Keel Warner and Joellen Terranova in “Anne & Emmett”
What do a Jewish girl from Germany and a Black boy from Chicago have in common? Not much on the surface. But once Anne Frank and Emmett Till start unpacking their short but powerful life stories, they find a frightening number of commonalities during their dark time/places in history.
In addition to Open Stage’s annual showing of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” Open Stage (Director Stuart Landon) and Sankofa African American Theatre Company have collaborated to bring us Janet Langhart Cohen’s “Anne & Emmett,” an imaginary conversation between Anne Frank and Emmett Till, both fatal victims of racial prejudice.
Anne Frank (Joellen Terranova) and Emmett Till’s (Keel Warner) conversation unfolds after being transported to a place called Memory, which is where these two spirits come alive when someone calls them to mind together. Set amidst a mirrored, black-and-white stage with characters clad in monochromatic costumes, Anne’s crimson pen is the only slash of color cutting through all the gray.
This isn’t a simple tit-for-tat teen chat. Despite Anne’s belief that everyone is good at heart, Emmett has been taught to fear white people. Their conversational flow sails through choppy and untrusting waters. With all their arguing, they don’t even seem to like each other. Yet through juxtaposing their life stories, a dynamic emerges between the two kids. And commonalities. It’s a genuine exchange that feels real, even though it never happened on earth.
Terranova’s portrayal of 15-year-old Anne Frank feels exactly like Anne popped off the pages of her diary and skipped onstage. Her essence feels a bit naïve, slightly annoying in a little-sister sort of way (if we’re honest), yet optimistic and idealistic despite her circumstances to the contrary.
Helping to tell the lesser-known story of 14-year-old Emmett Till, who was murdered in Jim Crow south for allegedly whistling at a white woman, Warner delivers a street-wise performance that oozes anger. Sometimes, Warner guards his anger in a seething fashion, pushing it down and swallowing it. This makes his larger explosions of anger even more impactful.
One of the most striking commonalities between Anne and Emmett: both had parents who tried to protect them from lurking evil, but ultimately could not. Both stressed “the rules” to their children to try to keep them safe: “Look down.” “No eye contact.” “Be quiet.” “If you see them coming, get off the sidewalk, cross the street.”
Although Anne’s threat is only alluded to with the mental image of the Gestapo’s hobnail boots clicking against cobblestone streets, Emmett’s killer, J.W. Milam (Josh Dorsheimer), appears onstage as a menacing white supremacist figure, doubling down on enjoying torturing and killing Till.
(If I haven’t mentioned yet, this play doesn’t hold back on the graphic details. The parental guidance warning is for children under 14, which is about the same age “The Diary of Anne Frank” appears on most high school reading lists.)
Mamie Till (Sharia Benn) scoops all of her own anger into a huge clump and hurls it right back at the world. With outstanding stage presence and force, Benn delivers a heartbreaking performance of an indignant mother who won’t go quietly—hammering open her son’s locked casket to force a look at his mangled body.
In contrast, Otto Frank’s (David Richwine) anger is turned inward, measured and analytical, with guilt slathering his surface. Replaying the events and expressing what his shoulda/coulda regrets, it’s almost as if he takes responsibility for the results in some way, as if he could have controlled what happened, or avoided it entirely.
Benn, also executive artistic director of Sankofa African American Theatre Company, hopes this play, like Anne and Emmett’s lives, will change the world. “May this stage experience ignite real conversations for real change.”
A key commonality for Otto Frank and Mamie Till: both parents kept their children’s respective memories alive, gave meaning to their deaths, and honored a larger moral obligation to repair the world. They made sure their children’s stories were told, and in the repeated tellings, changed the course of history.
Part of Open Stage’s Good at Heart Festival, “Anne & Emmett” runs until March 26 at Open Stage, 25 N. Court St., Harrisburg. For more information and tickets, visit https://www.openstagehbg.com/show/anne-and-emmett.
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