
funds and gain educator interest.
With the support of the Jewish
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Theater troupe takes its Anne Frank play and educational
component on the road.
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JET in Phoenix
Arts&Life
theater
JET’S
2020 SEASON
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the mainstage JET season
is on hold. Check the website at jettheatre.org or call
(248) 788-2900 for updates.
TOP: Students in Phoenix took away an understanding of the suffering
experienced in the Holocaust by watching JET’
s performances of The Diary
of Anne Frank. ABOVE: JET’
s Christopher Bremer with Pearl Laufer and
Katie Egett, both survivors who spoke at JET’
s Anne Frank performances for
students in Phoenix.
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