Stuart Landon feels a special connection to Anne Frank, after years of retelling her tragic story at his downtown theater, Open Stage.
However, this year is distinctly special, as the theater couples its annual one-night performance of “The Diary of Anne Frank” with a rare photography exhibit.
Open Stage will perform its production on Thursday night and feature a collection of reproduced photographs taken by Frank’s father, Otto, in the years before the family went into hiding from the Nazis.
“I’m very excited,” said Landon, Open Stage’s producing artistic director. “We have such a relationship with Anne Frank and her story. Now, we get to deepen that. We are very lucky to have this intimate peek into their lives.”
Open Stage has been performing this story for 23 years, Landon said, and actors are excited to be back at it after the years off due to COVID. The photography exhibit, “Anne Frank: A Private Photo Album,” only adds to the experience.
Throughout Open Stage’s lobby and theater room are dozens of pictures showing Frank and her sister Margo as young children, as well as parents Otto and Edith, along with other family members. One image shows the daughters at the beach, another captures Edith rocking baby Margo.
“It’s haunting knowing what happened, but we get to enjoy with them the years previous to their hiding,” Landon said.
The exhibit comes from The Anne Frank Center in New York City.
Although the production of “The Diary of Anne Frank” is only one night, the exhibit will remain at the theater through April 9. It will be open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Admission is free.
Additionally, Open Stage will bring the story of Frank, along with that of Martin Luther King Jr., to local students in early April.
“Letters from Anne and Martin” will highlight the writings of two influential figures in history, who were both born in the same year. Landon said that they will take the performance to several local schools.
Before COVID-19, Open Stage would bring in hundreds of students for performances about Frank every year. However, the pandemic changed plans and caused the theater to pivot.
The educational aspect of the yearly feature of Frank’s story is especially important to Landon.
“It’s so important to present this story to young people, and really to everyone, to make sure that these atrocities never happen again,” he said. “Our goal is always for people to leave changed.”
On the last night of the exhibit, Open Stage will hold a free performance of “Letters from Anne and Martin” for the community.
“To have an exhibit so personal and private adds a layer of beauty to the experience this year,” Landon said.
Open Stage is located at 25 N. Court St., Harrisburg. For tickets to “The Diary of Anne Frank” or for more information, visit their website.
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