B

ringing and mounting a new production of The Diary of Anne 
Frank from Michigan to Arizona in the middle of a pandemic 
has been a labor of love of epic proportions, to say the very least. 
But with grit and clever resourcefulness, one fiercely determined snow 
birder extraordinaire and her small, but mighty, Scottsdale-area team of 
friends and relatives were able to make it happen.
For more than 27 years, the Jewish Ensemble Theatre (JET) of West 
Bloomfield, a nonprofit, has produced The Diary of Anne Frank for stu-
dent audiences in Metro-Detroit — that’s more than 200,000 students 
attending a live theatrical performance, some for the very first time. 
Shows were held at JET’s former space at the Jewish Community Center 
of West Bloomfield and, later, at The Berman Center for Performing 
Arts and the Detroit Institute of Arts, sponsored by 
the Nancy and Stephen Grand Support Foundation.
“But what if JET could reach middle-schoolers out-
side of Michigan with this very important story about 
the Holocaust?” JET Executive Director Christopher 
Bremer would often ask his all-volunteer board of 
directors.
“I felt that it was a strong mission — something 
that I really believe in — so I raised my hand 
and that’s when it all began,
” said Sally Ginn of 
Farmington Hills, who has wintered in Phoenix for 
the past 30 years.
That was five years ago. 
“Truthfully, people told me that it couldn’t be 
done. The logistics and money-raising has been 
monumental and non-stop,
” said Ginn, who just 
wrapped producing the first local Arizona JET pro-
duction of The Diary of Anne Frank at The Scottsdale 
Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 11.
By January 2020, Ginn had put her Arizona con-
tacts in motion and was able to have JET’s Detroit 
cast of The Diary of Anne Frank flown out to Phoenix 
to perform the show for one week to more than 
4,300 students.
And then the pandemic hit, and JET pivoted to 
having virtual conversations about the life of Anne Frank.
“The students could Zoom in and talk with ‘
Anne’ and understand 
what it was like to be in hiding and not being able to come out because 
they were quarantining themselves,
” said Bremer, who has been working 
at JET since 1999. “Now, with our Arizona production and the Michigan 
one coming up at the Berman Center March 7-18, children can once 
again experience the human connection of live theater as an art form.
”

continued on page 42

JULIE SMITH YOLLES CONTRIBUTING WRITER

TOP: The Diary of Anne 
Frank, produced by the 
Jewish Ensemble Theatre 
(JET), was performed at 
the Scottsdale Center for 
the Performing Arts Jan. 
31-Feb. 11, 2022.
BOTTOM LEFT: Ariella 
Centeno of Prescott, 
Arizona. Her paternal 
great-grandparents were 
Holocaust survivors. 
Now 97 and living in 
New York, Erwin Pearl 
received the 2015 Anne 
Frank Distinguished 
Humanitarian Award.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Actors 
remained masked at all 
times during rehearsals. 
Sally Ginn and her team 
scoured resale shops 
to find authentic set 
pieces and props or cre-
ated their own including 
this tablecloth made by 
Toby Haberman for the 
Chanukah scene.

DETAILS
School groups can still purchase tickets to attend The Diary of 
Anne Frank at the Berman Center for the Performing Arts at 
6600 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield. Performances are at 
10 a.m. Monday-Friday, March 7-18. Tickets are $10/student 
and $16/adult, with special financial arrangements available. 
There will be one public performance open to everyone 
at 10 a.m. Friday, March 18. Reservations must be made for 
school groups and individual tickets by calling (248) 788-2900.

MARCH 3 • 2022 | 41