What If Anne Frank Had Survived? The Secret Annex at the Segal Centre

When I first heard about The Secret Annex, I was intrigued.

The play contemplates what might have happened if Anne Frank had survived the war.

Would her Diary be equally as famous? Would it even be published?

What would become of Anne?

I was privileged to be in attendance on Opening Night this past Thursday and while I don’t want to reveal too much of the storyline, I want to share with you some of the reasons that my husband & I enjoyed it so much.

First and foremost, playwright Alix Sobler did something really special in her story about what might have become of Anne Frank had she lived and found herself living in New York at age 25.

It’s not something we think about everyday, but when you stop to ask yourself the question, it brings many other questions too mind- and some of those questions are contemplated within the context of the play. One such questioni as whether or not Anne’s story would be regarded as significant had she survived?

Sobler also ‘wrote’ each of the characters so well, and the cast brought them all to life.

Sara Farb played Anne ( This is not her first time doing so) and was exactly what I’d expect her to be – cheerful, girl-like, sometimes mischievous and always dreaming. The rest of the cast were equally believable and fabulous in their roles. Judith Baribeau as Virginia Belair was particularly fabulous AND hilarious!

Which brings up another reason we enjoyed The Secret Annex:

We LAUGHED!

There was so much humour in this show and we really laughed. Oddly enough when I told friends that we were going to see the show, their response was along the lines of “I guess it won’t be a funny play…” But it was. In fact it was funny, had its own bits of romance and pursuing of dreams and reflections about the war…that while not portrayed in a ‘heavy’ way, did not discount the severity of the Holocaust in any way.

The costumes deserve honourable mention – The actors were dressed impeccably in 1950’s attire. Both my husband and I took note and it’s not the kind of thing we often appreciate.

Did I mention that we laughed?

It’s playing now through February 21st with tonight’s performance (Feb 8th) being ASL interpreted:) (That would be the influence of the FABULOUS Tribes that I blogged about this past December)

If you can schedule some time to get out and see the Secret Annex, I’d give it a go.

It’s original, it’s funny, and it’s playing at the Segal…Do I need to give you any more reasons?