As spring approaches, Open Stage prepares for its first annual “Good At Heart Festival” this month.
The festival will consist of Open Stage’s 23rd presentation of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” Sankofa African American Theatre Company’s presentation of “Anne and Emmett,” and several nights of conversation surrounding social justice, including Black NewsBeat with Dr. Kimeka Campbell, The Obstructed View and more.
What inspired the idea of the Good At Heart Festival? That is an honor that can only be attributed to Anne Frank.
“Anne Frank wrote, that, despite everything, she believes people are good at heart,” said Stuart Landon, artistic director of Open Stage. “And that is the driving force of her writing, in many ways, that we as an institution come back to again and again.”
This will be the 23rd year that Open Stages presents “The Diary of Anne Frank,” featuring four dates for morning matinees and one evening performance. As many as 4,000 students will be able to see Anne Frank’s story at the Scottish Rite Cathedral for the morning matinees (with limited available seating for the public), with a post-performance presentation by Holocaust expert, Lilian Rappaport. There also will be a Wednesday evening performance for the general public (with no post-performance discussion).
Landon thinks the content will hit a bit differently this year, as it’s the first time since the pandemic hit that “Diary” will be staged live.
“There’s something really special about it, because we went through an international trauma together, but not really together at all—we were isolated, living in a tumultuous time in our country,” he said. “Many countries are, when it comes to divisiveness politically, and there are so many echoes of our current world [in the play], and at the very least the emotions around what we’re dealing with.”
Another cornerstone of the Good At Heart Festival are some familiar characters.
“Anne and Emmett,” based on the book of the same name by Janet Langhart Cohen, and presented by Sankofa African American Theatre Company, is an exploration of what a conversation might be like between Anne Frank and Emmett Till from the beyond, or “in memory,” as Sharia Benn, artistic director of Sankofa, puts it.
The play joins these two young teenagers who experienced parallel hate and explores the topics of race, the times they lived in, and even gender perspective.
“There will be moments where the audience will be uncomfortable,” Benn said. “But we need to get into spaces where we go beyond just being uncomfortable—which leads us into silence and complacency—to where we can start to have healing, understanding and even acceptance that this happened… this is how it has impacted people, and that is real. Explore that.”
Benn described her process for choosing pieces for Sankofa as not only looking for content by and about the Black community, but also, “things that we can gather around—a diverse community, our diverse community, not just for a Black audience or a white audience, but to attract both, and different races and backgrounds, into one place so that we can have these meaningful and crucial conversations.”
And that is exactly what “Anna and Emmett” brings to the table—an invitation to delve into the shared experience that people across different races and religions have.
Hand in hand with the nights of conversation scheduled for that week, these two plays are sure to create a thoughtful, encouraging space for the type of discussion that the Good At Heart Festival was created to spark.
“Anne Frank wrote that she wanted her writing to live beyond her,” Landon said. “And has it! It is a great responsibility, and an honor, to take on this story every year and explore all the stories that need to be told.”
“The Good at Heart” Festival runs March 14 to 19 at Open Stage, 25 N. Court St., Harrisburg, and on March 15 at Scottish Rite Cathedral, 2701 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.openstagehbg.com.
UPCOMING EVENTS
At Open Stage
www.openstagehbg.com
717-232-6736
Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine’s
“Into the Woods”
Running through March 11
The Good at Heart Festival
Festival Kickoff
“Theatre for Good: Social Change & Performance”
Features performances from Reclaim Artist Collective & Narcisse Theatre Co.
Free to the Public
Tuesday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Black NewsBeat
With Dr. Kimeka Campbell
Wednesday, March 15
“The Diary of Anne Frank”
At Scottish Rite Cathedral
March 14 to 17
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 9:45 a.m.
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
Morning shows followed by short break and presentation from Holocaust educator Lillian Rappaport at 12:15 p.m.
“Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America”
Documentary Screening at Midtown Cinema
Thursday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m.
“Anne & Emmett”
A new play by Janet Langhart Cohen
Presented in partnership with Sankofa African American Theatre Co.
March 17 to 26 (various times)
The Obstructed View
Queer talk show taping
Saturday, March 18 at 6 p.m.
Lobby Talk
A discussion about “Anne & Emmett” with the cast
Led by Professor Ellen Stockstill
Free to the Public
Sunday, March 19 at 3 p.m.
An EDI Conversation
With Una Martone (Leadership Harrisburg)
And Joe Robinson (MLK Jr. Leadership Development Institute)
Sunday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Free to the Public
If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!
